Audi paradise?

[Tom Nas <tnas@euronet.nl>]

Hi all,

Last weekend, I visited the Belgian seaside resort of Knokke. I had been
told that it's a rich people's place, but I wasn't prepared for the
lifestyle I'd encounter... imagine a supermarket where you can pick your
own fresh lobster, or oysters, from an aquarium... where a seaside
2-bedroom condo costs anything above $500k to buy... and where Ferraris and
Rolls-Royces are a common sight.
Boy, did I see some cars... an M3 cabriolet was poverty spec- most BMWs
were 7- or 8-series, lots of Benzes (saw my first ML, as well as lots of
SLKs, CLKs and CLK Cabriolets). The fashionable vehicle to own appeared to
be the current Range Rover, ither in 4.6 HSE or 2.5 DSE spec. Saw a few
Discos and Freelanders, too. Porsches galore, too- within 15 minutes, it
was possible to see every conceivable 911 road car (including Carrera
RSes), Boxsters, 968s, 928s, 356es... boy, was I glad I'd taken my camera
and several rolls of film.

Audis were very much in fashion, too- shopping cars were top-spec A3s, and
every second Audi appeared to be a quattro. I saw numerous A4 quattros, A6
quattros (including the new-generation A6 Avant), A8 quattros, a few UrQs
in perfect condition, Coupe Quattros, some 100/200 quattros, an UrS4 and a
couple of V8s. One silver V8 with current Audi 5-spoke wheels looked
particularly great- almost like new, actually. Cabriolets were all around,
too.
One oddity I saw was a red 100 sedan with all-red taillights, aero wheels,
and flared rear fenders but plain fronts. It was badged 100    2.3E.
Hmmmm...

All in all, a great weekend, with many chances to sample great Belgian
cooking (mussels in cream/garlic sauce, yummy!) and superb Belgian beers
(those on the list who know me, can attest that I need _very little_
coaxing to try these!).
I hope to return there soon to finish exploring the town and its
surroundings (great to be able to take my own mountain bike!) and to sample
more delicacies.

On the way back home (in truly abominable weather) I saw an example of what
the horrible Belgian driving can lead to- two cars (an old Peugeot 305 and
a new Fiat Bravo) had collided at full speed on an intersection, and the
Peugeot (1980s, Audi 4k-sized) was totally destroyed. The Bravo (Golf-sized
three-door hatch) was crumpled up to the windscreen, but the passenger
compartment had remained intact. It had apparently t-boned the 305, which
was roughly half as wide as it used to be. Impossible IMO for the people in
the 305 to have survived this one. The Peugeot might've done better if it'd
been the one hitting the Fiat in the flank, perhaps, but this shows the
importance of a. not running a red light and b. driving a sturdy car in
case someone else does. A gruesome picture to carry in my mind on the way
back...

Tom (back in rainy and stormy Holland)

 _______________________________________________________________________
 Tom Nas                                          Zeist, The Netherlands
 tnas@euronet.nl
 1987 Audi 90q 2.3E, Tizianrot metallic, 167,000km

  Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good
       is not original and the part that is original is not good.
                                   -- Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)