Snow & Ice Advice

[Paul Kuettel <kuettel@PioneerPlanet.infi.net>]

Hi All!

Andrejs from Seattle wrote about his first sleigh ride with his 88Kksq.

What timing!  I, too, have an 88 5Ktq (will we ever get an *official* shorthand
for 5000CSTQ??).

Today, in flyoverland, we had a nice dusting of snow with single digit temps.  I
needed to navigate from the Twin Cities to Hinterland, Wisconsin to belately
*winterize* six Scorpios and a '72 Bug.

It was fun to practice winter driving skills under ideal conditions.  Just
enough slippery backroads with just a few bends and zero traffic.  I was born
chicken, but I tried to make the beast lose it's grip.  Found that under
semi-ice conditions and a straight, lonely road, the first engagement of the
diff lock provided sure footing and stopping.

The halfway point of the trip, a descent from WI down a *dangerous* hill and
over the historic Stillwater Lift Bridge, and on thru that snow-kissed Christmas
Village, was like posing for a living picture postcard (or a great shot for
Automobile, etc.)

Normal mode was also fairly confidence inspiring ( I was doing avg 60-70 on
45mpg roads) but the antilock function reminded me that it is meant for STRAIGHT
stops, NOT SHORT!

In all, the sort of Sunday Drive that Quattro Dreams are made of.  Forget the
crummy stereo.  The silent woosh and the rooster tail of powder in the rear
view, ensconsed in a comfortable cabin, made me fall in love again.

Maybe I should get rid of some of them Scorpios :-)  Nah, too little $ for too
much car.

Try http://www.merkurgarage.com just for fun sometime.  Is there an Audi
equivalent? Maybe I haven't looked hard enough, but the Merkur community needs
by necessity be close-knit due to limited numbers and models.  I mean, what the
heck is an A6?  Is that like a 5000?  With Merkurs, ya get XR4ti and Scorp and
nothing newer than 6/89.  Easy to keep track :-).

Happy Holidays!

PK
Flyoverland, MN
9 Scorps
3 XRs
1 '72 Bug (original owner)
1 '88 5KTQ
1 '84 Rabbit (Urban Assault Vehicle)