S4 at the auto show - saw it!

[Luke Sponholz <LSponhol@LGA-INC.COM>]

Fellow Q-Listers,

	Went to the NY international auto show this last weekend and saw the
debut of the 2000 S4.  They unfortunately only had it on a rotating platform
with a rail between viewers and the vehicle, so getting close enough to the
car to see any quirks or irregularities was impossible.  But, in one word,
the sight of the S4 was:  awe-inspiring.  Ok, so that's two words.  Sue me.

	They did have, for a very brief period of time (it appears that
there were more people there that knew what the S4 was than one might have
originally surmised) a poster available.  Through the resources of both my
Father and I, we got away from the show with three of these posters.  The
front of the poster depicts the front end of a blue S4, and then on the
right hand side of this main picture are pictures of the fog lights and some
other stuff (not sure off the top of my head).  The back of the poster
carried the real information, which, until now, was only available to
individual dealerships in the form of one brochure per dealership:  Specs
for the car, including a depiction of the interior of the vehicle.

Some items of note:

The red illumination is still around for the S4.  At least we have a
temporary reprieve on that one.
The interior trim is one of two possible options:  Grey (huh?) birds-eye
maple trim, or polished bright silver aluminum trim.  The aluminum trim
comes with the Alcantara, and the maple comes with the standard leather
interior (which is, btw, standard)
Most items that were/are options on the A4 are standard on this car.  This
includes:  heated windshield washer nozzles, defogging side mirrors, leather
interior, CD player/tape in front (with the Bose option, you get the front
loader CD/tape with a 6 disc changer!  For those of you who were annoyed
about the lack of a front loader, the S4 is that answer to your prayers),
keyless entry, 10-way power seats for driver AND passenger

The major options are:

Convenience package, which includes:
sliding/tilt moonroof
HomeLink trasnmitter system (integrated garage door opener system,
basically)
auto dimming side and rear-view mirrors

Cold weather package:
Heated front seats
ski sack
(The rest of the cold weather package from the A4 is now standard, making it
even LESS desirable IMO)

Bose stereo:
150 watt
6 disc trunk mounted changer

Individual opts:
Tip (uh, yeah... whatever)
Motorola hands-free telephone
something else... don't have the poster here in front of me

Initial performance specs for the car:
250 HP (down from 265 Euro spec)
6.5 0-60 (down from 5.5 I think Euro... this number will be sure to drop
when independent testing of the car begins)
Top speed 155 MPH.

17" alloys Avus design wheels.  

The door handles aren't as bad in person as I first thought they were...

Any other questions, I may be able to answer them.  Let me know.

Later,
Luke

'94 VW GolfIII 2.0 (no answer on that tie rod question; now it appears that
the left front CV joint is acting up.  The problems mount...)
'99 A4 2.8Q 30V (SOLD!)
'85 5000S (RIP)


Luke R. Sponholz
Software Engineer
Lynne Gilfillan Associates, INC.
(703) 293-2373 ext. 305
luke@lga-inc.com

"Colorless green ideas sleep furiously."   -  Noam Chomsky