RE: S4

[Fringe Ryder <fringe@fringeweb.com>]

Points:

1) Nobody mistakes Americans,  or any other group, for uniformly buying a
single type of car.  Sure, Americans may buy mostly automatics, but we're
also the largest Ferrari market and probably the second largest Porsche
market.  I believe (based on ratios and numbers) that Audi sold more
stickshift cars in America last year than in Spain.  

2) Low-end torque is, IMO, MUCH better than HP for commuting. Here are my
credentials: Driven only stick since 1987; Lived in Los Angeles, and then
in two other metro areas doing stop-and-go commutes for that whole time.
I'm a commuter.  Here's what torque buys me:

2.1) If in gear, the car always is willing to go.  700rpm, 4000rpm, doesn't
matter, it will take off.  That's a huge ratio in a single gear, which gets
me from perhaps 2mph to 20mph in first with no clutching/shifting.  That
can't be done in a Honda (I've tried.)  I do it every day in my A4 (V6).

2.2) When the speed does pick up, and I want to pass someone or just want
to have some oomph at my command, it's torque, not HP, I want.  HP requires
keeping that motor revving high.  (Again, see Honda.)  Torque doesn't.  You
want some "go" in a 4cyl Alfa, you'd better be above 4K rpm.  Why is this a
problem?  It's BUZZY.  Over distance, it's very annoying.

HP is definitely important.  150 ft-# torque gives more effective power at
5K than at 1K (because of the gearing).  However, I find a flat
torque-curve that tops out at 5500rpm (a la Audi) better than a peaky one
that doesn't even hit the stride until the 4-7K range (a la Honda and older
Alfa) for living with in real life.

>From: John Cunningham <johnc@together.net>
>ScottyCBoy@aol.com wrote:
>
>> Audi makes commuter cars
>
>disagree, at least from most of the the connotations that 'commuter cars' has
>
>> , that is cars for every day driving, and the
{snip}

>however, when a European automaker looks across the pond, they perceive
>Americans as wanting/needing LESS sporting ride & handling, and they AREN'T
>wrong.  'we' buy sludgomatics on a great majority of cars, and especially on
>high end 'luxury' sedans.  just check out the rental counter factor:  in
the US
>you can't rent a manual transmission to save your life, in Europe you can
rent
>automatics, but they are solely for the benefit of stupid Amuricans (BTW
it bugs
>me that the bloke at the counter assumes i need an auto cause I'm a
Yank... but
>I digress from my digression).  so for a well behaved automatic, you prefer
>torque to wringing out the RPM's for hp - hence US getting tractor motors
>instead of F1 mills.  makes plenty of sense from a marketing/product
positioning
>standpoint.  from an enthusiast's viewpoint not so great...
>
>JC
>