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In Reply to: surely you mean the "A8" ? The "S8 " is a mythical beast, nicht var? posted by petew on October 10, 1999 at 10:15:27:
I was talking about what you mentioned - the S4. Actually, the one they started as the 200 Quattro - the one with the flared fenders and those obcene inverted rotor breaks. The irony was, it got totalled (and us almost killed) just couple of months after we finished paying about $6000 for assorted repairs just to keep it running. A true car from Hell, but quite pleasant when running, my wife loved it.As far as Ronin is concerned, my car of choice there was certainly the black Euro M5.
***I remember seeing a Mazaratti listed in the local paper (the Daily Local News in the late 70's when Dave Barry still worked there) for about $3000 (what's wrong with this picture?). I cut that ad out and taped it to the refrigerator. One of the best short-stories I've ever read.
"For Sale. 1974 Mazaratti Biturbo Sedan. Chocolate brown, birdseye maple with gold accent, tan interior. Immaculate. Needs work."
Yeah, right, Immaculate, needs work. A vicious car with total lack of control, fast and brutal. Fortunately, most of them spent more time in garages being fixed than on the road. Those twin turbos BEFORE the caburators didn't help much in terms of reliability. I don't remember who it was, but it was once called "the best car to give away in a divorce settlement". Yes, one could get them CHEAP.
I was hanging around Don Rosen, looking for the S4 advertised in the Inky (20v in-line 5 turbocharged and intercooled Quattro, only available with 5-speed, 240 bhp stock with lots of aftermarket tweaks available ). It was about 4 or 5 years old and he wanted $40,000 for it. Funny what you can rationalize when passion gets the better of you. The A8 had just come out, and it was a beautiful beast. I haven't seen them around much. Must be a total flop? But I've never seen the "totally tweaked" version of the A8, the S8 until I saw Ronin. I love sleeper cars.I know your car. I owned the CS 5000 turbo sedan with the "detuned" S4 engine. They had to change the marque to "200" because there was this little problem with "sudden full-throttle acceleration". It happend to me three times while I owned the car (187,000 miles when I sold it to an Audi mechanic), but I was aware of the problem and only once had a bit of a go of it on the way home from a ski trip after running South on the NE extension for an hour or so I went thru the toll both in Landsdale at over 8000 rpms. That was exciting. You had to be very fast with the kill switch if you owned one of those cars. But I still consider it one of the three best cars I've ever owned (1970 Datsun 240z, and my current station wagon).
I've never driven a BMW, and now I don't think I could because I don't have the personality for it. I'm stuck with my sleeper wagon. Nobody expects a Volvo with two kiddy seats to be smoking all four tyres when the light goes green. It's a gas!
I see you know your cars. Have you ever driven the big Jag? God what a ride! I'm almost old enough to pass for a Jag owner. I wonder if Ford has ruined them? Can't imagine any V8 that's as silky smooth as the 12. What am I talking about? My next car will be a wheelchair with a colostomy bag on the side.
***I've never driven a BMW, and now I don't think I could because I don't have the personality for it. I'm stuck with my sleeper wagon. Nobody expects a Volvo with two kiddy seats to be smoking all four tyres when the light goes green.Please, don't tell us it is beige...
***It's a gas!
Hah?
***I see you know your cars. Have you ever driven the big Jag?
Do you mean the XJS? Yes.
***God what a ride! I'm almost old enough to pass for a Jag owner. I wonder if Ford has ruined them? Can't imagine any V8 that's as silky smooth as the 12.
That is probably true. Also, the older ones had more copper tubing than your average plumbing shop.
***What am I talking about? My next car will be a wheelchair with a colostomy bag on the side.
My daughter's friend (an RN) told her a story about bursting colostomy bag... just another day in the hospital... But you know, between your children's diapers and your very own colostomy bag there is that beautul stretch we call life. Enjoy it.
is that the color you refer to? Because my local dealer had one and I took the wife down to see it. She laughed hysterically the entire time we were there, while the salesman and I tried to make a serious pitch for it (high-visibility is an important safety feature!).She wouldn't go for it. So we ended up special-ordering a black one. I haven't seen that car around anywhere. I wonder what happened to it? Earl Scheib?
***It's a gas!***
Yep, this is the one with the "T-5" engine and "Quattro" drivetrain. When you get under the hood you see lots of "Made in W. Germany" on the parts. It's essentially the Audi S4 motor, drivetrain, suspension and brakes nailed on to a Volvo wagon. The whole thing has been lowered 4 cm and comes with stock rubber that wears down to slicks on the way home from the dealership (very sticky). I use it for trips to the grocery store and Home Depot. Once or twice a year I get on the pike and make a mad dash to Soundex, after telling the wife I'm going to get milk and diapers. With the seats folded down, you can get an entire BAT CD player back there, with room for the cables.
That's enough of this. What did you see this weekend?
The One Wild Moment - the French movie with a totally un-American ending.Another good one - The Fire Within with good actors, B&W and depressing. Also, The Music Teacher one more time - for our guests.
To demo the system to our guest - Ronin and The Mission Impossible side by side. What a striking contrast, with the Mission being a complete trash and waste of time, even some good actors being unable to salvage it.
I could not believe how awful Emmanuelle Beart looked in the Mission. She is certainly losing it and her lip job loks like something made for a cheap Barbie (I am presuming the lip job, too bad if she didn't have it).
My guest is a ping-pong nut, so he brought with him one of those tapes of the professionals doing their strokes. Trying to be a good host, I watched through most of it. As you like to say, horror...horror...
thanks for the film reviews. If we can't abuse our friends, why even have them? You sound like a gracious host. Another lost art.
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