You seem to be a man-about-town with A4's. It is very respectable to own a car and want to know about every facet of its very existance. Have you owned many Audi's? Do you just try to see 'what else' you can do to your car to make it better? <br>Jus t curious...<br>Happy Motoring!<br>Christian

No, this is my first A4. This is my first car. I think I grew up in the back seat of an Audi 5000 S. I really do. Anyway, coming from a Porsche/Audi family (though my father owned a Lotus in college and a Fiat in grad school, we're more of a Porsche/Audi family than most), I got into cars. My father told me to read five magazines when I was a kid:<p>1) National Geographic<br>2) Smithsonian<br>3) Science<br>4) Automobile<br>5) Road & Track<p>We currently own two Audis, both A4's. One 2.8L and one 1.8T. One is on the West coast and one is here in Chicago. We have six Porsche/Audi products in my immediate family (parents and parents' siblings), a 2.8L A4 (Dad), a 1.8T A4 (me), a 1998 Passat (uncle), a 1994 Porsche 911 (aunt), and a 1989 Porsche 911 (uncle).<p>Having studied abroad for a serious amount of time, with a serious range of destinations (28 countries at present), I've seen a wide range of things worthy of wonder... I saw the Chiquita Banana workers attack the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica in 1996 after the Dollar Unification Proposal failed miserably... I've landed in Croatia and been searched for explosives... I saw Petra, the Sphinx, the Pyramids, Stonehenge... I got a true modern adaptation of the 1700's classical education involving travel, tutors, and rigorous work. In 1995, I visited the Porsche plant. I'd always wanted to go, and now I was in Austria on study and had a chance to visit and take the tour. It was amazing. That was before glass was up around the lines, before the tour guides didn't take you through all the leather shops... it was amazing. I saw men working on 968's and 928's... at the time they were only building one per day. Over the the Audi plant, the Audi 90 was about to be replaced by something new and extraordinary.<p>People don't realize how much the world has changed, how seeing many things doesn't devalue each item, but instead increases the understanding behind each. When I stayed at the JW Marriott in Hong Kong (winter pre-takeover, Dec. 1996), Hong Kong was a place of change. I visited the building for the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Corporation and, as it should from its archetectural history, it is similar to the Hancock Building in Chicago (except I couldn't find as good a restaurant as the 95th).<p>I figure I should be learning as much as possible in the time before university. If that learning concerns the A4, or anything else, I'm satisfied if I know more when I go to sleep tonight than I did when I woke this morning.<p>Perhaps that's just an advantage of being shallow.<p>Cameron

Cameron,<br>I'm moving to Chicago in July, 1999, with my new A4, 28 QMS, and I want to know what the insurance is like for someone living in Lincoln Park. Any ideas?<br>Sounds like you're a pretty worldly guy. Of course, you'd be driving an Audi!<br>Dave

I'm insured through Allstate and the insurance rate isn't bad. Friends with A4's and Boxsters are mostly insured by State Farm or Allstate, and all the rates seem reasonable. If you're moving from another urban area, I wouldn't expect a radical change in rates.<p>Cameron<br>

I'm not sure where you're moving from, which obviously affects how you feel about insurance in Chicago.<p>I moved there from Philadelphia, which has among the highest rates in the country. My insurance in Chicago (for an Audi 90) was about a third of that in Philadelphia, so I was overjoyed.<p>I now live in Madison, WI (though I may be moving back to Chicago soon); my insurance on the same Audi here was 30-40% less than in Chicago.<p>For big cities, though, I think Chicago is very reasonable when it comes to auto insurance.<br>

I live in Evanston, just outside of the city, and my insurance is pretty reasonable. 25, with a clean record, and the premiums went down when I traded in my 2 door, 210hp, AWD Eclipse GSX. So maybe the overall safety and driveability out weight the far more substantial replacement cost. However, as I said, I live in Evanston, about 15 minutes towards suburbia from Lincoln Park, and I'm sure your insurance company won't be too happy about that. Personally, I'd worry more about your poor bumpers, I hope you get off street parking!

I agree. Definately get off street parking. It's going to run about $100 to $150 a month. If you think that's high. Compare it with the cost having your bumpers repainted of possibly replaced after a few months. Parking is brutal. My friend lives around North and Halsted. His rates on his '99 Altima aren't that bad but in the two weeks his front and rear bumbers have been virtually destroyed. Good Luck...