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I'm back from Germany (very very long)...

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Old 02-26-2007, 03:26 PM
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Default I'm back from Germany (very very long)...

The Audi Driving Day was a First Class experience all the way through. I'll try to give you a step by step of the package with pictures and will group the rest of the pictures in separate posts.

I chose the Twists and Turns package, which I extended by a day and also had Audi arrange my hotels the nights before and after the package.

I will start my story at Frankfurt Main airport at 5pm on Tuesday February 20th where my wife and I picked up the rental car Audi had arranged to bring us to our hotel in Ingolstadt. The car was a Nissan Primera station wagon
<img src="http://www.nissan.de/vehicles/primera2004/gallery/gall-photo-medium-primera-2.jpg">
which was a mistake by Europcar b/c I was told it would be a A3 or Golf (I chose the cheapest rental car option). This didn't really bother me b/c this car was only to get from Frankfurt to our hotel in Ingolstadt, a 3 hour drive...in Europe ;-)

We arrived at the Hotel Rappensberger, where we would be staying for two nights at around 8pm. I had added the first night in the hotel to the package and Audi arranged everything. While there we had a dinner included which we decided to use on the first night. The front desk made a reservation for us and when we arrived at the restaurant there was a table in a private corner set up for us. When we sat down we noticed a menu with our family name on it that had a pre-selceted menu in German. My wife an I chose our own dishes, ate, and went to bed early eagerly awaiting the start of the next day...at least I was ;-)

The next morning breakfast was included, so we ate and headed over to the Audi Forum
<img src="http://images22.fotki.com/v520/photos/2/201040/4652133/DSC09311-vi.jpg">
about 5 minutes from the Hotel. I returned the rental to the Europcar set up there and met the lady who would be going over our Itinerary for the day. She took us over to the bar and offered us a beverage, we both had water...with gas. After going over everything with us we were taken over to meet a gentleman named Chris who showed us what it means to take delivery at The Audi Forum.

The delivery area is set up to look like an airplane hanger for historic reasons.
<img src="http://images21.fotki.com/v517/photos/2/201040/4652133/DSC09552-vi.jpg">

Inside there are people waiting to hear their names called or see it on the big board, like an airport, so that they can be brought down to get an introduction on their new Audi.
<img src="http://images20.fotki.com/v360/photos/2/201040/4652133/DSC09242-vi.jpg">
There the cars are plugged in, so the battery doesn't die, and the cars are parked on quartz made pavement (I might have got the wrong translation here from Chris) which quiets the cars when being driven in and out of the "hanger". After there are done there they can get lunch on Audi, take a museum tour, or just get on the road. But, for us there was a lot more to see.

Next Chris took us over to the Audi Exclusive section.
<img src="http://images21.fotki.com/v516/photos/2/201040/4652133/DSC09270-vi.jpg">
I just don't know why we don't have this as an option in the US and seeing it in person made me more jealous then I've ever been about not having it. Chris told me of a camouflage car someone had ordered, too bad I couldn't see that one.

After that we were introduced to Andreas who was going to take us through the plant tour.
<img src="http://images21.fotki.com/v577/photos/2/201040/4652133/DSC09281-vi.jpg">
<b>we were at the middle one</b>
No pictures are allowed in the plant and the tour took around 1.5 hours. This was amazing to see. That day they were making A4 Avant bodies and completing A3's on the other side of the plant. We saw how an Audi goes from the first piece of sheet metal to the final product. Molding, welding, paint, engine, transmission, seats, etc. all the way to the first start of the engine. I even saw some cars going for a test drive. I asked why some cars have more miles on them then others and Andreas told me it's simply b/c some go for the test drive or some more testing and others do not. This was my favorite part of the day, other then the driving. I had a smile on my face the entire time and my wife was making fun of me all the way through.

After the plant tour was lunch then the Audi Museum tour
<img src="http://images21.fotki.com/v577/photos/2/201040/4652133/DSC09313-vi.jpg">
which was with Chris again. Chris knows a lot about Audi history and told me of his love for old American cars, which he collects. He told me he had a scary crash on the Autobahn in one of his old Mercury classics and credits the car, which had no seatbelts, for saving his life. At the museum Chris gave us a detailed history of the Audi brand with examples of cars dating back to 1903.

It is now 3:15pm and that boring stuff is over. On to the RS4 Avant they selected for me :-)
<img src="http://images21.fotki.com/v577/photos/2/201040/4652133/DSC09359-vi.jpg">
the car had the black optics package (I confirmed while there that the Titanium wheels are a separate option from the black optics as you can see from the car), ceramic brakes
<img src="http://images21.fotki.com/v517/photos/2/201040/4652133/DSC09360-vi.jpg">
Audi Exclusive interior
<img src="http://images21.fotki.com/v516/photos/2/201040/4652133/DSC09364-vi.jpg">
Dunlop Wintersport 3D's (winter time in Europe requires winter tires) and all the other standard European goodies. I was told not to stay at 270kph (168mph) for more then 30 minutes or the tire would explode, I didn't think that was going to be an issue.

Since I have this car at home I didn't really need an introduction and Audi had already programmed all of my destinations in (including a cell phone store that I requested when I arrived at the Forum). So, I popped in my SD cards and was on my way. The seats were amazing, and very comfortable, but were hard to get in and out of and I mean hard. The thigh support is rock hard and is are a little painful for everyday use. Still, I was talking my wife into getting them when we get home as we started our drive to the first destination.
<img src="http://images21.fotki.com/v578/photos/2/201040/4652133/DSC09375-vi.jpg">
I don't have my papers with me and therefore don't remember the names of the destinations, but hopefully the pictures are enough for now. There were a lot of "Twists and Turns on the roads to each destination and I had a lot of fun playing with the RS4 in another country and on roads where I didn't have to think about a possible pot hole coming out of now where.

While on my drive that day I saw my very first R8 in person and the only one I saw on my trip
<img src="http://images21.fotki.com/v578/photos/2/201040/4652133/DSC09385-vi.jpg">
as many have said pictures do not do this car <b> any</b> justice. I thought I would hate it in red, but loved it.

After a day of driving I filled the car with 100 RON (they told me 98 or higher only)
<img src="http://images21.fotki.com/v516/photos/2/201040/4652133/DSC09395-vi.jpg">
headed back to the hotel and got some rest for our next day drive to Switzerland.

We woke up really early and were on our way. I was looking forward to this drive (around 3 hours) b/c it would be my first drive on the Autobahn in the RS4 :-)
I took an Autobahn basically the entire way. While on it I hit a max speed of 280kph (174mph) for just a second, would hit 270kph (168mph) very often, but didn't stay there long taking the advice from Audi. For most of the Autobahn, where the law permits, I was at 220kph (143mph), with 5 minute runs between 240kph (149mph) and 250kph (155mph). So, even though I was told the car had was supposed to have a limit of 250kph, it did not.

Zurich was very nice
<img src="http://images21.fotki.com/v515/photos/2/201040/4652133/DSC09399-vi.jpg">
but I wanted to get on the road and head towards the Alps. So, I plotted a route, always choosing the longest least use of highways option, to a town I again don't remember the name of
<img src="http://images21.fotki.com/v577/photos/2/201040/4652133/DSC09421-vi.jpg">
The roads there were amazing and better then the roads Audi had picked out for the Twists and Turns package. During this part of the drive the seats started bothering my thighs a lot and I started having doubts about wanting them.

When I got to where the Nav was going, I realized I wasn't where I wanted to be, we wanted to be close to some mountains. So, I plotted a new route to a town in a Switzerland book my wife had with us that said it was between Mountains. I figured that can't be bad. I again took many twisty roads on my way, took a few shots when I filled up gas (again 100 RON)
<img src="http://images22.fotki.com/v518/photos/2/201040/4652133/DSC09427-vi.jpg">
and got to the town we were looking for.
<img src="http://images14.fotki.com/v388/photos/2/201040/4652133/DSC09439-vi.jpg">
We stopped for a while, got some chocolate and headed back to our hotel in Zurich. When I got back to the Hotel Mercure my thighs were very mad at me at me for sitting in those seats for so long, but I was still telling myself it wasn't that bad and how often will I be in the seats this long driving the way I did all day.

The next day it was off to the Black Forest
<img src="http://images21.fotki.com/v515/photos/2/201040/4652133/DSC09471-vi.jpg">
and some more fun roads and then back to Ingolstadt where I had to return the car by 5pm (really 6:30, but I had to get the rental before then). On my way back I encountered my first and only RS4 on the trip which was Sprint Blue
<img src="http://images20.fotki.com/v390/photos/2/201040/4652133/DSC09493-vi.jpg">
and had some fun with him hitting speeds above 250kph.

When I got back to the Audi Forum I had been on the road for over 6 hours and my wife and I decided we <b>DO NOT</b> want these seats. I was in more pain then she was, but this might all have to do with my size. I love them and they look amazing, but I would rather keep my airbags and money and spend it on something else.

It was then around 3:15 and there was another gentleman getting into his RS4 Avant which was in a very special grey color from Audi exclusive
<img src="http://images21.fotki.com/v577/photos/2/201040/4652133/DSC09498-vi.jpg">
sorry they didn't know the exact color, but it was a flat grey. It reminded me of a Oettinger B6 A4 photoshop I once saw. This car had everything mine did with one exception...no speed limiter. I didn't know I could request it, but this guy did. Audi told me the car could do 300kph (186mph) :-)

I then took an A6 taxi
<img src="http://images22.fotki.com/v519/photos/2/201040/4652133/DSC09615-vi.jpg">
to Europcar. Audi donates Audi's to the cab companies, they even have a W12 taxi. There I got into a A3 2.0 TDI
<img src="http://images21.fotki.com/v516/photos/2/201040/4652133/DSC09622-vi.jpg">
and drove back to Frankfurt for my flight the next morning.

That was the end of my journey, I took many pictures and all will be posted in this post broken into groups. I don't know why Audi won't bring the Avant here, it is so amazing looking I don't think they would have any problem selling them :-(

Some information that might interest you:

- Audi chooses the colors for the program based on how rare it is in to see on the road. Strage how black is one of those colors when it's #1 here.

- I don't know if Sprint Blue is the #1 sold color, but I was told it's the color seen the most there and the gentlemen who introduces the cars to you says it's his least favorite color.

- White is a huge hit in Europe right now, before when there was amber in the tail lights it wasn't liked, but now that they are all red more and more orders are white

- According to the person I was talking to, Audi will not stop making the Avant when the Q5 comes out.

- There are E-codes now. You can see in my pictures that the headlights have no amber. The amber piece we have is clear there. I was told it is part of the light package or something like that. I don't know if it will be worth the purchase price, but this way people won't have to open their headlights. They don't seem any btighter then the US headlights. The only difference for me was the clear instead of amber.

- The cermaic brakes were amazing. There was one moment when a truck jumped in front of us (in the left lane) out of no where when we were going 250kph. The brakes saved our lives and the car felt very safe and controllable even though it did have the rear movement others have talked about. I can't compare the stock brakes for this type of emergency stop b/c of the speeds we were traveling.I wasn't really hard on them, so for everyday use, they didn't feel much different then the stock RS4 brakes. Pedal feel was basically the same as well.

- And the best for last...I was told there is a racing RS4 that only had 2 seats and has 500 hp. I didn't get any more information on it b/c he didn't know anymore, but I hope someone here can find out more. He told me it was white and had flat black RS4 wheels.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot more, but I will try to post them as I remember them if they are important.

To see all the pics I didn't post in this post (S8's, Q7's, Audi Museum, Scenery, BBS Factory, etc.) and to get high res versions of all the pics <a href="http://public.fotki.com/kevin3577/misc/2007/0702160224veniceger/">Click Here</a>

To set up a trip like this for yourself go to:
<a href="http://www.museummobile.de/ingolstadt/english/07_tourismus/index.php">http://www.museummobile.de/ingolstadt/english/07_tourismus/index.php</a>

There will be a R8 track package starting in August.
Old 02-26-2007, 03:27 PM
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Old 02-26-2007, 03:28 PM
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Old 02-26-2007, 03:29 PM
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Old 02-26-2007, 03:31 PM
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Old 02-26-2007, 03:31 PM
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Quick Reply: I'm back from Germany (very very long)...



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