Too Many Cars Are Too Fast

[Seldomski]

IMO that is a clever sales tactic that plays well in that part of the country. Play the car as forbidden fruit and that "The Man" can't take away your rights to own it! He's a sales rep, trying to elicit a response and boost interest.

Remember, just because the car can go 130+ MPH, it doesn't mean it *has to* go 130 MPH. An RS6, I imagine, is a great place to spend time no matter the speed.

130 MPH should be a joke for the RS6. Well, as long as it's a straight line... 5000 lbs plus groceries.

 

[slowrider]

You may feel perfectly safe drifting a 110 mph sweeper when you can see around it and there's nobody else to be seen on the road, and you could very well be right (depending on your driving experience and skill), but the police will see that as dangerous driving, guaranteed.

Not only the Police but that bolt, wrench, oil slick waiting for you. Public roads and the uncertain environment are a open invitation for a wreck.

 

[Muleski]

That Audi dealership in Glenwood {they also own the VW store} has failed to impress me, and family on three occasions. I’m not surprised by the odd comment about the RS6 Avant.

We were out visiting family about 5 years ago. My niece’s now husband had sold their C5 Allroad, which he had methodically rebuilt. 6 speed, bigger twin turbo’s, gutted of the stupid air suspension. It was pretty quick, and essentially her car.

I watched this sales guy come off as a complete ass talking himself out of even getting going on the sale of a CPO A4 Allroad. My brother even knew the former owner of the car! “Yep, this car really flies. Not sure it’s right for you!” Huh?

My niece bought a new one in Denver that week! Same thing with my sister in law. Who is very happy with a Denver purchased SQ5. They did nothing but try to talk her out of one on Glenwood. No, no, she did not want a TDI !!

Our daughter wanted to buy an Alltrack. NEEDED a car. They had the color, and trim on the lot. She felt that they were just awful. Called me and said “These people can’t suck enough!” Drove to Denver the next day, made a fair deal, bought the car.

Pretty odd. As far as the RS6, I know that car spends a lot of time at 30-45 mph with my brother. Most of it’s time as in these times, they aren’t going anywhere.

He did have to go to Northern VT a few weeks ago, and timed his drive so that he “could air it out.” He did bitch about a lot of the roads, though. Not the fault of the car.
Very comfy cockpit.

I don’t sense that he thinks it’s too much car, will be underused, blah-blah. I can tell that he loves it just sitting still. Great looking car. Guess it should be for the price.

As I had earlier posted, it’s clearly designed for Europe. Doesn’t mean it can’t be great here. Does the pedal need to be right to the metal? Nope. Once in a while? Sure.

 

[Seldomski]

@Muleski Have a female friend with a similar experience - she knew exactly what she wanted, but the dealership made assumptions based on gender. The experience was so bad that her next car was a Tesla in large part to avoid dealing with sexist car salesmen.

 

[anders_nor]

rs6 is wagon is super popular for skiiing and the mountains here

 

[slowrider]

@Muleski Have a female friend with a similar experience - she knew exactly what she wanted, but the dealership made assumptions based on gender. The experience was so bad that her next car was a Tesla in large part to avoid dealing with sexist car salesmen.

Drove auto transport for a few years, mostly German cars. Those car salespersons . They'd circle the truck like sharks. If you cannot wait for the unit to hit the pavement, back it off yourself. No takers. Except this 1 guy. He grew upon on a Ranch.

 

[François Pugh]

How about cars that should be fast, but are driven slow? Stuck behind a 911 GT3 that could never find north of ~25 MPH on roads with 30 MPH posted limit and sightlines to support 32-35 MPH.

Many years ago, when I was much younger and much much more reckless, I drove this twisty road between Kingston and Perth Ontario twice a day, 5 days a week for about 10 months. I got very familiar with it. I did not have a sports car by any means I had an '83 or '84 Caprice wagon (no fake wood however so not family truckster). It did have Pirelli P7s though (not to shabby in the dry - deadly in the rain). I looked forward to the drive, and seeing how much faster and smoother I could take the corners.

One day coming to my favorite stretch of twisties, I got behind a slow moving vehicle - some sort of porsche. He was taking 30 mph (recommended speed (yellow signs)) corners at 30 mph! Corners I was looking forward to see If I could do 75 mph without getting too out of shape or messing up the exit line. There were not a lot of spots to pass, and he would speed up just enough to dissuade me from passing on those rare straight bits. There's no way I could out-accelerate him or out brake him if it came to a race to the next corner. But I knew the road. I hung back about a mile (estimating his speed) then floored it so that I caught up to him at the one (somewhat dubious) spot to pass. I flew by him at 120 mph, braked just in time to go around the next corner at about 100 mph flat sideways.

Right after that I noticed that my gas gage was reading about 1/16th of a tank BELOW empty. I drove the rest of the way to Perth at 45 mph. The Porsche driver seemed to be really pissed off.

Sorry about that.

 

[Alexzn]

RS6 is a fabulous car, perhaps the pinnacle of conventional car engineering. 0-60 at 3.2 seconds, and still practical for a ski trip or a road trip. Wow. But it’s $120K, if I’m not mistaken, so that performance cots a lot of coin. Which brings me still back to electrics, sorry. A model 3 performance version goes 0-60 at 3.2s, costs $50K, less than half o the Audi, and has all wheel drive. The more expensive Tesla’s are even faster. The same $120K buys you a ModelS plaid that is 2s and has beaten every racetrack gas car it has raced so far. And the numbers don’t tell the whole story, as in an electric the maximum torque comes at zero speed, so right off the bat and with truly zero delay. When a basic family hauler (and Tesla 3 and Y are just that, “cheap“ cars made to a price point) can run with exotic sports cars, it is time to pay attention. The equation has changed. A shift to BEVs will make every car on the road significantly faster and it’s time to pay attention. We can debate the merits of this gas-powered car vs that, but we are missing the point. The world is shifting to a technology that is superior. And if you think that cars have gotten too fast, wait a few years.

 

[James]

We can debate the merits of this gas-powered car vs that, but we are missing the point. The world is shifting to a technology that is superior.

Not really. Whole point of thread.

 

[Alexzn]

Not really. Whole point of thread.

Want to bet?

 

[DanoT]

Once there are a high percentage of very fast EVs on the road the power will be restricted from the factory. Tesla likely can do it remotely.

 

[Muleski]

Going back to the dark ages and the AC Cobra/Shelby discussion. As mentioned, my dad had a 427 for quite a while, and it was in many respects pretty scary, in others awesome. I think he loved the look, and the sound. On a track, he did not like a lot about it. He got smoked by so many other cars. Frame and suspension, not great. His lap times were beaten soundly by 19 year old me in his older Trumph! And really smoked by his own in the little car. But in the straights….wow. The thing was so fast…and it has great brakes. I think it was built for the straight line.

I think it did 0-100-0 in about 15 seconds.

He also always complained that Carroll Shelby was a cheap SOB, and took a lot of shortcuts in the build.

What is interesting these days is just how great some of the Cobra replicars are. These are not new. Been around for years. One of the best is evidently Superperformance. Built in South Africa, and exceptionally well built. As I recall you can spec a lot of drivetrain options. And….so much of the cars are just better. They drive much better. Hands down.

Now they are not a vintage AC/Shelby, so they sell for a fraction of the money. They are not going to appreciate like that. But…they look great, drive great, sound great. Safer, as well, I believe. In terms of utility…hard to beat.

I have no idea what a used one sells for. Has to be under $100K. Maybe it’s more like $50K?

Nostalgia is a great thing. We often remember these older cars as being so much better than they actually were. I remember when my uncle took an early, maybe 1968? Z/28 in a trade. He was a dealer. And showed up at our house with dealer plates on it. I was in college. My memory is that it was amazing. Incredible. Eye popping.

Fast forward 35 years, and a local car guy has one that he’s acquired, for sale. I could not resist looking and driving. It was very cool in a nostalgic way. Still looked great. But it felt like it was built like crap. And as I drove away in my Audi Avant, I realized that it was a much better driver…in every way. Let alone the materials and build quality. And it was 16 years old with 200K miles!

I bet that the right AC Cobra replicar would be great. than the real deal. Still an awful lot of money, for sure. Not in my wheelhouse!

Replicars are a whole different topic. Covers a wide horizon, for sure.

Back to Tesla programming…….

 

[cantunamunch]

Once there are a high percentage of very fast EVs on the road the power will be restricted from the factory. Tesla likely can do it remotely.

True, but it will be across the board - on fossil fueled vehicles also.

. And as I drove away in my Audi Avant, I realized that it was a much better driver…in every way. Let alone the materials and build quality. And it was 16 years old with 200K miles!

Even with the replicars I have like a 2-3 hour satiation threshold. Simply don't want to be in one longer than that. And, echoing myself from further upthread, low driver stress for 6-8-10-12 hours is the new performance frontier. Which is where the Audi comes in.

I make no claim to being original in this thinking - Clarkson explicitly stated this in comparing the Bentley Continental to Ford's GT40, the Bentley being the miles better car.

 

[François Pugh]

I'm thinking, given a choice I would rather drive a replicar with better suspension and a non-wallowy frame, even though that might take a lot of the challenge out of driving it fast. Compensating for tire slope, too soft suspension give, improper high/low speed rebound damping, twisting frame, etc. ain't easy.

 

[Ogg]

I used to have an infatuation with AC Cobras and in particular upgraded replicas but at this point I think a properly sorted LSX swapped Miata would be a far better bang for the buck. It wouldn't get nearly the attention but, IMO, that's plus for a fast street car.

 

[James]

Want to bet?

Bet on what?
Just because you personally think they are “technologically superior”, does not mean others think that. We could easily argue they’re technologically inferior.
They’re faster, so what? Could care less.

 

[Alexzn]

Bet on what?
Just because you personally think they are “technologically superior”, does not mean others think that. We could easily argue they’re technologically inferior.
They’re faster, so what? Could care less.

@James Have you ever driven an electric car? Honest question.

 

[Alexzn]

Once there are a high percentage of very fast EVs on the road the power will be restricted from the factory. Tesla likely can do it remotely.

Right. Just like when the early automobiles had their top speed restricted to match the speed of horses... .

 

[François Pugh]

Once there are a high percentage of very fast EVs on the road the power will be restricted from the factory. Tesla likely can do it remotely.

Sure they will. Just like they do with large displacement motorcycles. But there will be a work around, just like there is with motorcycles. Although I don't think many folk will really want to go faster anyway.

 

[cantunamunch]