Would I buy one? It's a question I ask myself whenever I slide behind the wheel of a car. Would I drop my hard earned money on one of these? Would I want to own it? Drive it for years? Look at it in my driveway? Tell people it's mine?
It's also the question you the reader ask me the most. So I've decided to go through all the cars we now have in our fleet and decide whether or not I would buy one. I also included a few recently departed vehicles. Seems appropriate since they just left us.
Thanks to teapot for this week's favorite caption.
You're always inspired by pictures of the Audi R8. There were a lot of great entries this week. Here are some other goodies:
Gee I can see Russia from my car (toye) Great, thanks guys. Don't you know that cameras add 10 pounds? (threem) You will be assimilated, resistance is futile. (mike63amg) That's the last time I leave my car with Q for the weekend. (wshuff) Audi Park Assist beta (texases) This is NOT what i had in mind when you told me the cameras would be on me all day! (e10rice) In Soviet Russia, car takes picture of YOU (zoomzoom97) I said I wanted CANNONS, not CANONS! (gooney911) You lookn' at me?!? (cts24) So fast the rearview cameras have to face forward. (mnorm1)
It may have left our garage but it will never escape our hearts. A bit melodramatic, I admit. Good thing this is online so you don't see the tear-stained pages of my notebook.
As we say a final goodbye to our beloved Audi R8, I thought I'd take the opportunity to use it in one more caption contest.
I suggest "Quit looking at me."
What is your caption? We'll post our favorite at 4PM.
I get this question almost daily from somebody, and my answer usually blows their mind. I say, "Well, everyday this guy Mike walks up to me with a clipboard that contains a list of 15 to 30 cars ranging from a Smart to a GT-R and he says, 'Scott, what do you want to drive home tonight.'"
In the past couple of weeks we've had a lot of turnover in our long-term fleet. Some cars have gone bye-bye and we've gotten a couple of newbies. I thought you'd want an update.
Gone are the BMW X5, Audi R8 and Dodge Grand Caravan. There will be no more blogs on these cars, but look for an in depth wrap-up on each in the next few weeks, just like the one we published on our Mercedes C300 today. All three are already missed. The X5 and R8 were staff favorites, and the minivan proved to be great at moving people and things, even if we didn't always shower it with praise.
I had a really hard time choosing this week. But in the end, Deputy Caroline help me pick this one.
Thanks to vacagrande for this week's favorite.
Here are the others that almost made it:
I bet the GT-R never had to do this! (e10rice) Behold: Edmunds new 10-year wear-and-tear simulator. (drinkduff77) Midget pit crew gets into their work. (mnorm1) See, honey, it is a family car--I can get all of the kids in. (vwthing1) Audi called; they want their R8 back (redliner) R8 is Enough (ergsum) Feed me, Seymour! (Franchitti27)
Our photogenic Audi R8 lends itself to many caption contest situations.
This pic was taken at career day at a local school. Brian Moody made a presentation about being an automotive journalist.
He also came up with this caption: "Meet the Inside Line staff." Bryn offered up: "What the frunk? Where did all of these kids come from?" I give you: "Kid tested, Editor approved"
I know you can do better.
Disclaimer: No children were harmed in the making of this caption contest, although they were forced to wear funny costumes.
I rolled in the R8 this weekend for the first time in a while. I have, though, have been fortunate to spend some time in the GT-R. Let's compare a few items:
1. Although both are AWD, the R8 has a rear-drive feeling. The handling is light and neutral, while in the R35, you can feel the front wheels clawing away, following nearly every rain-groove in the pavement. On the R35, it's not a heavy steering feeling, but you can definitely feel the fronts contributing to forward progress.
2. On the R8, it's easy to light up the rear tires: they'll break free and spin a decent bit just by mashing the A-pedal. Yes, you can get some rear tire spin on the R35, but it will be less than on the R8, before the VDM kills it.
3. Transmissions: the R35 dual-clutch is amazingly good: a monkey can shift it positively and quickly. And I never longed for a manual. The only good thing about the R8's 6-speed R-tronic auto-shifted-manual mess is that it doesn't make crunching noises as on the R35. It's also hard for the R8 driver to control the severe back and forth pitching in the lower gears. Annoying.
I've never driven an R8 with a manual transmission, but it must be really nice, as the R-tronic (and some reliability issues) is the only major shortcoming on this beautiful and great-to-drive car. Well, that and the $120K price tag.
Albert Austria, Sr Vehicle Evaluation Engineer @ 29,151 miles
[Photo by Scott Jacobs: This was awarded the cover of the 2009 Motor Press Guild Media Guide.]
Logistical issues forced the wife into the Audi R8's driver seat over the weekend (she had to go somewhere alone, and I had to go somewhere with the kids). A quick rundown of the car's basic quirks ("Push the shifter toward 'A' to be in fully automatic mode. Watch the low front-end's ground clearance. Don't be freaked out by people taking cell phone photos." etc.) took about five minutes; then she was off.
This week's textcast gets to the heart of the recent 135i vs. M3 brouhaha. Eventually. We promise. Click on the photos to enlarge.
(1:58:52 PM) Sadlier: Legacy GT: best car subaru makes. and quite possibly the best-handling family sedan, period. despite body roll and gooey steering. tell me why i'm wrong (2:07:14 PM) Magrath: I'll agree that it's the best car they make now that the Forester has jumped the shark. (2:08:07 PM) Magrath: As for the rest of your nonsense, self-contradictory nonsense....well, it's just not right. (2:09:07 PM) Sadlier: seriously, all that suspension needs is some firming-up. it feels like they started with a sport sedan and dumbed it down for americans (2:09:41 PM) Magrath: ...some firming up and some being better at being AWD. (2:09:45 PM) Sadlier: how so? (2:10:31 PM) Magrath: It doesn't rotate off throttle. It plows or oversteers. There's no middle ground that a good AWD setup can usually find. It was one of those things that I was glad was verified by the test data because I just thought I was bad at driving it. (2:11:43 PM) Sadlier: well, i definitely tossed it around with more abandon than any previous family sedan. you know what it reminded me of -- a softer and less sharp but more entertaining A4 (2:20:55 PM) Magrath: More entertaining = less stable? You're quickly falling down the hole of "less confidence means more fun!" (2:21:30 PM) Sadlier: that's my motto. the less confidence the better (2:21:34 PM) Magrath: Soon you'll have a '65 mustang with one seat, no carpeting, bias-ply tires and no seatbelts. (2:21:47 PM) Sadlier: now that sounds entertaining
Thanks to wshuff for giving us our favorite caption.
So many great entries this week. We even got some poetry.
These Insiders also get gold stars:
And on the eighth day, God created the supercar. (Murtman) Audi R8. Now available with exclusive 'Nikola Tesla anti-theft system (johnnyr3) Bolts off the line. (ddoouugg) The Audi R8. The official vehicle of Benjamin Franklin (redliner) Plug in? Plug in? We don't need no stinkin plug in (mnorm1) I sing the Audi Electric (funkymunky) Audi R8, because they haven't build a DeLorean since 82' (tcd223)
Note: No human organs were harmed in the making of this textcast, which actually happened yesterday, verbatim, over IM. A preemptive answer to the inevitable question -- yes, Magrath hails from a family of carnies, so he would know.
3:26 PM Sadlier: So how's the reprogrammed GT-R? Magrath: VDC allows less wheelspin now and it smacks you down more, but it's smoother, easier to launch and faster. Sadlier: Interesting 3:28 PM Magrath: There's no thought anymore...just floor both pedals and then release the brake...it's great. So little drama now. 3:29 PM Sadlier: Sounds like PDK. What's the procedure with the settings, same as before? 3:34 PM Magrath: Nope. Leave everything in A. Sadlier: Neat 3:43 PM Magrath: So there's no more screwing around with electrics...just brake torque the car when the other light turns yellow and it hangs at 3K until you're ready to drop the hammer. 3:44 PM Sadlier: Like PDK, except you have to hit the "sport plus" button 3:53 PM Magrath: Yep...and Nissan's paddles work the correct way (if you use 'em) Sadlier: Sure do 3:54 PM Magrath: ...trying hard not to start Porsche bashing... 3:56 PM Sadlier: Oh come on, those buttons are a heritage feature, celebrating the historic achievements of Tiptronic. 3:57 PM Magrath: Maybe it's an intentional move by Porsche to piss off real drivers so that they will continue buying the manual so they can continue building manuals. 3:58 PM Sadlier: Yeah, might be the only way they could hit their claimed target of 50/50 sales. Sadlier: Otherwise I can't imagine more than, I dunno, 25% of Americans would eschew PDK for a stick. 4:01 PM Magrath: If it worked right from a human interface perspective I'd be buying a PDK...and I guess installing it in something I like Sadlier: ...such as the R8. Which, good lord willing, will have PDK before too long. 4:06 PM Magrath: I'm over the R8. More clutches can't help it now. 4:07 PM Sadlier: Ha, you're over it? I actually developed a crush on it today. I think you once told me that the R8's motor should be in every car; whether you said that or not, I agree. 4:08 PM Magrath: I did. Magrath: But the car I'm over. Read my post where I called it desperate, and for the desperate. I still feel that way. Sadlier: Yeah I remember that one Sadlier: What I like about the R8 is that behind the slightly desperate look-at-me styling, it's a bitchin' car. Driving it makes me forget about the styling. 4:11 PM Magrath: But keep this in mind: You always have to get in and out. It doesn't even have a t-top that would allow the super-rich but still not desperate to install a complex slide system by which they are injected via lightless tube directly into the cockpit. Sadlier: An excellent point. Sadlier: Should have been a "con" in my R8 model review.
Scott didn't believe me when I told him there was a version of the movie where Jason ends up in outer space. But I swear there was and it was called Jason X. Pure genius.
Anyway, I thought this photo of the R8 was sufficiently ominous to celebrate this day.
While we skip out to see the remake, give us your witty caption.
