The Audi R8 is the world's most approachable supercar. People just seem to like it. This is equally true of the R8 5.2 (V10) with its shinier trim and wider air intakes as it was of the V8 model.
Based on our scientific research, which consisted of talking to people when we stopped at gas stations or dropped by Denny's for a "Hooburrito," conceived of by the band Hoobastank (we're not kidding). The owner of the R8 is not presumed to be a guy who uses cologne as a weapon of mass destruction. He is less likely to be considered insufferable than owners of other supercars.
This is not to say that the car (or its drivers) received universal praise and adoration. One woman at the Bodega Bay gas station pictured above put the bummer on us when we overheard her say, and we quote: "The black panel is waird. It's tryin' to look like a Porsh."
Indeed. Anyway, we decided for no real reason to drive north out of San Francisco along the foggy coast on Highway 1. Why that direction? Well, we hadn't driven there before. And the promise of lighter traffic than the more famous Carmel/Big Sur coastline to the South was largely fulfilled.
bbechtel16 says:
10:26 AM, 09/ 1/09
I know little about your roads out there, but I can say I had a blast on Route 1 North of San Francisco, on a Saturday even, in an automatic Mini Cooper!
waevox says:
10:37 AM, 09/ 1/09
If you make it north enough to Stewarts Point, cut east on Skaggs Springs road.
You will not regret it. =)
tryan says:
10:38 AM, 09/ 1/09
I suppose we were to infer (or assume since, after all, it IS Cali) that "Waird" is spoken with a valley-girl inflection? =)
sabastian says:
11:52 AM, 09/ 1/09
Was she talking about the side blades? How do they make it look like a "Porsh?"
bimmerjay says:
12:41 PM, 09/ 1/09
"I suppose we were to infer (or assume since, after all, it IS Cali) that "Waird" is spoken with a valley-girl inflection? =)"
I would assume that to be a country-bumpkin' accent, considering that Bodega Bay is in the middle of nowhere, and almost 500 miles from LA.
estreka says:
07:55 AM, 09/ 2/09
You've never been up HWY 1!? I'm a Texan and I've driven HWY 1. Btw, it's a fantastic drive from the Oregon state line down to Eureka.
danielpund says:
11:04 AM, 09/ 2/09
Bimmerjay and Tryan,
And the award goes to...Bimmerjay. The line was delivered with something much, much closer to a country-bumpkin' accent than that of a valley girl. I cannot say, however, that the woman in question lived in or near Bodega Bay. She could have been a tourist. We didn't stop to engage her in conversation.
estreka,
I typically hold down the fort in Detroit. So I'm not all that close to HWY 1. I have done the SF-to-LA segment many, many times. The section north of San Fran though, was new to me. While its scenery was a bit less spectacular than the more famous southern section, it was also much more lightly trafficked -- well, except for the occasional rolling Toyota Tundra. Nice road, though.
Dan Pund
civilag says:
01:56 PM, 09/ 4/09
"The black panel is waird. It's tryin' to look like a Porsh."
Omg, that was funny. Are you sure you weren't in East Texas? lol