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      07-13-2019, 07:10 PM   #45
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Originally Posted by solstice View Post
While I agree that this seems to be the VAG marching orders for the SUVs it’s not all that black and white.

The Audi R8 V10 and Audi’s RS models are quite competent cars that can match some Porsches. Lamborghini is another story, the top Audi will never reach the low end Lambo...
Great cars, but R8s are history - the field is Lambo's. VAG is electrifying its lineup full speed ahead; the future remains to be seen...
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      07-13-2019, 07:18 PM   #46
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Great cars, but R8s are history - the field is Lambo's. VAG is electrifying its lineup full speed ahead; the future remains to be seen...
Maybe soon but not yet. The R8 V10 still has a well defined ($100k) gap to the Huracan and is alive and well as a 2020 model.

I went past Audi today since I’ve not taken a closer look at the Q8, it confirmed my at a glance impressions that it looks great. I don’t see it as a coupe though competing with the X6 but as competitor to the X5 and the regular Cayenne. I think it looks better than both of those. The Cayenne looks by far the worst exterior wise but it has the best interior IMO. I was not interested in the Q8 since I have been disappointed with every Audi I test driven the last 20 years but I like the look and dimensions enough of the Q8 to include it in my search for our next SUV.

Last edited by solstice; 07-13-2019 at 07:30 PM..
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      07-13-2019, 07:51 PM   #47
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Maybe soon but not yet. The R8 V10 still has a well defined ($100k) gap to the Huracan and is alive and well as a 2020 model.

I went past Audi today since I’ve not taken a closer look at the Q8, it confirmed my at a glance impressions that it looks great. I don’t see it as a coupe though competing with the X6 but as competitor to the X5 and the regular Cayenne. I think it looks better than both of those. The Cayenne looks by far the worst exterior wise but it has the best interior IMO. I was not interested in the Q8 since I have been disappointed with every Audi I test driven the last 20 years but I like the look and dimensions enough of the Q8 to include it in my search for our next SUV.
It's alive and well as a 2020 model, but that's the last year. At least according to the Audi reps I had dinner with in Ingolstadt last month after driving one several hundred kilometers. And probably any other large fossil fuel engine in their lineup within the next decade or two. That's the current vision, which, of course, can change....
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      07-13-2019, 08:53 PM   #48
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It's alive and well as a 2020 model, but that's the last year. At least according to the Audi reps I had dinner with in Ingolstadt last month after driving one several hundred kilometers. And probably any other large fossil fuel engine in their lineup within the next decade or two. That's the current vision, which, of course, can change....
Ah, didn’t know that. That’s a pity.
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      07-13-2019, 09:06 PM   #49
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Ah, didn’t know that. That’s a pity.
Agree - it's a fantastic beast of a car, especially at that price point. Drove a v10 Plus Spyder - naturally aspirated 620 bhp, 0-60 in 3 seconds and change - from Munich to Lake Garda near Verona and back. WAY more comfortable than a Huracan (with a better radio ), but corporate Audi is headed in another diirection.
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      07-13-2019, 09:19 PM   #50
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Agree - it's a fantastic beast of a car, especially at that price point. Drove a v10 Plus Spyder - naturally aspirated 620 bhp, 0-60 in 3 seconds and change - from Munich to Lake Garda near Verona and back. WAY more comfortable than a Huracan (with a better radio ), but corporate Audi is headed in another diirection.
Ok, now I’m jealous. That’s my opening leg on pretty much every euro delivery. No factory tour etc. just give me the keys so I can head south into Italy ( After filling up the trunk with Ayinger ). The drive to and little towns around Lake Garda are magical, I can imagine it now in an open car with a 620hp NA V10
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      07-13-2019, 09:52 PM   #51
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Ok, now I’m jealous. That’s my opening leg on pretty much every euro delivery. No factory tour etc. just give me the keys so I can head south into Italy ( After filling up the trunk with Ayinger ). The drive to and little towns around Lake Garda are magical, I can imagine it now in an open car with a 620hp NA V10
Bring back memories?
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      07-13-2019, 09:58 PM   #52
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Ok, now I’m jealous. That’s my opening leg on pretty much every euro delivery. No factory tour etc. just give me the keys so I can head south into Italy ( After filling up the trunk with Ayinger ). The drive to and little towns around Lake Garda are magical, I can imagine it now in an open car with a 620hp NA V10
Was great! I may be permanently deaf from driving through the tunnels throttle up and top down! A little tough pushing the Spyder through some of the vineyard roads and little back alleys, but no paint lost - beautiful part of Italy. We actually lived in Germany back in the '90s, and have the fondest memories tooling down the Autobahn in a German spec M5; probably my favorite car. Just car - straight shift, no tech, RWD - you had to drive it! Life was good!
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      07-13-2019, 10:06 PM   #53
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Bring back memories?
Yep.












Last edited by Paladin1; 07-13-2019 at 10:13 PM..
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      07-13-2019, 10:39 PM   #54
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Nice pix guys! Now I really can’t wait for the G82 release to get back over there! ( If it takes too long I might just have to make the drive from Stuttgart instead of Munich )
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      07-14-2019, 08:03 AM   #55
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Yep.
Just beautiful! Where in Germany did you live? That was before they changed to the Euro which I thought was the better time to be there...more authentic and less influenced by non German countries, which could be said about any of the western European countries. We have a couple friends who live in northern Italy, one on Lake Garda, the other near the Prosecco region in Aviano. Love staying with them.
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      07-14-2019, 08:06 AM   #56
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Nice pix guys! Now I really can’t wait for the G82 release to get back over there! ( If it takes too long I might just have to make the drive from Stuttgart instead of Munich )
Yeah, for us US based owners, the only downer of buying an X car is we don't get to do a Euro delivery
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      07-14-2019, 09:54 AM   #57
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Just beautiful! Where in Germany did you live? That was before they changed to the Euro which I thought was the better time to be there...more authentic and less influenced by non German countries, which could be said about any of the western European countries. We have a couple friends who live in northern Italy, one on Lake Garda, the other near the Prosecco region in Aviano. Love staying with them.
We lived in a little village called Kirchberg, in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis district (sort of West-Central Germany). Town square (stock photo, but our house was just a couple of blocks down from this):



Sometime we would eat in the NEW restaurant, which was built in the 1700s! Lots of Roman ruins all over, and even some sections of Roman road and mileposts - a beautiful part of the country, and still have lifelong friends there and were part of the community. You could take the B-50 bypass and be in wine country in 30 minutes - Rhine or Mosel, your choice! Were there when the Wall came down so an incredible time to be a part of history. Before that lived in Northern Spain, so did get a chance to soak up some Mediterranean sunshine for a few years too before heading to the mountains of the Rhineland-Palatinate. Wife's father was Sicilian, with relatives on the mainland, so visited Italy quite a bit and loved the Dolomites!

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      07-14-2019, 10:33 AM   #58
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We lived in a little village called Kirchberg, in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis district (sort of West-Central Germany). Town square (stock photo, but our house was just a couple of blocks down from this):

Sometime we would eat in the NEW restaurant, which was built in the 1700s! Lots of Roman ruins all over, and even some sections of Roman road and mileposts - a beautiful part of the country, and still have lifelong friends there and were part of the community. You could take the B-50 bypass and be in wine country in 30 minutes - Rhine or Mosel, your choice! Were there when the Wall came down so an incredible time to be a part of history. Before that lived in Northern Spain, so did get a chance to soak up some Mediterranean sunshine for a few years too before heading to the mountains of the Rhineland-Palatinate. Wife's father was Sicilian, with relatives on the mainland, so visited Italy quite a bit and loved the Dolomites!
I know where Kirchberg is, I've driven through it. When we first started visiting, we'd fly into Frankfurt, get a car and head to Koblenz. Then drive down the Mosel, visiting a friend in Buch and admiring the scenic route and would normally stop to eat in Cochem before continuing south to our final town of Schaidt (tiny little town where one of our good friends live). Most of our time with our friends was spent in the Pfalz wine region since he lives there and of course we had to pop in to Wissemburg France each day for our chocolate eclair and espresso. Tough life, eh? Even though our friend was a staunch Mercedes guy, we got along quite well. Been there probably 20 times.

Love the country side and culture, the old roman roads are challenging enough when completely sober! Haven't been to Sicily yet, fathers family is from the boot area, Apulia, Province of Taranto and would like to get there to visit.
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      07-14-2019, 11:26 AM   #59
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Originally Posted by Marty in Bgm View Post
I know where Kirchberg is, I've driven through it. When we first started visiting, we'd fly into Frankfurt, get a car and head to Koblenz. Then drive down the Mosel, visiting a friend in Buch and admiring the scenic route and would normally stop to eat in Cochem before continuing south to our final town of Schaidt (tiny little town where one of our good friends live). Most of our time with our friends was spent in the Pfalz wine region since he lives there and of course we had to pop in to Wissemburg France each day for our chocolate eclair and espresso. Tough life, eh? Even though our friend was a staunch Mercedes guy, we got along quite well. Been there probably 20 times.

Love the country side and culture, the old roman roads are challenging enough when completely sober! Haven't been to Sicily yet, fathers family is from the boot area, Apulia, Province of Taranto and would like to get there to visit.
Great memories! Back to BMW as a topic, the worst problem we had was getting the M out of the neighborhood in the winter - that region is famous for some of the worst weather in Central Europe - freezing fog and ice - and maneuvering the M with 310 hp and all the weight in the front, with all the drive in the back, was a distinct challenge. First gear was not your friend. AWD became a must after that - if you haven't driven on cobblestones before, think of your local ice rink, and imagine pouring oil on it. On the topic of the thread, I found Quattro and xDrive to be pretty equivalent, at least in my Q7 and X5d. The real advantage to the Q was being able to hike up her skirts in the snow, so you could at least avoid pushing a glacier with the skidplate. Wouldn't be without an air suspension for that reason in a utility vehicle, and I would guess the Q8 and new X5 perform pretty much the same so equipped, though haven't driven either in a Midwest blizzard.

Last edited by Paladin1; 07-14-2019 at 11:51 AM..
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      08-09-2019, 09:24 PM   #60
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I drove a Q8 yesterday. I expected to find it utterly disappointing as most other Audi’s but I really like the exterior look/design so I felt I needed to drive it.

To my surprise it actually isn’t that bad, body roll is minimal and the engine feels rather lively. The MMI is quite impressive and the biggest surprise is that the steering isn’t total sh*t, it’s acceptable and no worse than most BMWs. I guess it’s a mix of BMW having caught up to Audi’s numbness and Audi having added at least some precision and weight to it. Negatives is that it drives a lot bigger than our Cayenne and other than the tech. it doesn’t feel like much of an upgrade but also not a major downgrade.

So as the OP I’m keeping the Q8 on my list which was a surprise. However It’s not good enough to make me want to hurry into it either.
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