…not under its own power; but on a flatbed!
I’d like to think it was being simply transported somewhere, but I have a sneaking suspicion it was simply broken. It still looked quite fast though…..even though it had an obligatory cheesy supercar license plate.
I was bumbling along in my rental Civic (yes i am still driving rental cars while the A3 gets fixed), and spotted these 2! Nice combination to see together being transported on trailers for what seems to be a track day exercise—not too common of a sighting in Queens, NYC.
Porsche 911 Targa and Porsche 911 GT3
I do love living in NYC, particularly in Brooklyn! NYC has both stayed the same and changed so much over the last 30-50 years. It is quite enjoyable listening to city old-timers tell their version of how NYC was in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Seeing photos is also great. Here are 2 fantastic photos taken by Wil Blanche in 1973 of cars entering the Manhattan side of the Battery Tunnel towards Brooklyn as part of the Documerica project. Can you recognize all the iron in these pics? I get a good number of them….but a couple here and there which are just guesses!
As much as things change—-looking at these photos remind me of my experiences driving here every day. So i guess not everything changes that much!
src: hemmings
i love these. i almost never see these. i drive about 3 hours a day— and today i saw a Peugeot 505.
My mate over at Automobiliac has revived a great idea; a race through central park! There isn’t a time that goes by where I don’t imagine race cars pounding through the streets of NYC. Although I must admit that part of my racing fantasy involves the Williamsburg Bridge, FDR, and then pounding through central park. A bit over the top—-yes…….but hey!
As per Automobiliac’s article, I found this most interesting!
“I’m obviously not the first to fantasize about this race through the park. Back in 1965, race promoter Alec Ulmann, of Sebring 12 Hours fame, proposed the very same idea in Automobile Quarterly (Vol. 4, No. 1). He felt that New York should have a Monaco-style Grand Prix right in its heart, and reserved harsh words for the all-powerful Parks Commisioner Robert Moses for scuppering his plans, as well as multiple previous attempts in the 1950’s to run exactly such a race.”
Read the full article and some ideas here: Automobiliac
Today, we finally got a tiny little snow storm……..not really enough to get truly excited about—-but still good fun to do circles in Brooklyn!! A3 + quattro + snow tires = pretty much unstoppable great fun.
a couple of weeks ago on a beautiful saturday, we got our first snowfall of this winter! in October (!?). Needless to say it was a beautiful day, and I played around with the TT all day through all sorts of weird streets, empty parking lots, and running errands for my wife who basically thinks i’m crazy for wanting to drive in the snow all day long.
For the first time ever, i will be putting dedicated snow tires on the A3 this year—mainly because I drive over 100 miles a day now for my job. Once I get the snows on that, there will be plenty of photos this winter.
WINTER IS BACK! oh how i’ve missed you…
my 2012 Audi A3 quattro...parked in Brooklyn. It’s so cool to own a 2012 car in 2011!
With each passing day, I love the A3 even more…..what a wonderful car it is in every way!
(photo from WSJ of proposed location of track)
(thanks to Stampchez [qw] for the tip!)
Being a NYC resident, i’m hugely excited by this article. We have heard this all before, as a couple of years ago there was some buzz about F1 coming to Liberty State Park in New Jersey—-but this time, there seems to be some positivity regarding the possibilities.
DO IT BERNIE, you sad old geeza!
link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903341404576484073501204538.html8
Sometimes i just stand in my garage…..wait i’m lying—-i go to the garage A LOT these days just to hang out and catch a nice view! I can’t help it.
Apologies for not updating this Sunday, however I was too busy enjoying the hell out of my new car buying experience!
Car shopping has been a very enjoyable experience. I must admit that I only posted 3 of my favourite cars I reviewed, however there were many others which I ended up testing but never wrote a review on. Some of the others included: Subaru WRX, Mercedes C300, VW GTI, Audi A4, BMW 135i, Audi RS6 (C5), and a few more. I really enjoyed the Evo 10, and honestly it was the best performing car I drove amongst all of them—however I could get past the vulgarity of it, the subwoofer and battery filling up the trunk, and the poor mileage (15-20mpg). The Audi S4 was a superbly nice car to sit in and drive, however it felt too imposing for me and too large. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. The BMW 335i was a decent package which sort of occupied the middle of the road here. In my decision making process, I really started to understand why I really didn’t want any of those cars—–because they were either too big, not enough fun, OR not built well enough.
2 years ago, my wife and I had driven to an Audi dealership to drive (and buy) an Audi A3. We both loved the car, however we couldn’t really afford to buy one new at the time. Now, we were able to afford one, so that’s exactly what i’ve done. The car wasn’t easy to find in the spec I wanted, as there was only ONE car in this spec arriving in the USA this month. I found that car, and had to really do some hustling to get it before somebody else did.
2012 Audi A3 2.0T quattro: titanium sport package (sport suspension, sport seats, black trim interior/exterior, 18″ RS titanium/silver wheels), navigation with ipod integration, bluetooth, open sky (full front/rear sunroof), cold weather package (heated seats, heated mirrors, heated blah blah), S-Tronic DSG (dual-clutch transmission)
I picked up the car on saturday morning. I have not stopped smiling every since! It is such a riot to drive, and I am so impressed by its agility, composure, handling, acceleration, and its overall build quality. The car feels extremely well built, each door closes with a german ‘thud’, and every time i get into the special leather & perforated alcantara seats and wrap my hands around the thick perforated leather steering wheel—the car feels very special. Audi states the mfg 0-60 times of 6.7 seconds, although it feels very quick—even quicker than that. The quattro system keeps all the 200hp useable and you feel huge amounts of grip in the corners. A $500 ECU ‘reflash’ adds 50hp and 100+lb/fut torque. What a car though…..i’m enjoying every minute of it!
There were other cars I tested which were faster or more capable performers than the A3, however none of them offered the entire package of style and substance like the A3 does—–and none of them made me happy like the A3 does! The interior of the car is just downright fantastic, and really impresses me with its final attention to detail (white stitching on dark grey leather with perforated alcantara inserts) and materials. The layout is minimalist and very easy to use—especially since much of it was modeled after my other car, the MK1 TT. The ‘sport’ seats are better than I expected, with nice big bolsters on the sides and on the shoulders. I had never seen these seats in person before, but was highly pleased with them on the car. The RNS-E updated Navigation system is very easy to use, and being someone who isn’t particularly tech savvy when it comes to connecting devices, I have found the bluetooth connectivity to my iPhone to be remarkably easy to use and intuitive.
Let me be honest by saying that NO Audi is ‘cheap’ to buy, and I spent a significant amount of money getting the car in exactly the spec I wanted to—–but I will say that after driving this since Saturday, I think the car definitely feels or exceeds its price in every way. There is a level of build quality and thoughtfulness throughout the design which exceeds my expectations. This 8P generation of the Audi A3 has been around for several years now, first debut’ing in the US market back in 2006. However I think the design of the car is just wonderful, and harks back to the older days of Audi, when they were a bit more understated and boxy. The headlights and taillights are truly a work of art, with LEDs present on both ends and bixenon headlights rolling in the front. Notice that the Titanium sport package removes the ‘chrome’ outline around the large modern Audi single frame grille design, making the grille far more subtle and not so ‘bling’—-something i wanted as a priority on this car. I think the blackened grille surround really adds to the appeal of the front end.
Driving wise, I am really enjoying the hell out of the car. The S-tronic/DSG (dual clutch transmission) is unbelievable….and after years of driving manual gearboxes, I am truly amazed by the performance which can be transmitted to the road with the DSG. While there are great amounts of satisfaction in pressing a clutch and shifting a gear on a manual transmission car–I am finding great satisfaction of having both hands on the wheel and getting an instant, race car-like shift using the paddle shifters on the back of the steering wheel. This is not an automatic transmission, it is a truly automated manual transmission utilizing clutches (2 of them) just like a manual transmission would—-the difference is that the box is electronically controlled and you press the paddles without the use of a clutch everytime you shift. If you haven’t tried this gearbox out, you must do so! There is a level of control which I have never felt in all of my years in driving manuals. The handling on the A3 quattro is superb, very sure footed and very firm with great levels of grip on the 18″ special RS titanium and silver wheels. I have already flung the car into corners with great composure, and the stiffened sport package springs keeping everything neutral and alive. The steering feel is among the best i’ve felt in an Audi. I am the first to admit that the big weakness in most Audis I have driven has been steering response; in my TT I actually modified the car to with new control arms bushings to improve the response, which it did dramatically. The A3, on the other hand, feels great right out of the box.
So there it is….my first new car! I can’t tell you how great the feeling is of getting in the car and smelling the freshness of that ‘new car smell’….it is one of the great joys of life IMO! To know that nobody else has owned it or driven it before. I also can’t tell you how happy it makes me to look in my garage spot now and see the A3 and the TT sitting together, dressed in black. Behold, the beginning of the IEDEI AUTO HAREM!
TOMORROW, i am picking up my new car. After driving my 2001 Audi TT every single day as my daily driver for the last 8 years of my life, I am adding another car to my garage. The TT now has 115k+ miles on it, miles that have been filled with life, moving, adventure, love, stress, happiness, sadness, soul, nostalgia, future, hope, satisfaction, worry, and time. We forget how much we experience in our automobiles—and it is a special thing. In the last 8 years I have owned the TT, i have lived in 8 different apartments. The TT felt like more of a stable ‘home’ to me in my time of transitions. When i got the TT in 2003, I was a medical student living in Chicago—-struggling to find my future, struggling to cope with my own stresses, unmarried, and to be honest; pretty lonely. I have taken the TT to all settings of life, from the backroads of Brooklyn through forests in Vermonts to the sweeping race track turns of Road America. I rarely get attached to material objects, and I rarely hold onto things more for a couple of years—-but the TT is an exception to my rules. There isn’t a week that goes by where people don’t stop me to ask questions about the car, every commute is accompanied by glances, staring, and admiration. The car is still gorgeous, and unique in terms of iconic design in the modern era of plagiarism. Most of all, every time i come home after a hard day at work—i park the car in my apartment building’s garage, lock the door, and always glance back at it in admiration of it.
My opinion of the car? To me, the MK1 (first generation) Audi TT is one of the all-time iconic coupes. Prior to purchasing it, i dreamt and fascinating about the car quite intensely. Prior to owning it, I had never felt such attachment to a shape, a design, or any automobile. In the 21st century—where cars are now churned out to be mass produced profit counters—-the TT represented a creative hurrah by duplicating the gorgeous concept car design into a production reality. The interior of the TT is by all accounts one of the most expensive interiors ever put into a non-exotic production vehicle. The humble beginnings off a shortened MK4 Golf chassis are nothing to be ashamed of—as the structure was reinforced, shortened, and optimized for the TT specifically. The 1.8T engine which was placed in my 225’s bay is a uniquely reinforced engine which is like no other Audi or VW engine produced from that time. Double intercooled, K04 (big) turbo, and beefed up internals, heads, hoses, and structures. Easy to modify (my car is estimated at about 275hp after tuning), and easy to love driving—-adding a few simple modifications to the suspension (Koni shocks/Neuspeed springs/Neuspeed 22 inch sway bar) really make the car a total joy to drive. I have timed my 0-60 runs between 5.0 to 5.5 seconds consistently. A borla exhaust has added a deep rumble, and the lightweight 18″ SSR Type C wheels have reduced the unsprung weight and increased the agility in handling. The TT always puts a smile on my face, and I love the car more now than i did 8 years ago. I have often joked with my wife that I would like to keep the TT for many many years—-and to be that old grandad who keeps a beautiful german coupe locked away in the garage—–it is looking more and more that this will be the case (hopefully!).
So long story short, I am keeping the TT tomorrow, and adding another family member. The TT will now become my ‘weekend fun car’. This is the beginning of the “IEDEI Auto Harem”! More details on the new car tomorrow—-but for right now I will just say that the new car is practical, handsome, very nicely appointed, and very fun to drive. I look forward to revealing it tomorrow!
No, i did not take this photo. I believe this originates from an original Jaguar promo set of photos taken in the city.
some of us from the QW TT entourage went out for a drive on Saturday. Obviously as you can see there is still snow in places! But a beautiful day, and some wonderful roads with some of the best cars made in recent years——the TT is still a magical car to own and drive…
(foto taken by IEDEI)
(foto taken by Sal Coppola)
parallel parked, of course.
I drive a lot through New York City—-and everyday I find myself wondering HOW the potholes in the road just get bigger and bigger. They fix them, they come back. After several years of commuting by car through NYC city streets; I have learned areas where the road is worse than others, in my mental data bank of pothole summaries. That being said, there are always new surprises which bubble up.
So how are potholes made!?
“It’s hard to believe those chasms in the pavement aren’t the remnants of miniature explosions. Instead, they’re carved by plain old water. The process usually starts with one little crack that fills with H2O. When water freezes, it expands, and when the water inside the crack expands, it pushes the asphalt outward and upward—a lot like when you forget a soda in the freezer and return to find a frozen volcano bursting from the bottle. “
read the rest of this interesting article here:
Anatomy of a Pothole – U.S. Roads and Infrastructure – Popular Mechanics
I haven’t washed the TT in what feels like months. It had started to look like a Jackson Pollock painting—-so today, after hours of work this weekend—i decided to take the car in for a wash. I really don’t like washing my own car—it is a time consuming flush of an activity! So i’d much rather pay others to do it, which is exactly what I did at my local Brooklyn hand wash. I was joined by some interesting company.
(today i realised my car is quite low…as the R8 was almost the same height)
This afternoon, at the uneasy time of 12:15am on a Saturday, I was joined by a couple mates (also from the automotive blogging world) to go see “Senna”, which is playing at the Village East Cinema in NYC. We entered the theatre right on time, and joked that we were wondering who the other 15-20 people were in the theatre; and WHY they were there! Could there be this many motorheads willing to make it to the theatre at that time on a Saturday? Apparently so.
The film was quite lovely; made like a documentary—spanning from the beginning of his career in karting til the obvious end of his career. Touching on his youth, but showing some very rare and moving film clips with scenes I had never seen before. As a kid growing up in Detroit, one of the events I annually attended with my father was the Detroit Grand Prix, where I remember there was a time when Senna would win every year. The first year I went, i remember Nelson Piquet winning. So naturally, my favourite 2 F1 drivers became Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna.
(sorry, i took these pics with a mobile phone!)
I know that Senna was a character. He was competitive, full of personality, not afraid to speak his mind, and most of all a tremendous driver. This film essentially covered all of his positive attributes, and showed him in the light of a tribute. It was a fitting tribute. I had seen many clips of his races online, and a lot of this film I had seen in some form or another; but I have never seen any clips of driver’s meetings with the FIA directors, I had never seen some of the more candid interviews and conversations—–and maybe because I was too young—I never realised how much battling and political stuff was going on between Prost & Senna. Now it makes sense WHY i hated Prost as a kid—-because he was always batting with my favourite who was Senna.
I won’t tell you the full details of the film, because I feel you should watch it yourself. Seeing F1 in the movie theater was a pleasure, and although it seems like a collage of document film clips taken from many different sources; it was full of great commentary, great footage, and some truly moving moments. All in all, a great film; I am really glad someone made it (in this case, a gentleman named Asif Kapadia)—-you should all see it.
Senna is playing at the Village East Cinema in the East Village of NYC. (thanks to Xander for the tip!)
http://www.villageeastcinema.com/angelika_film.asp?hID=166&ID=fmj4747.79896806s137092v9.38
Sooner or later I will write to you all about WHY i skip my 10 minute, 2-stop subway ride and mostly take the 30 minute driving option from Brooklyn to Manhattan to get to work and search for street parking every day; an act of sheer insanity, however I am motivated and excited to choose the inefficient, yet much more enjoyable manner to get to work. This old Audi commercial reminds me of how i feel every morning (aside from the valet parking, that is)
Xander Walker (http://strassenversion.blogspot.com) is someone I have known for a while through The Auto Union community. A few weeks ago, a bunch of us met up for a dinner in Manhattan, and Xander introduced us to his fantastic artwork. I was blown away by the uniqueness and individualistic style of these paintings; and I can firmly say that they are WELL worth the humble $15 to $30 asking price he has put up for the pieces. Each one is hand signed, and perfect for framing. Speaking of which, I need to find time to get to a framing shop to buy a suitable frame for the 2 paintings I own by him. Each painting is hand finished and limited edition. Each piece is 24 x 17″ and packaged well!
In addition to the Alpine A110 pictured above (which obviously i DO have!!), here are some others available from Xander’s Etsy store:
ENTER “IEDEI” to get 20% off at the checkout! —Thanks Xander
http://www.etsy.com/shop/strassenversion
(thanks to Elyse Sewell for sharing this glorious photo with me, not sure where it was taken…)
Well it snowed like we were at war with the sky over the weekend here in NYC. I learned several things during this snowstorm.
A) People in NYC have no idea how to drive through snow. Having grown up in Michigan and then lived 3 years in Chicago taught me very well how to drive during a snowstorm. People here have extreme difficulty in judging whether their car can clear certain ‘mounds’ of snow. On the corner of our street in Brooklyn…..There were 10s of cars stuck over a period of just a few hours. Some cars in Brooklyn REMAIN stuck even now…..
B) I drive a very low to the ground modified with a stiff suspension, 18 inch lightweight wheels, and on all-seasons. my TT quattro had absolutely no trouble handling the snow in any way. There wasn’t a single time i felt unstable or unable to clear any snowbanks. Most of you know I am a major Audihead….and this is why. These cars are unstoppable by weather. While other people stay parked during inclement storms, Audis come ALIVE! It was great to see people with looks of disbelief as i passed their stuck SUVs and trucks in my low black coupe…..i even heard “what the hell is that thing!?”.
C) NYC was not prepared at all for this storm…..and their lack of proper cleanup is basically simple negligence and/or a mixture of holiday relaxation combined with unexpected ‘large’ storm status. There are still major streets in our area which are unplowed, and have now turned into ice. Unacceptable!
D) NYC people are tough. Much tougher than others. i saw plenty of people walking around, trudging through large stacks of knee high or even thigh high snow. In other cities, you’d see people sitting on their couch eating chips and watching TV. There were people stuck 6 hours on the A train going through Queens without heat or food on Monday morning….i’m guessing these people took the subway again today to work.
E) I need boots. No i’ve never worn boots….even in Detroit or Chicago i never did…but i also never had to walk so much as i do here…and my lack of boots means that the dude you see slipping and sliding all over the sidewalk is probably me trying to regain my balance.
Interesting challenge. Can one get to and drive the nurburgring for under $1k?
IEDEI 
