Date:         Mon, 11 Mar 1996 10:47:00 -0800 (PST)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Maher, Steve (SD-MS)" <SMAHER@gi.com>
Subject:      Audi problems


>>> What's up with an audi-5000?
>>>
>>They had "unexpected acceleration" problems.
>
>to be more precise, they had idiot-driver-who-can't-tell-the-
>difference-between-the-gas-and-the-brake problems.


To be precise in the real world, they had their gas and brake pedals
small and close together, so that when you stepped on the brake,
sometimes the edge of your shoe would also catch the gas pedal if you
weren't careful. Since the brakes usually don't come on until the
pedal is about 1/3 of the way to the floor, while the engine usually
speeds up immediately at the first small motion of the gas pedal,
guess what happened to Audis with automatics.

Most Audi drivers' reaction, was to lift their foot up, carefully
place it on the brake pedal, and stop the car. But a few who were
less in gear than their brethern (I'm not referring to their cars here)
simply jammed down on the first pedal that came to hand (or foot).

The NTSB politely termed this "pedal misapplication" in an attempt to
not call the action by the more appropriate name "stupid". They then
decreed that all automatic cars must also have transmission-brake pedal
interlocks, which the buyer pays for whether he needs them or not. Thus
we now know that the car was at fault, not the driver.

Your tax dollars at work.

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Steve Maher   smaher@gi.com       '80 V6anagon w/Chevy 2800
                                  '66 Mustang Coupevertible, for sale

Check out the cars at http://www.lookup.com/homepages/76242/home.html
  *** NOW *** New pictures of the V6anagon engine installation, and
     before&after pictures of the Coupevertible at haircut time!
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