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.
When buying a high-end audio receiver it's not uncommon to discover pathetic (or worse) radio performance. The reception and sound quality of the built-in AM/FM tuners these receivers offer likely keeps Nikola Tesla doing the twist in his grave. So maybe I shouldn't be surprised by the crackly cachophany spewing from the R8's speakers while trying to enjoy my favorite local AM radio station -- but I am.
Call my crazy, but when the sticker price passes $100,000 I expect basic automotive features, like clear AM reception, to be a non-issue. Alas, it was more like listening to a bad thunderstorm sound effects tape. At least the Sirius satellite reception worked as advertised.
Karl Brauer, Edmunds.com Editor in Chief @ 28,255 miles
I took our Audi R8 out to my mountain-road drive route, one that I've been using for a couple years now and most recently drove in our long-term GT-R. Quite simply, the R8 rocked -- it was the most memorable drive I've had in a long time.
Yesterday, a middle-age guy in a current-generation 7 Series was checking out the R8 while I was driving on the freeway. Today, it was a Gen-Y dude in an Eclipse GT on city streets. Both had their driver-side windows down while giving our long-term Audi R8 -- and me -- a long look. In both encounters, I spurred the R8 a little to, you know, show them that there's more to the mid-mounted V8 than pretty artwork. And both drivers were all grins and thumbs up when they caught up to the R8.
No doubt Mr. 7 and Mr. Eclipse assumed the R8 was my car. But I'm wondering how other R8 owners react to the constant attention. Does prolonged ownership generate a nonchalant attitude towards the car's celebrity status? Maybe they just drive "cool" because they are cool -- I'm pretty sure R8 owners at least have nicer teeth and better cable TV packages than I do.
With most of our test cars, it's pretty easy to emulate the driving style of the stereotypical owner. The Audi R8 owner is harder to pin down. So I guess I'll continue to feed our long-termer its oats until somebody tells me otherwise.
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor @ 27,659 miles
The photo above was taken on the 405 freeway yesterday from the tight confines of the Audi R8. It was a stark reminder of how important it is to choose the appropriate vehicle for the job.
You see, there are weekends when the R8 is available and I choose not to swipe the keys. Sounds unconscionable I know, but when I remember that the R8 has the cargo capacity of a carry-on bag, I often go with something a little larger to assure plenty of room for weekend errands.
Obviously, the gentleman above had no such options, so he made do with what he had. Then again, he did have a choice in televisions, and something tells me that sucker isn't a plasma.
In my last smart fortwo passion blog, the comments strayed away from the topic at hand (as is the point of the internet) and onto the shift pattern of the US model versus that of the European one. The statement from Bumby was "We didn't get the Euro shifter because the PRND layout is required by US law." EPBrown found an exception to this quickly "We're swimming in cars that use semi-auto gearboxes that use the N/R/+/- shifter. It's on every SMG-equipped BMW." That got me to thinking and then to researching exactly what is required by the NHTSA. And let me tell you now, it's not easy. The NHTSA only lists a "quick reference" guide to searching the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. In order to access the full text, one needs to go to http://www.gpoaccess.gov/ and search for "49 CFR 571." Obvious, right? Whatever, here it is:
FMVSS Rule 102 beings "Sec.571.102 Standard No. 102; Transmission shift position sequence, starter interlock, and transmission braking effect. S1. Purpose and scope. This standard specifies the requirements for the transmission shift position sequence, a starter interlock, and for a braking effect of automatic transmissions, to reduce the likelihood of shifting errors, to prevent starter engagement by the driver when the transmission is in any drive position, and to provide supplemental braking at speeds below 40 kilometers per hour (25 miles per hour). " That sounds about what I was looking for.
The section that pertains to our question is S3.1.1: (S3.1, of course, being titled Automatic Transmissions.) "Location of transmission shift positions on passenger cars. A neutral position shall be located between forward drive and reverse drive positions." And S3.1.1.1: "Transmission shift levers. If a steering-column mounted transmission shift lever is used, movement from neutral position to forward drive position shall be clockwise. If the transmission shift lever sequence includes a park position, it shall be located at the end, adjacent to the reverse drive position."
Oh, but that only appears to deal with column-mounted shifters, not the nub of a shift lever the 2008 X5 uses, let's try "S3.1.4 Identification of shift positions and of shift position sequence. S3.1.4.1 Except as specified in S3.1.4.3, if the transmission shift position sequence includes a park position, identification of shift positions, including the positions in relation to each other and the position selected, shall be displayed in view of the driver whenever any of the following conditions exist: (a) The ignition is in a position where the transmission can be shifted; or (b) the transmission is not in park." That would mean that the BMW's park button is legally acceptable, but still stupid.
But what about the R8 and BMWs with SMG? Well, S3.1.4.2 handles that: "Except as specified in S3.1.4.3, if the transmission shift position sequence does not include a park position, identification of shift positions, including the positions in relation to each other and the position selected, shall be displayed in view of the driver whenever the ignition is in a position in which the engine is capable of operation."
The rest of FMVSS 102 isn't nearly as exciting, but that seems to have settled the debate pretty thoroughly: PRND is not required, but N must be between D and R and, if applicable, Park must be labeled (as it is in the X5), and if there is no park (like the R8 and the 2008 M3 with DCT), gear position must be labeled and visible to the driver.
Not 5 minutes after firing-up our 2008 Audi R8 and heading for work this morning, the "Low Oil" indicator came on. This has happened before. The display flashed something along the lines of "1 quart low, add no more than 1 quart," before settling back to the icon you see above for the rest of the drive.
The mileage? 26,855. For the record, our last oil change came at 25,000 miles.
The owner's manual states that the R8 needs 10 liters of oil when you do an oil and filter change. That's 10.6 quarts. If the oil change technician added 10 quarts, our R8 would have been over a half-quart low when we left the dealership. There's no way to tell if this was the case at this point, but perhaps this explains why we're only 1,855 miles past our last oil service and the R8 is thirsty for more.
In a perfect world this is what would be parked outside my house: 2007 Honda Fit for errands, 2008 Audi R8 for just about everything else.
And here's a picture of the Audi supercar crouched at the curb a few blocks from the offices at Edmunds.com in Santa Monica, California this morning. I'm sorry it's a little jittery but I was trying very hard not to get run over as I stood in the middle of the street.
Philip Reed, Edmunds Senior Consumer Advice Editor @26,390 miles
I took the R8 out again for more "cover" shots. Again, I spent the night at my girlfriend's house not only because she has a garage, but also I hadn't seen her the previous night. Two birds with one stone, right?
I woke up a little after 5am to get some sunrise shots. I was careful not to wake her. I picked up all my gear carefully and went out to the car as quietly as possible.
My ninja skills were thwarted by the turn of the key.
"BBBBBBBBBRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWW!" Snarled the engine as it came to life.
Lights went on at the neighbors. A dog barked at me. Got a text from my lady: "loud".
I felt bad. For about a second that is. Once I got it out of her garage, it was like playing a really good round of Night Driver.
First off, I can't take credit for this nice shot. My esteemed colleague Kurt Niebuhr shot while taking details of this car for a photo contest entry.
Not wanting to walk home after the shoot, I drove over to my girlfriends place since she has a garage to park this beauty in. It was a tight fit amongst the other cars and posts. I never knew a car could have so many tones and chirps telling you what's close, what isn't and stop now before you ram into that post.
I felt like I was on the bridge of the Enterprise and Khan was reciting Shakespeare.
I've driven everything from an Acura NSX to a Ford GT to a Porsche 911 up my in-laws' driveway with nary a scuff mark. But that damn proboscis on the Audi R8 just can't handle the approach angle. I even approached the approach angle at an angle, knowing how far the car's maw sticks out ahead of the front tires. Didn't matter, the snout still dragged on the pavement.
At least it looks good...once you get it on flat and level pavement.
Karl Brauer, Edmunds.com Editor in Chief @ 26,040 miles
I may have mentioned this before, but D-shaped steering wheels on street cars are pointless. A flat-bottom wheel makes sense on a formula or prototype racing car that only needs a half-turn to travel from lock to lock, but it only takes a single curve on a winding road to understand how ill-suited they are to the slower steering ratios found in production cars. Even zippy ones like the R8.
Like many drivers, I'm a shuffle-steerer. I pass the wheel through my hands constantly as I navigate winding roads. When my hands reach the flat portion of the R8's wheel, well, they don't. The flat portion is like a giant hole in the helm's rim. A break in concentration like this is exactly what you don't need when you're driving, uh, with spirit.
The R8 is an engaging drive in nearly every conceivable way, and this concession to style is silly and unnecessary.
Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor @ 25,811 miles.
I provided little-needed fodder for all the GT-R haters out there when I mentioned that it was a little slow to get going on a "cold" morning awhile back. Well, in all fairness here's an update on the R8's "cold weather" performance.
We've mentioned before that the R8 has a slight stumble whenever it's fired up cold. Personally, I like it. For a split second, it makes the R8 sound like it has a big block Chevy wedged in back.
When Mike asked the dealer about the odd rumble, they said it might be some fouled plugs, which they replaced. Well, it didn't help much as the stumble remains. And as the video after the jumps clearly shows, the R8 isn't exactly running in PZEV mode when it first fires up. I still like it though.
Last night, half-way home, the R8's low tire pressure warning light clicked on. Turns out the car's left rear Pirelli P-Zero had picked up a nail and had bled down to just 21 psi.
Back to the guys at Stokes Tire Pros in Santa Monica for a patch, total repair just $30.
You might be wondering why we didn't spring for a new tire. And the answer is simple: We're sick and tired of buying new rubber for this car. So far we've bought five (three fronts and two rears) in just 18,000 miles of driving (we got the car with 7,000 miles and fresh rubber on it).
And they ain't cheap. We've spent around $2,500 on tires for the R8, and we weren't about to buy another. Especially when the left rear P-Zero was replaced just 5,000 miles ago.
Combine an odd stretch of actual weather in Southern California with some spirited driving and you get this - a filthy car with equally disgusting wheels.
Brake dust hasn't been too much of a problem with the R8, but when it builds up the results are pretty sad looking. If anything, it reaffirms the fact that we actually drive this thing like a real car. A garage queen it is not.
That said, after seeing the R8 in this condition I had to get it cleaned up, even with the threat of more rain on the way.
"I used to like this car." She says as I'm opening the throttle, tearing down the only deserted stretch of roadway in Southern California last night. "But after the GT-R it's just so... I don't know...pointless and soft. And can you please stop doing that with the transmission?" The car had just changed from second to third, lagging for a second and then slamming the car forward. She was not impressed. But she does have a point.
Last night, on my way home, our long-term 2008 Audi R8 cracked the 25,000 mile mark. I'll bet my old school subscription to Popular Mechanics (it was a gift) that makes our car the highest mileage R8 in the world. Am I wrong? Does anyone know of an R8 out there that has covered more ground?
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief @ 25,000 miles
It rained pretty steady last night. By the time I pulled out of my garage this morning, it had backed off a bit but the damage was done. And as we all know -- and this is especially true in Southern California -- just add water and you get instant idiot on the road. But my fellow commuters were taking it easy for a change.
And the superb Audi R8 didn't feel any less stable on the wet than it does under normal driving conditions. The tires were plenty sticky, no hydroplaning occurred, the heated seats kept me cozy and the intermittent rain-sensing wipers worked well. My only complaint, the rear defogger doesn't seem to do much of anything.
A storm was brewing in Southern California, so I figured I'd get my weekly shopping done before it really kicked up. It was a strange night on Friday, the astrological Grand Cross was forming portentously in the sky, the clouds were crowding in, and the winds were calm. It was the calm before the storm.
We put off a couple of fixes on the R8 while waiting or the odometer to hit 25,000. So when the magic number arrived there was quite a bit on the agenda. Santa Monica Audi addressed the issue in an (almost) timely manner. The breakdown:
25k service: Change oil and filter, perform safety checks, correct all fluid levels and adjust tire pressures. ($295)
Parking brake pad: During inspection the tech discovered the parking brake pad was separating in chunks. Could have been caused by driving with the brake on they tell us. Whatever the cause the end result was the same. Replace the pad. ($295)
Key fob inop: The key fob battery checked out fine, so they removed and replaced the door lock remote control. When locking the door manually the tech found the lock mechanism had also failed. The door panel was removed to access the lock cylinder, which was also replaced. (no charge)
Rough idle during cold starts: To fix this problem the dealer removed and replaced eight fouled spark plugs. New plugs didn't really fix the issue, but they were free. (no charge)
Creaking noise from center armrest: Remove and replace handbrake handle stop. (no charge)
Hood latch misaligned: Trunk compartment was removed to access and adjust the release cable, then reinstalled. (no charge)
Total Cost: $609.20
Days out of Service: 7
Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Manager @ 25,000 miles
It may seem obvious to say the R8 is a terrific car - what's not to like, right? Well, thing is, I really don't like many aggressive performance cars - most are simply too uncomfortable to be worthwhile in my book. I suspect many other people feel the same way although they suffer in order to project some kind of image. If I won the lottery, I'd never consider vehicles like the Nissan GT-R, Evo GSR or Ferrari F430.
However, I can totally see spending good money on the R8. I love the interior - the design adds to the special feel of the car. I also like the new Lotus Evora for the same reason. I really like cars like the R8 that can deliver stunning performance without stark interiors or a constantly punishing driving experience.
Even if money was no object, what performance cars would you still NOT want?
Brian Moody, Senior Automotive Editor @ 24,611 miles.
Our GT-R is not the only car in the long-term fleet with the now infamous launch control feature. The Audi R8 has it too, and with a 420-horsepower V8 it's equally capable of causing some damage if used too often.
Audi seems well aware of this. In the owners manual it warns, "Accelerating with the launch control program places a heavy load on all parts of the vehicle. This can result in increased wear and tear". Not quite as explicit as Nissan's warnings, but the statement still leaves Audi some wiggle room should a customer come in with a fried clutch after a few thousand miles.
That probably won't happen though. You see, the R8's launch control setup isn't nearly as aggressive as the GT-R's. After just one launch, I got the warning signal shown above. I tried launching it again after letting it cool a little and the computer basically shut me down.
Maybe the GT-R's problem isn't that it has launch control. The problem is that it assumes owners are smart enough to not use it too often. With the R8, Audi assumed the opposite.
Our long-term Audi R8 is one of the more rewarding vehicles in the long-fleet, but only if you can take full advantage of its combination of luxury and performance. I enjoyed driving the R8 for the past two weeks, but within 24 hours it was clear something was amiss regarding its normally refined ride quality.
At higher speeds a subtle, but consistent, vibration intruded upon the Audi's upscale interior. I figured (and hoped) it was simply a wheel balance isssue. A trip to Stokes Tire in Santa Monica confirmed my suspicions...and more.
Even though Inside Line's Saturday street party was all about the Nissan 370Z, every time I glanced back at the Audi R8 in the parking lot, there were people milling around and snapping photos.
Stop flirting, R8. Don't you get enough attention?
One of the great things about having our own 2008 Audi R8 to drive around as much as we want is the chance to let our friends take a turn. So we forced it on a friend who happens to be a development engineer for a rival car company, figuring he'd give us an outsider's perspective on the way the R8 compares to other cars.
From the start, our guy was really impressed with the R8's quiet, composed ride quality. "Obviously this is the Buick of sports cars, if you like that sort of thing," he said. "No wonder Oldham likes it." He went on to make a few disparaging remarks about "girly men," and noted that the R8 probably gets some added ride compliance because it doesn't have run-flat tires.
He was impressed with the big change in the R8's character that came from engaging the sport setting for the dampers. We were driving a section of CA Hwy 110 in Los Angeles that all manufacturers use to evaluate freeway hop, and the R8 was utterly calm on the regular suspension setting and then porpoised madly on the sport setting. He said this is a difference you really want since it suggests the suspension really has been calibrated for speed. "Of course you can also feel that the suspension bushings are pretty aggressive for autobahn speed, and you really pick up a lot of vibration on coarse pavement," he said.
One thing our guy couldn't get along with proved to be the single-clutch automated manual transmission. "When it shifts, it just drops the engine torque to zero then makes the gear-change, just like a computer would," he said. "It's really just a first-gen system and it can't take advantage of what a dual-clutch can do. And it also makes the car surge in low-speed traffic just like the Smart that I drove last week -- worse than a Smart, in fact. The GT-R dual-clutch is way better. Not even close." He did allow that the Audi's transmission is quiet, although maybe that's because it's all the way at the back of the car where you can't hear it.
He really disliked the lack of coordination from the pedals at low speed. The tip-in for the throttle is too aggressive, and since the clutch comes in all at once, the car kind of surges forward. And while the brakes have a lot of bite for top-speed work, you find yourself varying pedal pressure to compensate for the transmission as it downshifts through the gears.
All this relates to driving the Audi R8 through town, of course. But since comfort and utility are what sets the Audi R8 apart from its competition, this is worth talking about. We probably have some reason to be skeptical, however, because a lapse in judgment led him to turn the R8 into a driveway at the wrong angle and the car got hung up with two wheels as if it were off-roading in Moab. "This is what you get with a 104.3-inch wheelbase and no suspension travel," our man said.
Michael Jordan, Executive Editor, Inside Line @ 24,200 miles
On more than a few occasions people have come back into the office after driving the smart and compared it with the R8: They both get a lot of attention from onlookers. Both cars seat only two and both cars have absolutely pathetic transmissions. They're also both pretty useless vehicles despite the Audi's claim to the 911's title of every-day supercar. Well guess what, every day people go grocery shopping. And for this type of thing the smart fortwo is clearly superior to the Audi R8 by one Whole Foods bag.
When I got the R8 Friday evening, I started to notice the key fob wasn't working properly. It took a few tries to get it to lock and then unlock. Eventually it would do it, though. I went through the same multiple-fob-push song and dance every time. Sometimes I would try to manually lock the car using the key, but that didn't work either.
I was visiting a friend down in Orange County Saturday night and before we left for dinner (in his car), he wanted to sit in the R8. After a few tries, it unlocked and he got his wish. When I went to lock the car, it refused to lock with the fob. It would not lock using the key hole, nor from the inside using the auto door lock button. After a good five minutes, it was hopeless -- the R8 was just not going to lock. I was also now concerned that if I did manage to lock it, I wouldn't be able to unlock it again. This was clearly an issue with the locks and not the key fob (which still blinked its red light with every push).
Seeing as I was in a rather high-end neighborhood (the country's largest gated community, which was featured in the Real House Wives of Orange County), I figured it unlikely that leaving the R8 unlocked would result in its disappearance. Plus, there's no lock switches or plungers in the car to give away from the outside that it's unlocked. And really, who randomly walks up to cars to see if they're unlocked?
The car was still there when I got back from dinner, and when I got back home Saturday, it still wouldn't lock. I had my girlfriend block the R8 with her car in our tandem parking spot. It's still wasn't working Sunday morning. Guess what Magrath's going to be busy with this week?
There been considerable hand wringing lately over the faux exhaust tips on the new Ferrari California. Such trickery seemed suspicious enough when it showed up on the Lexus IS-F, but on a Ferrari it's been deemed sacrilege.
Well, got some more bad news for you, the R8 is guilty too. It's less noticeable because the exhaust pipes are tucked away so neatly into the bodywork, but the photo doesn't lie, those tips are not connected.
This morning we had parked our 2008 Audi R8 across the street from a Santa Monica fire department when we were stopping off at a coffeehouse before work for some java. Upon returning to the car we saw these guys admiring the car, excitedly checking out its wheels, luxe interior, V8 engine gorgeously displayed in the back. We just had to get a picture.
Of course they were reluctant at first ("I know where these things usually end up," said one) until we explained to them that we thought it was cool that, in addition to Iron Man, real superheroes loved this car, too. THAT got them in front of the camera. Heh.
They asked how much horsepower our R8 had. When we replied, "420," they smiled and said, gesturing to their firetruck, "Ours has a Caterpillar V8 turbodiesel with 500 hp." We wanted to add, "AND it actually saves lives."
When we were getting ready to drive away, the firemen said, looking at the cop car parked nearby, "Unlike the police, WE'd like to see you go fast..." Instead we just did a U-turn in front of them and revved the engine. If we had time we probably would have offered to give them a really quick jaunt on the freeway. Ah well.
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 22,543 miles
Not long ago I was taking a walk on the beach. There was a lone surfer waiting to catch a wave. Suddenly, a flock of dolphins -- actually, I think the correct term is a pod of dolphins -- started to play with him. These delightful creatures were swimming all around him and jumping out of the water. It was an amazing sight and the surfer was enjoying the interplay.
But, after a while, the dolphins started getting unintentionally rough. They didn't mean it. They're dolphins. They just wanted to have fun. Although they are wildly intelligent, they don't understand that humans are breakable.
Finally, the kid started to get freaked out and made his way to shore. He had an incredible experience but knew if he stayed out there any longer, he was going to get the wind knocked out of him.
That's how I feel sometimes when I drive the R8. It's a beautiful machine in a very accessible way. It is not at all aloof. People give you the thumbs-up just for beautifying their street. They want to play and drive next to you. They want to jump in front of you and take your picture with their camera phones. But after a while they start to sway too close and you really want them to pay attention to the road.
The photo above is one of several car murals decorating our office. She sure is a beauty.
Maybe I'm stretching on this one, but as I was gassing up the R8 the other day I noticed another small example of how well thought out the R8 is from top to bottom. When you unscrew the gas cap there's a tether to hold it on. Nothing special there. But instead of just letting the cap dangle against the bodywork, they made it just long enough so you can hook it over the lid. Trivial maybe, but certainly no accident. Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor @ 21,834 miles
When it comes to interiors, Audi has become the standard by which other cars are judged. So you would assume that Audi's flagship sportscar, the one with the six-figure price tag, would have a flawless cabin. Well, it is indeed quite nice, but there are a few sizable pieces of gray plastic that are hard to miss, like this one around the center stack display. They don't look terrible, but they are gray, and they are plastic, so all is not perfect.
Forget its crummy R-Tronic transmission for a second and it's clear that the 2008 Audi R8 hardly puts a contact patch wrong. Props to Audi's engineering staff for sweating the details.
Oddly enough, though, not everything about the R8 adopts the endlessly fussed-over mechani-cool character that pervades every one of its crannies.
Here's what I mean. Fire the direct-incted, dry-sumped, variable-everything V8 when its stone cold and the R8 idles lumpily, spitting and cracking like a Nextel Cup car. Just a few seconds later, the composure that has been so carefully fettled by its creators flips on and the R8 immediately snaps into a glassy smooth idle.
It's a contrast that I dig.
Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor @ 21,794 miles.
I had a biz trip to Phoenix and was given a couple of flying options. So I declined the hassle of airports and took Audi's land-locked jet instead. On the wide-open stretches of Interstate 10, where you see nothing but desert and the horizon, I let the car stretch its legs a bit. I say "a bit" because my cruising speeds varied from 85-100 mph (with the assistance of a Valentine One radar detector). Yes, not even breathing hard.
The R8 will supposedly top 185, but though I enjoyed a couple of high-speed bursts, I didn't deem it necessary to fully explore that claim. Maybe I'm getting old...
Don't ask me how it happened but I scored our 2008 Audi R8 for the weekend. Yup! Little ol' me, the editor who usually gets assigned the Smart. And I used this supercar -- Iron Man's car, the star of I, Robot -- to finish up the last of my move, to run donated items over to Goodwill and to attend the American Wine & Food Festival (AWFF) which, funny enough, was sponsored by Audi. I was in heaven.
Sure, it's not really practical for running errands, and this car does not enjoy going slow but at all, but it somehow turned even the most mundane moments into a cinematic experience.
On Monday night Ed Hellwig and I drove our long-term 2008 Audi R8 down to San Diego (about 120 miles from Los Angeles) to wach the Chargers kick the living daylights out of my New York Jets. The car was perfect for the trip; comfortable, fast and flashy enough to get us a parking spot, which we found out are very hard to come by at Qualcomm Stadium.
Anyway, on the way home I got a warning light telling me the R8 needed a quart of oil. Then I realized the car was also saying it was due for an oil change. Trouble is, we just had it changed 5,000 miles ago, and the interval is 10,000.
So yesterday morning I called Santa Monica Audi. Turns out the oil change alert is a false alarm, but the car needing a quart of oil every 5,000 miles is normal. You know, they all do that.
Our service advisor, Ken Maryan, also said that if we brought the car over there he'd reset the maintenance light for us. It'll only take a minute, he said.
So I went over a few hours later. The guy plugged a laptop thingamajig into the doohicky and reset the whatchamacallit.They even topped up the oil for me. No charge. And it really did take about a minute.
On the way to Seal Beach Elementary's "Back to School" night, I glanced down and saw our long-term Audi R8's odometer on the cusp of a mileage milestone.
Maybe you're tired of hearing about our love affair with the R8, our enthusiam over Audi's willingness to extend what was originally scheduled to be a three-month loan.
And perhaps I'll get tired of talking about it, but I'll never get tired of driving it.
The following is a collection of quotes from random Santa Monica residents upon seeing our R8 parked on a local residential street:
"Dude, it's an R8, that thing is $250,000" (actual price -- $132,000)
"Its layout was designed by a woman that's why it looks so good" (actual design director - Walter de'Silva)
"Look at the engine. I think it has like 600 horsepower." (actual horsepower - 420)
"Check out the headlights, I think they're LEDs." (actually, full LED headlights are only available on the R8 in Europe. The Cadillac Escalade Platinum is currently the only vehicle in the U.S. that offers full high- and lowbeam LED headlights)
Strangely enough, a Cadillac Executive told me last month that Ferdinand Piech, Chairman of the Volkswagen Group, special ordered an Escalade EXT outfitted with the LED headlights. First person to capture a picture of Piech behind the wheel gets a $100.
Last weekend fate smiled as it handed me the keys to our 2008 Audi R8 for the weekend. When I turned around to leave, fate placed a kick-me sign on my back and and rushed off to wind up the giant boot that kicked me swiftly in the buttocks.
Since the R8's transmission is almost as bad as the smart's in casual driving (it may be as bad, but the extra 350hp over the smart make up for a lot) and it can carry fewer items than your average Radio Flyer, my weekend was shaping up pretty nice: no errands and lots of roads that, when viewed aerially, look like a handful of tapeworms thrown onto a carpet.
It only took a few minutes of driving before I realized this plan was not going to work out as well as I'd hoped. Merging onto the freeway the Audi cut power and the traction control light illuminated. In the remaining 8 miles to my apartment traction control turned on no less than four times and, sensing a pattern, was fully disabled (by me) once when I came across a big puddle on a 6-lane road. (I'm weak when it comes to weather-related shenanigans.) I checked the tires the following day when the sun was out. While -- as visible in the picture above-- they look ok, a tactile inspection reveals the truth: there was no groove left. Someone got the last of the excellent grip afforded by quasi-shaved tires and left me with two slick rubber tubes that never held on. Needless to say, this made my drives much slower, much more interesting and caused the AWD system much more trouble.
"R8 needs rear tires ASAP" my text to Schmidt read on Sunday morning. Monday I called Stokes Tire Pros to place the order.
Audi extended our loan of the R8 for another three months.
You'll remember our goal for the R8 was to get the odometer up to 20,000 miles, just like any car in our long-term fleet. But we had to do it in three measly months instead of our normal twelve. Well, we've almost met our goal. Today is the three-month mark and as of this morning our Audi R8 has reached 19,334 miles.
But now we have it for three more months. So let's give a half-time report.
We've gotten used to the celebrity status that comes along with this beauty of a car. People smile and point when they see the R8 as if they just spotted Lindsey Lohan and Britney Spears making out. We've learned to ignore their stares. They're soooo boring.
But all kidding aside, the bloom is slightly off the rose. The R8 is still a blast to drive. But our non-stop road trips have started to wear on our supercar. The front trunk, or frunk as we like to call it, doesn't close properly and takes some finagling. We'll have it looked at by the dealer. At our last service appointment we had the loose parking brake lever cover reinstalled.
This morning I noticed the Tuscan brown color is wearing off of the leather upholstery on the left driver seat bolster. Everyone slides against it getting down into the car and it's starting to show. We'll have that looked at as well. Minor things.
So, what should we do with the Audi R8 for the next three months?
I despise valet parking. Unless the lot is only 1,000 square feet or the nearest public parking lot is a mile away, I avoid valet like the plague. I don't need some dude in a maroon vest joy riding in my car -- even if it's not really my car. I don't need to show off at the valet stand. When I'm driving something like the R8, it's even worse. But twice I've been driving the R8 and had to valet. The first time (photo above) was because the lot was about 1000 square feet, but it's right next to the restaurant so I don't mind. And the second time occured this weekend when the nearest public parking was a mile away. I reluctantly handed over the keys to maroon vest dude who was working solo. It's a tough feeling handing $130,000 over to somebody.
Anyway, when I got out of dinner, I handed the guy a $20 for the $7 parking charge. To make it easy, I even just asked for a 10 back. He informed me he had no change, only a 1 and a 20. I would have to check in the restaurant for change. They had none. I came back to the guy empty handed and the little snot was giving me attitude as if it was my fault he didn't have the change to do his job. "You have to pay for your service, sir." "Service? What, driving my car 30 feet to the other side of this building? Do you expect me to just pay you $13 extra for that? I may be allegedly rich, but I didn't get allegedly rich by being stupid." But I didn't say that. Instead, I ran over to a gas station for change and paid the little bastard -- no tip. I should've just driven off.
It sullied my evening and I couldn't help but feeling that he was treating me like this because I was a 20-something driving a flashy 130-thousand-something car. The sort of unwelcome attention I was lamenting over in Riswickland. Perhaps it would've been the same had I been driving the Focus, I don't know. Either way, my distaste for valet parking continues. Next time, I'll say, "Get in the car buddy. I'm parking her myself."
Among the few imperfections on our Audi R8 long-termer, you know other than the garbage gearbox, is the cheap door handle. Yeah, a petty shot, but for a six-figure car it feels ridiculously cheap. I mean like using coupons at Wal-Mart cheap. I even made a video so you can hear the hollow pop it makes every time you let go. Thankfully I only have to use it once per drive.
My high school reunion is coming up. It's a multiple of ten, but I won't say which one.
I have to drive something. Why not take advantage of the Audi R8? Or is turning up in Ironman's car the most utterly tool-ish move I could make? "Nice car, Dan. How long have you had it?" "Well, it's like this..."
The Nissan GT-R perhaps? Only the truly car saavy (and heavy-duty gamers) will know what it is. To everyone else it might simply register as yet another 350Z with an overwrought body kit. This one is a good car-guy filter. Fellow motorheads are always easy to talk to at awkward parties.
How about the Smart? Nah. Everyone thought I was a dork in high school (I drove a Ranchero with side pipes back then.) I'm not sure I want to remove all doubt with this one. But this is Southern California, after all, and I'd like to think we've all grown up a bit. Yeah, right.
The Pontiac G8 GT? Why not the Evo or STI? The Cadillac CTS is another good one.
I must point out that I am happily married and am not trolling in any way. Besides, no one but the valet (if there is one) is likely to see my borrowed ride.
Oh, sure. I could drive my own car--if it'll start. But who wants to turn up in a beater Miata with faded red paint and no A/C? Or in a minivan full of crumbs, for that matter? My wife sure doesn't, and she didn't even go to my high school!
What would you pick?
At this point I'm leaning toward the GT-R, myself.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 18,150 miles
One thing I dig about our medium-term 2008 Audi R8 is how light it feels from the driver seat. The Nissan GT-R feels lighter than 3,900 lbs, but it's still obviously a substantial car. The Corvette Z06 somehow doesn't feel notably lighter than the GT-R, despite being the lightest of the bunch by a longshot (3,162 lbs). But the 3,634-lb R8 -- trust us, we weighed it -- has a light-on-its-feet character in corners that the other two supercars just can't match. It feels compact, tossable and playful; the others feel a bit piggish by comparison.
Over at the Austrian's recent R8 post, however, three astute commenters gave voice to something I've thought from the first moment I laid eyes on the R8 in our garage: that front overhang is out of control! Go to Austria's post and check out the first picture -- looks like the car is about to tip forward and fall on its face, particularly given the clipped rear end. I know there's a (largely useless) frunk up there, but, dude. Those front wheels need to be moved about a foot closer to the front of the car.
Josh Sadlier, Associate Editor, Edmunds.com @ 18,022 miles
Slummed it in the Audi R8 again this weekend. Had to drive to Monterey
to see what all the rich people were doing in Pebble Beach. Apparently
all that news of a recession hasn't hit the upper classes as there were
more new Ferrari's, Lamborghinis and Rolls Royces than I could count.
That said, I didn't see another R8 once. Maybe I wasn't looking hard
enough, maybe there was a Deutsches Autoerscheinen that I missed, who
knows, but the R8's rarity cemented its status as the ultimate
anti-Ferrari. People waved, smiled and otherwise seemed to enjoy seeing
something other than a bright red F430 with shiny tires. The fact that
I left our long-termer covered in bugs and brake dust only added to the
effect.
"Why are those people staring at us?" my girlfriend asks. We're just trying to get some fruit, albeit from the popular Farmer's Market at the Grove in Los Angeles, but the facts don't change: The two of us are just doing some grocery shopping and people won't leave us alone.
"Ignore them" I tell her, "the poor don't deserve our attention." By the time my head stopped ringing from the smack to the head, we had miraculously found a parking space, exited the car and were sipping tripple iced espressos.
When returning to the car, bags in hand, we were startled by a group of teens surrounding the R8. "Great car!" "I saw this at the auto show!" "Is it fast?" My replies were pleasant and I didn't bludgeon or threaten any of them with the cane I had been carrying due to a knee injury. (I did make various threats to children playing, upset that they were on the lawn.)
I just wanted to put my groceries into the absurdly small frunk (front trunk), go home and go to bed. This wasn't Cars and Coffee, this wasn't Hot Import Nights; it was simply a hot Wednesday night where I happened to have a car and some coffee.
And this brings me to my thesis statement: Supercars are dumb.
Before you get your Countach poster all in a bunch, follow the jump.
What's that old joke about the ultimate in mixed emotions?
"Your ex-wife going over a cliff in your new Porsche."
I remembered that joke when I walked through the garage today and saw these three cars parked together. I kept trying to tell myself how cool it was to see the R8 and GT-R in close proximity, but the Smart Fortwo kept trashing my "dream garage" fantasy.
Maybe it was actually a good thing. Having two such amazing vehicles right next to each other might cause some sort of "cool-car overload," creating a temporal anomaly, unraveling the time-space continuum and destroying the universe! Admittedly, that's a worst-case scenario; the destruction might be confined to our own galaxy.
Either way, the Smart does an effective job of equalizing the "cool car" energy that could otherwise risk our total annihilation.
As part of my job writing model reviews for Edmunds, I take the opportunity to drive as many short-term cars that pass through here as possible. The more I drive the better, with more volume-selling cars being a wiser use of my time than limited production GT500KR-like things. But as I was about to grab the keys to the 2009 Mazda 6, I saw the Audi R8's switchblade hanging on the board beckoning me. I gave into temptation.
I was lucky enough to style in the R8 this past weekend, my first time to drive it. Although it was penned by Walter de'Silva, its modern sexy looks could easily have been shaped by architects Frank Gehry (Disney Hall shown) or Santiago Calatrava.
The R8 attracts so much positive attention not only because of its exotic looks, but because it -- or its driver -- doesn't have a negative image. Remember the old BMW and porcupines joke? Well the same thing could apply to Porsches, Ferraris, and Lambos too. But the Audi doesn't have such baggage. And although Lambos aren't uncommon on the fashionable West side of LA, I've only seen one other R8.
I didn't experience the psycho pursuit or cell-phone stalkarazzi that the other staff members have gone through. But my friends, co-workers, and a few strangers went absolutely bananas over it. As I was fueling, one guy asked to take some pics. "Go ahead and sit in it," I said. When he was finished, he looked like a kid who just opened his Christmas presents. And when I was rolling on Melrose, one guy saw the window was down, and shouted while smiling, "Hey, are you Ironman?" I just smiled and pointed to him. A female friend, begged for -- and got -- a ride.
Recently somebody told me that the Toyota Prius was being bought by poeple that don't like cars. I argued the point. "Everybody likes cars," I said. "Everybody."
And last week I was proven right. I was driving our long term 2008 Audi R8 to work, which essentially means inching along in traffic, while drinking coffee and talking on my cell phone. Normal morning. But imagine my delight when I looked over and saw this guy in the pictured slate gray Prius taking a picture of my car. He photographed it from several angles before lowering his camera and giving me the thumbs up, all while smiling like Theo Epstein the day the Dodgers took Manny.
Now, when you're in the R8 people take your picture. Happens 100 times a day. But the fact that this guy got it, despite being signed up for years of payments on that Prius should tell you something.
Yesterday around 4 pm, while stuck in a traffic jam near downtown Los Angeles, our long-term 2008 Audi R8 insisted it was 118 degrees outside. Trouble is, it was near room temperature in the City of Angels at the moment.
We'll have the glitchy thermometer addressed on monday morning when the R8 visits the dealer for a faulty front hood latch.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief @ 16,855 miles
I got handed the keys to go on a short photo shoot location scouting mission. I drove up to Malibu on the PCH, which normally is the land of the rich and famous driving their 911 Turbos and Ferrari F430's. I figured the R8 wouldn't be that big of a deal.
I was wrong.
I stopped in the Malibu Village area to grab a coke. A swarm of people descended on the R8 as I was at the cash register. Normally I don't mind talking about the car I'm driving, but this day I just wanted to get back out on the road and figure out where I was going to shoot a three car comparison.
As I approached the car, I a family of tourists was standing in front of the car taking pictures of it, them with the car and so on. They noticed me standing there and gestured if it was ok for them to continue. I had no problem letting take a few more photos.
Once they finished they waved and nodded with a smile, the international "thank you". The oldest son approached me and said, "Your car is German. We are French."
"I'm happy for you."
I got in the car and drove away, not sure of what to make of their declaration and my reaction. Must have been lost in translation.
At this point, I've used the R8 for basic transportation around town and one long road trip. Yeah, it sounds great and handles nearly perfectly, but what keeps jumping out at me is how comfortable it is along the way.
It's a $120,000 mid-engined exotic, yet you don't have to fall into the driver's seat to get in. And once you're situated, it's not the least bit claustrophobic. The sight lines are good through the windshield and when you look over your shoulder you can actually see out the back window. It rides smoothly too, with none of the bucking and twitching you might expect from a car with low-profile tires and a tight wheelbase. In other words, the R8 is a real car and when it comes to exotics that's saying something. Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor @ 15,830 miles
This job has given me the opportunity to sample a lot of impressive automobiles: Dodge Vipers, the Lotus Elise and Exige, a Lamborghini Gallardo, a Ford GT, Vettes, AMG Benzes, the occasional Ferrari, a plethora of Porsches and the Nissan GT-R. But none of them has elicted the kind of extended gawking, spontaneous cell-phone photography and ill-advised pursuit as this 2008 Audi R8.
It started on the 91 freeway as I was driving home. The guy in the car pool lane next to me held-up his followers for a good 5 minutes while his passenger shot dubious-quality photos with his cell phone. At one point people in three different cars on all sides of me were doing much the same thing. Is this what it's like to be Brad Pitt?
Last night my neighbor's cat let me know that our 2008 Audi R8 is the greatest thing since the Pontiac Solstice and its hammock-style cloth top. The cat, who goes by the name Mr. Fuku, partied hard on the right quarter panel before bedding down over the engine compartment.
This morning the manager at our local car wash let me know it would be $30 to remove the paw prints and dander, which is actually not bad for a true hand wash in West LA. We've decided not to risk putting on long-termer on the tracks for the customary semi-hand wash.
How many times can I get up to look out the window to see this beauty in my driveway?
But we couldn't let if just sit there. So we headed south toward San Diego but then remembered it was the last day of Comic-Con and didn't want anyone to mistake the Audi R8 for the Millennium Falcon. So we stopped off in San Clemente, former home of the former worst President of the U.S.
It's a quaint old town with a little shopping district, some nice restaurants and lots of Spanish mission type of architecture. All of the buildings look like Kim Novak should jump off of them. But I guess that was San Juan Capistrano.
The ride packed the usual excitement for other drivers. It really makes me nervous when you see cars looking at you in the mirror instead of the road. There's always somebody who takes your picture, somebody who wants to race, somebody in a Prius who yells at you as you drive by because you're destroying the environment. The usual crowd.
There is something accessible about the R8 that makes people want to talk to you. I can't imagine getting the same reaction in a Ferrari or Lamborghini. Perhaps it's the newness of the R8. People haven't seen it before. And the style is exotic without being ostentatious. It makes people happy.
On the highway, the R8 is fun, fun, fun. Merging? No problem. Speeding? Can be a problem. Once the R8 gets going, its low hum lulls you into thinking you are driving at legal speeds. Until you look at the speedometer and "Whoa."
Starting off is very clunky in the lower gears, very similar to driving the Smart. No fooling. The transition from 1st to 2nd can be awkward until you learn to finesse it. Outside of the attention factor, the similarities end there. I was driving behind a friend in the R8 and he said when he looked in his rear-view mirror, he thought the R8 was going to eat him. The Smart on the other hand looks like it's about to be gobbled up by Ms. Pac-Man.
One of the interesting things about the R8 is that, although you can drive it as an automatic, it has no "Park" gear. You just put on the hand brake, notch the shifter into gear and shut her off.
Behind the seat is a handy storage area that keeps small items from bouncing around yet remain within arm's reach.
The nav system was a pain in the you-know-what. It gave me ridiculous directions and when I chose another path, kept telling me to make a u-turn. I mean, I must have passed twenty-five intersections before it finally shut up and readjusted itself. And then it still tried to re-route me back to its original course. I ended up shutting it off. The tiny map graphics were useless anyway.
Yesterday Santa Monica Audi performed a 15,000 mile service on our long-term Audi R8. Ken Maryan our service advisor could not have been more pleasant to deal with, and the work was done in a single day as promised.
They changed the oil and filter, checked the car over and installed a new dust and pollen filter to our climate control system. That's it. Total for parts: $185.06, which includes 9 quarts of synthetic motor oil.
What killed us was the labor. Two and a half hours at an incredible $160.00 an hour (Labor for our 1984 Ferrari 308 was only $120.00 an hour.) That's $400.00 in labor costs. Total for the job: $600.33.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief @ 15,472 miles
Like Al said, some of us headed to Monterey this weekend for the big MotoGP race. I lucked out and scored the R8 for the 300+ mile drive, yeah rough life I know. Since I had to bolt up there on Sunday morning, I took the fast, but boring, Interstate 5 for most of the way.
True story: I'm rolling with the flow of traffic at around 90mph when our Escort radar detector blows up. I see a CHP on the other side about to cross the median, so I slow down to around 75mph (limit is 70) and wait to see what happens. He sits back for awhile, then fires up the left lane and pulls up alongside me. When I look over, he points to the car, gives a big thumbs up and then pulls away. Score one for the R8.
After surviving the less-than-smooth rural parking lot without a scratch, I took the R8 down some of central California's best roads on the way back. As much as I hate the transmission, it does work well when you're running hard.
Once I got back on the Interstate, I did find a new flaw in the Audi - you can't drive fast with the windows down. The buffeting from the wind creates a horrible resonance that makes it unbearable. Disappointing, but hardly a deal breaker.
It has taken me a while, but I've found a flaw in our long-term 2008 Audi R8.
When the car is equipped with the R-tronic transmission, as ours is, you push the shifter to upshift and pull it back to downshift. That's backassward. When you're upshifting, you're accelerating, so you should pull the lever. And when your downshifting, you're decelerating, so you should push the lever. That's how it's been in race cars for years.
Oddly, only Mazda and BMW get this right, even in their SUVs. The shifters in both our long term BMW X5 and Mazda CX-9 are as they should be, while the shifters in all our other cars, including the Cadillac CTS, Pontiac G8 GT and Hyundai Veracruz are backassward.
I know, I know, use the Audi's paddle shifters and the problem is solved, but I'm old school and still like to reach down and feel the action of the R8's aluminum shifter.
And another thing, the gear readout on the Audi's dash is way too low and too small. When you're flogging this car in manual mode, the gear readout should get larger for quicker reference.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief @ 15,455 miles
We've had our long-term Audi R8 for six weeks, exactly half of its 3-month stay with us. And so far we've driven it 7,493 miles. Not bad.
According to its computer, our silver supercar is almost due for its 15,000 mile service, which would be its second bit of scheduled maintenance (the first was performed at 5,000 miles). We'll easily cover the remaining 700 miles this weekend, and take the car to Santa Monica Audi sometime next week. While it's there, we'll also have a couple of other small problems addressed. Minor stuff, including a slightly loose piece of console trim and a dying keyfob battery.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief @ 14,534 miles
The above was the most expensive fillup we had in the course of our 2,650-mile road trip to Seattle and back. Granted, it was our biggest fillup as we'd always have to stop for food or a bathroom break and were only able to get it down to a little less than half a tank before we allowed ourselves to stop. But it made us glad that we didn't have to pay for the gas ourselves. This one fillup is more than the cost of one-way airfare to Seattle from L.A.! (Virgin America $79).
We had 10 fillups during our trip and burned through 146.9 gallons of premium. Our average fuel economy was 18 mpg; most of that was highway driving with some twisty roads. Best mpg: 19.7 (from biggest fillup). Worst mpg: 15.1 (first fillup).
In its short time with us, we've driven our long-term 2008 Audi R8 along both the X and Y axes of this great land. At this pace, it'll probably pass the Aura's mileage in about three days. And really, if you suddenly had an R8 you didn't pay for, you too would be thinking about driving it to the Yukon for no particular reason. Hey, that's actually sounds appealing.
Anywho, our R8 with R-Tronic transmission hit the track last week to see what she could do. Judging my Jacquot's comments, I think he likes it. I've included the numbers we achieved with the short-term R8 we tested a few months back that had the six-speed manual.
Here are just some extra shots taken of our 2008 Audi R8 during the long road to Seattle, Washington, and back. The shot above is taken facing away from that infamous Basshole Bar & Grill, facing the I-5. Temps must have been in the 90s so we parked the R8 under a huge tree.
In the parking lot at the summit of Mary's Peak near Corvallis, Oregon, after Jay tackled the twisties to get here. We had to take a break. That cyclist biked the whole way to the top, stopped for a bit of energy gel and then went back down the way he came. So hard-core.
Oldham has his weapon of choice. But does he know where the bogies are, and how many? This Valentine One I borrowed from my friend (thanks, Sarah F) has saved my bacon time and again on my roadtrip in the 2008 Audi R8.
And talk about range. At one point it alerted about three miles before I actually saw the cruiser.
Another time about 10 miles from the Oregon border, a Washington cop hit us with laser and the V1 exploded with bleeps and lights. With laser, these alerts are too little too late, and you're usually bagged. I had slowed ahead of time, though (call it spidey sense), and escaped unscathed.
Overall, I noticed how the box relieves me from having to constantly scan every overpass, clump of trees and on-ramps for patrol cars, instead allowing me to focus on other things. Like driving.
OK, I get that the 2008 Audi R8 is a totally hot-looking car. Even as I saw it while sitting in another car caravaning behind it, I couldn't help but drool, and I've already ridden in it for over 1,000 miles. And I know that of course people are bound to be curious about it. You don't see many of these on the road. But we've encountered sooo many a-holes on the I-5 because of it. I'm talking people who are cutting off other motorists just to drive beside it, who tailgate us, who squat in our blindspots while on the highway so we can't switch lanes when we need to.
So I thought I'd create a wall of shame, if you will, of said motorists who gave me a glimpse of what it must be like to be a celebutard being hounded by paparazzi. These are only the worst of the offenders.
It wouldn't be worth taking our long-term 2008 Audi R8 on a 2,300-mile road trip if we didn't find some crazy-good roads to experience along the way.
Route 34 lies just outside of Philomath, OR. It winds gently through the countryside and then forms a clump of cambered switchbacks just before the right turn to Mary's Peak Road. Mary is our kind of woman, judging by the way her 9.3-mile ribbon of joy jags through the Oregon woods, gaining 2600 feet of elevation on its way to a clearing near the summit.
The R8 is scintillating on this road. There is zero indication the front wheels are driven other than the fact that you're accelerating away from apexes in a way that few two-wheel-drive cars can (the 911 excepted).
Altitude saps some of the Audi's power up here, but the fact that you can fearlessly thrash a wide, $130,000 mid-engined supercar on bumpy pavement like this is a testament to the R8's versatility. It's forgiving, fast and totally engaging.
This is a special car. The more I drive it, the more the thought of returning its keys pains me.
I can tell that our Daytona Gray Pearl 2008 Audi R8 looks pretty intimidating on the highway by the way most of the left lane squatters skedaddle out of the way upon our approach.
Some motorists switch lanes even if it means falling in behind a slow-moving semi to get out of our path. And one time a Silverado 2500 almost switched lanes in front of us as we were cruising along, saw us in his driver side mirror and then moved back to his original position in the other lane as if to say, "Oops, pardon," he didn't want to get in our way. That NEVER happens.
Stopped our long-term 2008 Audi R8 for burgers and greazy garlic fries at Basshole Bar and Grill in Lakehead, CA. They were about as good as you'd expect from a place named "Basshole." There's a black AMG CLS55 with black wheels and blacked out taillights parked near the door.
An older guy inside the restaurant approaches just after we sit down. I already know he's the AMG owner. "Driving the Audi?" he asks.
Me: "Yup."
Older Guy: "That's the first one I've seen. How much power?"
Me: "About 420."
The guy's face lights up and a broad smile spreads across it. "Oh yeah? I have the Mercedes outside. It has 480 hp. When I race cars on the freeway, it pulls hard. I take it up to 90."
Me: "Hmm."
Older Guy: "What fuel economy are you getting?"
Me: "About 18."
The guy's face lights up again. "Oh yeah? I get 23 in my Mercedes. It pulls hard. Well, have fun with it."
With that he pats me sharply on the back before returning to his barstool as if to say, "Aww, better luck next time, young fella."
When choosing a car from our fleet to take on a long road trip, one of the things we usually factor in is does it have an auxiliary input or a way to connect an iPod/MP3 for road trip tuneage.
Surprisingly, the 2008 Audi R8, the car of Iron Man -- every technogeek's superhero -- doesn't come equipped with an aux input. Even our 2007 Nissan Versa had one. But our Audi only has two SD card slots. And who uses those?
Instead we had to resort to using an FM transmitter to hook our iPod up to the stereo...and change the station every time it gets static-y, which will probably happen a lot during this long trip.
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 11,425 miles
Here's a foible I noticed while rocketing up the road in our long-term 2008 Audi R8. The sun visors.
The visors flip down, but they don't swivel over to the side. So when the day draws to a close, the sun makes an obnoxious appearance in the side windows.
Driving north in the flat, cloudless desert in the middle of the summer, this means the sun dazzles the driver of the R8 for roughly half an hour.
Then the sun sets and the R8 returns to 100% Awesome status.
Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor @ 11,424 miles.
Who would be dumb enough to take our long term 2008 Audi R8 on a six-day, 2,300 mile road trip?
*raises hand*
Last time I drove an Audi R8, I proclaimed to those in our office whom would listen (thanks Mr. Goldfish) that the car is compliant and comfortable enough that one could drive it across the country without a moment's hesitation.
So now I'm putting that claim to the test. I'm taking it on a roadtrip to Seattle and back with a few stops along the way to visit family and to explore some cool roads.
First things first. Need to pack. How much stuff can you put in a mid-engine two seater? Turns out not much. The two duffels pictured above hold the brunt of stuff for two people and six days.
They fit quite nicely in the R8's trunk along with a gift for my sister, and there's at least two cubic centimeters left over:
Bonus space behind the seats:
Time to hit the road.
Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor @ 11,155 miles.
When the tire shop said it would have to order a tire for our Audi R8 after last weekend’s blowout, I knew it wasn’t going to be cheap. Sure enough, when the tire arrived a couple days later the final tally after mounting and balancing was $450. No one ever said living with a supermodel was cheap.
So I get the coveted keys to the R8 for the weekend, doesn't get much better right? Well, yes and no. Saturday morning started out well enough. Clear skies, minimal traffic and a quick run to Angeles Crest Highway. I know it well, so the R8 was a good companion on its ridiculously pristine stretches of twisty asphalt.
Well, I should say, mostly pristine. About 30 miles in I came around a medium speed right hander only to find a random collection of granite sprayed across the pavement. My initial thought was to straddle the big rock on the right to avoid the several smaller stones on the left, but at the last second I figured tire damage was better than body damage.
And tire damage is what I got. The sizable boulder on the right took a chunk out of the sidewall and the air came pouring out in one big blast of "you're screwed dude". I pulled into a turnout to plot my next move. I didn't expect a spare, so I wasn't surprised to see a useless tire inflator kit. There was no cell phone service that far into the mountains, so I made the four mile walk to the nearest call box.
A couple hours later, the R8 was deposited into the parking lot of our local tire dealer. No shops in L.A. had one of the R8's front tires in stock so it would have to wait until later in the week to get fixed. Such is life with a brand new supercar. We'll let you know what it costs us when it returns.
After four days, 10 states, 2,877 miles, one quart of Castrol Synthetic, one mullet head, and two fantastic BBQ lunches, we coasted into Santa Monica on fumes.
Over the course of the trip, the Audi R8 drank 144.8 gallons of premium gasoline and averaged 19.8 mpg.
At nearly $5 a gallon, you do the math. But I'll tell you this...
We're finally out of Texas. Five states to go; New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and California. We could just bang due west and get this trip over with, but come on, we're in an Audi R8 and if there's anyplace in this country you can still go fast it's in the wide open spaces of New Mexico, Utah, Arizona and California.
Plus Monument Valley is just a few short hours away. As is Route 66. It'll add about 500 miles to our trip but so what. We're having fun, and the Audi R8 is comfortable enough that another 500 miles won't be much trouble.
Here are some photographic highlights. Not much to tell, besides the R8 is running perfectly (it got an scheduled oil change at 5,000 miles and will be due for another at 15,000), and my co-driver Scott Jacobs has a bladder the size of a pea.
I'd also like to report that all that BBQ back in Lockhart, Texas has not come back to haunt us.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief @ 9,022 miles
That green in this blurred image of the R8's speedometer reads cruise. You gotta love a car that lets you set the cruise control at a buck twenty. Most don't. The Audi's awesome high speed stability doesn't even make it a moment...
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief @ 8,697 miles
Between Sheffield, Texas and beautiful El Paso there's a cop every 27 feet of I-10. I'm not kidding. For several hundred miles we've witnessed the most condensed concentration of police we've ever seen on any road anywhere.
Hot Rod Jim was a nice find, but up the road in Lockhart is heaven. Gastrointestinal heaven. Bring on the meat, we've landed in BBQ nirvana.
First stop Kreuz (pronounced "Krites") Market, which has been turning out the smoked meats since 1900. Got a quarter pound of brisket and a hot link, and a drink for like six bucks...
Big place this Texas. Like real big. Kim Kardashian's ass big. Should take us an entire day of hard driving to make it through the other side, plus we're going to make a stop in Lockhart, about 150 miles west of Houston for some of the state's finest BBQ (according to Texas Monthly magazine)...
Between The Big Sleazy and the Texas border we've made a few friends. First was this long haired older guy in his new black on black Aston Martin DB9 droptop. We ran together for a while at about 85 mph and nailed from a roll just once. I'd like say we blew his doors off, but the cars were pretty even...
According to Wikipedia the priest-chronicler Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix described the city of New Orleans in 1721 as a place of a hundred wretched hovels in a malarious wet thicket of willows and dwarf palmettos, infested by serpents and alligators.
Yup. Sounds about right. And at this very moment they're all looking at an Audi R8 cruising Bourbon street...
Delta flight 936 dumps us in Atlanta on time and in one piece. Now all we need is a car. A car with air conditioning. They don't call it Hotlanta for nothing...
The boys are thirsty in Atlanta and there's beer in Texarkana and we'll bring it back no matter what it takes. — Jerry Reed, Eastbound and Down, Smokey and the Bandit, 1977
It was with that mentality that we went and got our Audi R8 in Atlanta, Georgia — because it was there and it needed to be here, back at our office in Santa Monica, California. Well, that and a 3,000-mile road trip in one of the world's great cars sounded better than a week in the cubicle.
Believe it or not, Audi wanted to truck the car out west...
We've added an Audi R8 supercar to our long-term test fleet. Well, sort of long term. We only have it for three months, but we're gonna drive the hell out of it in that time.
In fact, we've already driven it across the country so stay tuned for more on the trip and how much barbeque we've consumed...
