All Cars, All the Time

Audi Streets of Tomorrow Review




Well I attended the Audi Q7 Streets of Tomorrow event on Saturday. The event was held at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. The museum is right off of 101, so it was super easy to get to.

I have to admit I was disappointed by the event. Check in was a snap and there were tons of folks to help you through the process. They had about 25 Q7s on hand for the event and the line to test the car moved quickly. There is a reason that the line moved so fast--the test drive was super short. The Q7 test drive was actually on public streets and not in a coned off parking lot. You hopped into the car, the “product specialist” showed you a few things such as the rear view camera and then you’re off. Audi split up the routes so Q7s were prowling all the streets and not just beating up on one neighborhood. What you got was a couple of city blocks, then a freeway exit to exit stint and back to the museum. It was pretty much impossible for me to draw any conclusions about the Q7 from this short jaunt.

I don’t know that the “real world” test is the best. Firstly, the rep in the passenger seat never shut up. I understand that it’s his job and has to keep talking, but I found it highly distracting. I'm reminded of the VW commerical “hun I can’t hear the sound of the engine, with all that yakkin’, sometimes, my fast doesn’t get along with my girlfriend” I just want to listen to the car as I drive along. I can’t concentrate while this stranger is blathering away as I am behind the wheel of a car that I’ve never driven before. I want to hear the engine, how much road noise gets through, if there are any squeaks or rattles. Even is the rep was quiet, it wouldn’t be the same. It’s just like when you’re reading a newspaper on the train and someone behind you is reading your paper. Doesn’t that drive you nuts? Secondly, because you’re in the real world you have a lot more distractions. When you’re on a closed course, you can focus more on the car and less on people trying to cut you off. Also, most closed courses don’t have ride along factory representatives.

The next option was a “hot lap” ride along in one of Audi’s RS4 high performance cars. The loop was almost over before it began, so I didn’t even bother. I did, however, take the shuttle bus to the closed course test track. The test rack had cars such as the S3, Q7, A8, A6 (wagon and sedan), and a few competitors such as the X5 and XC90. It was a bit chaotic. There was no line per se and people just wandered up to the cars and hopped in. You were only allowed two cars to drive and the starter punched your nametag before you took off. The course had some gravel so you could get a feel for the Quattro drive. Sadly, with only two cars to test it was quickly over. I drive the S3 and the A6, but again the courses were so short that I couldn’t gain much of an impression.

The final part of the experience was the lounge area. They had a few guest speakers, such as someone from Wired Magazine explaining how to use iPhoto to create a coffee table book. I just grabbed a coffee and left. On the way out I filled out a survey and received a hardbound book for my troubles. The book is a puff piece about Audi and one of you is more that welcome to it. Just send me an e-mail at tips-at-allcarsallthetime.com (substitute @ for –at-). Let me know your name and where you’re from and I’ll pick a winner at random. This “contest” is open to anyone but if you’re from Ineverheardofitstan and it costs beaucoup $ to send it to you, then you’re out of luck. A winner will be drawn from all entries received by 8AM PST on Friday (5/19/06). Winner must respond with their mailing address within three days of notification or another contestant will be chosen (that is presuming that there is more than one contestant). If nobody enters the contest, then Joe gets the book.