Test your knowlegde

[ziderapple 0]

Where does the A at the fron of Audi models come from, ie: A2, A3, A4... previously Audis were galvanzied when they were 50, 80 , 100. This is to settle an argument.

 

Cheers.

 

Chris.

[young dub 0]

A complete guess:

 

The use of Aluminium panels?

[Andy665 0]

The A does not stand for anything at all - they needed a new series of model designations and it (A) was logical to start with the first letter of the alphabet and (B) no other manufacturer had previously registered these designations

[VR6 0]

I always assumed it was just A for Audi.

[craigowl 0]

"......The company was founded by August Horch, but at that time there was already a car company operating under the name Horch, so he translated his name into Latin, to get the much nicer sounding Audi, meaning to listen....."

[Andy665 0]

Afraid not, it was just typiccally Teutonic logic at work

[ziderapple 0]

ok, I'm sure I was once told it was the introduction of aluminium. Are they still galvanzied then? never see a rotten Audi!

[Andy665 0]

Aluminium is becoming more and more widespread in modern car manufacturing, usually for isolated components / body panels, some manufacturers are moving into even lighter / stronger magnesium components now. I would not say that Audi are the leaders in aluminium technology anymore, Jaguar / Aston Martin / BMW etc are just as if not stronger in this area.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

so he translated his name into Latin, to get the much nicer sounding Audi, meaning to listen....."

 

Or to mean Auto Union Deustcha (sp?) Industries ;-)

 

Auto Union started off in the World War making 4x4 military vehicles and then moved onto commercial vehicles and cars. BMW (Bavarian Motor Werks) started off making aero engines (hence the blue/black/white propeller badge) for dog fighters and VW as we know spawned from Hitler's request for cheap, affordable cars for his 'master race', which he forced Dr Ferdinand Porsche into designing.....hence the close ties VW and Porsche share today.

 

Super and turbo charging was developed for the war too. It's amazing how much monetry and technological commitment is ploughed into defense compared to other sectors. But thankfully we now have racing teams pushing the boundaries, which gradually filters it's way down to road cars.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I would not say that Audi are the leaders in aluminium technology anymore, Jaguar / Aston Martin / BMW etc are just as if not stronger in this area.

 

Let's not forget Audi pioneered Zinc galvanising and woke the world up to rust prevention. During the time Audi were playing with that, Jap and Italian cars used to start rusting on the boats as they made their way over!!

 

Also, don't forget Lotus in the list of Aluminium pioneers.

 

BMW now use a high magnesium content in their engine blocks (except the new 335i twin turbo). It's all good.

[craigowl 0]

Funny, that about Auto Union, kev.

I had heard years ago that the name Audi came from that.

The "to listen" stuff was off google.

 

Re corrosion.

My wife's bought-from-new (£740 in 1966) Austin 1100 collapsed on the jack in 1969 due to a rotten sill.. You could stick your finger into a paint blister on top of the wing and break through the rotten metal into the (unlined) wheel arch on that car and many others of that age.

I made my own wheel arch inserts on about 3 new cars in the 1970/80s after reading an advert for them being able to be imported from Sweden in Car Mechanics or similar. They were too expensive, though.

 

Pre wheelarch-insert days, you could scoop many handfulls of salt laden mud from the wings and from in behind the headlights in most, if not all, cars. Clearly, they were designed to rot as quickly as possible.

 

You could have your new car undersealed at the dealership, but it was an extra you paid for and most ordinary motorists did not realise it was good to have it done. We, the consumers are right mugs but pressure and competition can enforce better things from the manufacturers, unless they go under due to greed and complacency - like most of the British car and motor cycle industries.