While heading through Horse Cave, Kentucky (near Mammoth Cave National Park) on a family road trip I happened to spy some interesting Audis in the parking lot of the Hampton Inn where we were staying. There were four Audis:

A6 3.2 Quattro
A6 3.0 TDI Quattro
A8 4.0 TDI Quattro
A8 W12 Quattro

The following is a shot of the A6 3.0TDI:













In speaking with DiD he said he hasn't seen anything mentioned on VW Vortex about these models. I thought that the A6 3.0 TDI and A8 4.0 TDIs were very interesting as this indicates that VW/Audi might be expanding their diesel offerings in the states as the low-sulfur diesel comes into effect. Three of the cars were sporting front bumper covers that had a space for a european tag so I suspect these were all Euro cars here for testing. That said I don't think they usually bring them over unless there is a chance they are being considered for sale here.

Mark

 

Mark,

I posted this over on vwvortex and there have been a couple of interesting comments.

1) VW has a test facility in Tampa
2) If you look at the license plate area on the 4L TDI, there are impressions under there that say "IN" and "91". IN apparently stands for Ingolstadt which is Audi's home town.

Dave

 

I would imagine the 3.0 version is not selling that well in Europe. Given new tax laws, the 2.0 version pays roughly 33% less taxes based on the new CO2 emissions-based scheme.....perhaps they think they can sell it here, and I would guess they very much could.

Issue is that while ULSD will be available by 2006 and is currently available now in some areas, the cetane number in the US (40) is WELL below the European standard (50).

 

Mark,


Ya picked a great place to visit. The caves of south-central Kentucky are a national treasure. Horse cave itself has been a run for profit business since before the War Between the States. Great to see that Audi's test team appreciates the natural beauty that is America when they are on tour here as well.