After being nearly ran down by an Audi 5000 (while at a dealer auction in Florida) at the very same time my Wife was telling a Federal Judge why she wasn't a good jury candidate for a "unintentional acceleration" trial, because we had discussed the specifics of the case at length, I've always been a little reluctant to step in front of a running Audi automatic ever since.
I can't believe after all these years, I'm the only person that figured out what probably happened in every case. Audi really got away with murder.IMO

 

Well... it's looking like my next car is going to be a VW GTI. I'll probably pick it up before the end of the month.

Of course, the Crossfire isn't going anywhere, but my MINI is going away.

 

Sorry to hear that Tom, I know how much you enjoyed that car.
I really, really love my Crossfire (that should be obvious to anybody here), but if it started causing me the grief you've been having with the Mini, I'd have to let go too.

 

Thanks Mike. I think if I had a reliable mechanic/dealership that I could trust to fix it, I would keep it. But I'm tired of the BS and the on-going problems. The biggest problems with that car is that no one wants to work on it. BMW doesn't want to admit that it is really one of theirs. My MINI dealer is a knucklehead. And every other place I take it, they look at me like I have two heads.

I also found out that BMW keeps a tight hold of all information on their cars. They even had AllData remove the BMW/MINI technical service bulletins from their web site! If you're not a BMW/MINI dealer, you get nothing. So that means that stand-alone mechanics don't have access to normal repair/maintenance information for their cars - forcing car owners to rely on dealerships. Then you go into a dealership and BMW forces their mechanics to use a flow-chart to diagnose problems, rather than their own experience and knowledge.

Oh, my rant could go on and on like the energizer bunny. I'll stop, since that would be a real thread-jack.



So... my next car isn't going to be a BMW or MINI.

Let's hope VW is a good alternative. If nothing else, at least there's a dealership across the street from my office instead of 90 miles away!

 

The bottom line to this is the law that was passed: "To engage drive, your foot must be on the brake." No more uncontrolled acceleration. VW Audi was trashed by the media lawyers. gary

 

Gary, I think it's reasonable to assume, that if we are talking about something that's mechanical, then eventually it will wear out, break or malfunction at some point in time. As far as I know, they haven't created a perpetual motion machine yet.
I watched the 60 minute TV show, and I thought they made it quite clear that they intentionaly made the car accelerate by tampering with the transmission first, just to prove a point on camera.
I'm no mechanic, but I think I remember reading that Audi was having a vacuum problem with the cruise control on some 5000 and 4000 models during that era. Don't quote me, because it's been so long ago, but that stuck with me.
After seeing the 60 minutes show, I was completely convinced all the unintensional acceleration law suits were due to driver error (mistaking the gas pedal for the brake). My wife and I discussed it at length, and I assured her there was no way the engine could overcome the brakes, and the chances of the brakes failing at precisely the same time the engine takes off were impossible to calculate.
I think the basis for the law suits was the brakes failed at the same time the engine accelerated, because every person was absolutely sure they had their foot pressed firmly on the brake when the car crashed into something.
Well I was walking around the West Palm Beach Florida dealer auction when I took a shortcut across the driveway where cars get checked into the Auction. No sooner than I stepped off the driveway, I hear a noise of a car blasting out of the check in area behind me and to my right, and within seconds go flying behind me heading towards the doors of one of the auction blocks.
Finally the driver got the car to stop, (as the motor was still racing) when several auction employees got to the drivers door and reached in and turned the ignition off.
They helped the driver out of the car, (he was noticably shaken) and walked him over to a bench to sit down. As a crowd gathered around him to hear his version of what happened, I'm thinking to myself, another person mistook the gas pedal for the brake, and continued on my way looking for cars to buy, and counting my blessings he missed me by about 10 feet.
About a half hour later I wind up back at the auction block, and the driver of the run-away Audi is still sitting on the bench (by himself now) drinking a bottled water, so I just had to go over and ask him what happened.
He told me, that one of the first things they tell the drivers at the auction is to always make sure they have their foot firmly on the brake when they put the cars in gear. He said he put the car in gear, but when he moved his foot over to the gas pedal, the very moment he touched the pedal, it went straight to the floor and the car lunged forward. It took him a couple seconds to get his feet back on the brake and get the car stopped (even though the motor was still racing).
That's when it hit me, because of the drivers "reaction" time, the car was able to cover a more than enough distance to cause a great deal of damage, and I don't doubt most everybody in the law suit had their foot firmly on the brake when the damage was done.
Unfortunately, because the jurys were asked to reach a verdict thinking the brakes failed the same time the car accelerated at the same moment, nobody could find Audi guilty because the odds of those two things happening at the same time were simply too great.
I went to a pay phone to try and get in touch with my Wife (since she was going to court that day for Grand jury selection) to tell her what had happened, but I couldn't get a hold of her.
Later that evening, I talked to her, and she said she was dismissed from jury duty because she had a preconceived opinion on the case, and I told her I was wrong, about the Audi.
The case she would have been on, was the one where the Preachers Wife ran her child down when they opened the garage door.
That's why I say Audi got away with murder.
Sorry for the long post.

 

Sounds like the saga of the Xfire, Chrysler and Mercedes all over again.

Tom 2112 wrote:

"The biggest problems with that car is that no one wants to work on it. BMW doesn't want to admit that it is really one of theirs. My MINI dealer is a knucklehead." but Xfires do have indepenent Mercedes mechanics available to sevice the Xfire.

I was recently thinking about a Jag XK- R but don't know if I too want to go through the reliability issues and dealing with a Jag dealer that is 2 hours away. After the warranty is up, it could get costly and problematic since they are like a lot of other low production, speciallity cars out there like the Mini, Astin Martin, etc.

After owning British cars for over 50 years I have become a very practiced and efficient shade tree mechanic on those cars. I totally understand your position. At least I do not have to use them as daily drivers and sometimes they sit for a couple of months/weeks while I get around to fixing them or waiting for parts but when they are running right they are really fun to drive.

Over all the years it was always a trade off between fun to drive, good looking and reliability. Hate to say it but there is always a Mazda Miata. I know compromise is difficult. Just ask the Congress.

 

Planning on picking up an MK6 GTI, in Tornado Red of course. Gotta love those plaid seats

 

My next car would be Audi 5000. I am planning to buy it very soon.

 

drove one for 7 years. paid 6k for it due to the tv show. Then bought a 200 for 10k. I am my mechanic so I could afford it.

 

My next will be a Mustang. A little more comfy for my old age, but still cool.

 

We're looking for a 4-seat convertible...but the Crossfire isn't going anywhere!

 

My next car will replace my daily driver which is a 2011 Cadillac SRX. I would like a 2014 CTS, but the price is going to jump $6000 so I will probably settle for an ATS or a BMW.

 

I'm going to a Porsche driving event on August 2nd at Gillette Stadium.. Going to see how I like the Porsche Cayman as its definitely a contender for my next car.. well 3rd car, after I get my winter beater and the Crossfire becomes my track car...

 

Mustang would be my next car. I love its performance.

 

Hopefully by the time I wear out my SRT6 in a couple of years (which I'll keep as a collectors item) and I hit the lottery I'll jump on one of these, if they produce it!

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...tml#post746258

2014-jaguar-cx75_600x0w.jpg

Jaguar-C-X75-concept-rear-three-quarter-1024x640.jpg

 

Another Viper.

Viper ACR.jpg

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Copy of DSC_0097.JPG

 

I will be 61 in a few months and I am very content with my current stable, so I have not considered a next vehicle until I saw this topic. I like the second gen BMW Z4 but, my Jeep Cherokee is 15 years old and even though it's in great condition it will probably need replacing before the XF. I can't see not owning a Jeep so I would probably replace it with another Jeep. I plan on having the Jeep and the XF for at least five or six more years so the price of these two should be in my attainable range by then. Then again I just my put the money to restoring what I got if needed.

http://www.gdefon.com/download/2014_...4614/3000x2000

http://downloads.xdesktopwallpapers....0In%20Blue.jpg

 

I just bought a slightly used MB 4-Matic E-350. XFs aren't going anywhere soon. I got my old Suzuki X-90 back last year as well from my son. That is a project in the making and my old Tahoe, well, it needs a home...so my next purchase will be a truck of some sort.