RE: timing belts

[James Montebello <jamesm@domain.elided>]

On Sun, 13 Oct 2002, John Barbera wrote:
> Besides, engineering at Audi never ceases to impress me.  This is the
> company that introduced the quattro system, the five-valve head, the
> all-aluminum A8 and, most recently, the CVT drivetrain in the new A4.

All-wheel-drive is hardly an Audi invention.  Five-valve heads were
used by Yamaha on motorcycle engines well prior to Audi using them, and
Ferrari used them on F1 engines, and I believe on some road car engines.
All aluminum chassis also significantly pre-date the A8 (the NSX springs
to mind).  A CVT that could handle a significant amount of power was
developed by Williams Grand Prix something like 15 years ago, and CVTs
in general have been under development by a great many firms for decades.

Audi's engineering may very well be impressive, and they appear to
produce fine cars.  However, none of the technologies you mention were
"introduced" by Audi in the sense that Audi brought them into the world,
nor was Audi the first to mass-produce any of them, with the possible
exception of the CVT.

Really, with all of the consolidation in the auto industry, it's rather
pointless to trumpet or bash any particular automaker anymore.  There's
too much cross-pollination and simple "branding" exercises now, esp.
when it comes to racing.   The Audi sports racer has nothing to do with
Audi's road cars, just as the Jag F1 car has nothing to do with any Jag
road car.

james montebello
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