Amy’s Garage

by Amy Mattinat

The Winner’s of Wave 3 Are:

Q7: Tom Wilson & Zach Bowmann in Car #3 with and average consumption of 29.5 mpg traveling 1092 miles at an average speed of 52.4 mph.

Q5: Yves Maroselli and Christophe Boulain in Car #19 with and average consumption of 36.8 mpg traveling 1102 miles at an average speed of 52.8 mph.

A3: Should have been Royal Ford and Lauren Fix. They are both exceptional drivers and were kicking butt on all the numbers of anyone who had driven an A3. (On day 1 they averaged consumption of 44.7 mpg traveling at an average speed of 59 mph.) Unfortunately their car had a mishap and they were not able to finish the race.

A4: Kami Buchholz and Amy Mattinat in Car #10 with and average consumption of 36.7 mpg traveling 1086 miles at an average speed of 49.3 mph.

Just to be sure you got this right, The Vacation Team (with passenger Bob Massa of Michelin Tires in tow):

Kami Buchholz and Amy Mattinat

won the overall A4 Wave 3 Audi Mileage Marathon!

Wa Hooooooo they shout while doing their victory dance up to the stage! With their prize bottles of champagne in hand Audi says thanks for driving the car so well, and we say “Thank You Audi” for letting us be part of this exciting opportunity to prove the exceptional performance, efficiency and downright good time of driving your new diesel technology!

Thank you AskPatty for letting me represent “The Premier Automotive Site for Women!”

by Amy Mattinat

The last day of Wave 3

When we pulled into Sedona last night it was so dark that we had no idea what the terrain looked like. We were tired and hungry. The promise of good food and the comfort of a warm bed was all we had on our minds. With a win under our belt, we decided to turn off the navigation system this morning before we even left the parking lot and go on a site seeing tour. Turning the opposite way all the other Audi cars were going, we went to check out the Red Rocks of Sedona.

Have you ever experienced love at first site? Well I did this morning. The red soil, desert plants and weird rock formations of Sedona have called to my heart and I’ve fallen hard! I’m thinkin that I’ll have to have my winter abode here one day.

Since Kami drove down the mountain from Flagstaff last night, I drove back up. The road snaked up, up, up and man, this car handled like a dream. Can’t say enough about how comfortable and solid this vehicle is. The combination of michelin tires, German engineering and me at the wheel, #10 danced her way up the mountain! Add this to the fact that the ultra low emission system of TDI technology cuts nitrogen emissions by up to 90 percent, this is quite the remarkable automobile.

Thanks to Audi we took a detour off the main road and cruised down Route 66 for a spell. We saw some funny road signs, old fashioned restaurants and funky motels. We stopped off at Hackberry’s General Store and saw the sweetest little Corvette. Don’t tell the Audi folks, but I tried to get the owners to swap cars with me, but they weren’t even interested in talking about it.

We were the last car to stop for lunch par usual. Most of the other drivers wanted to make good time / work on getting good mileage in hopes of winning the overall Mileage Marathon in their class. Enjoying the sunshine, the great company in the car and playing tourists were what we were working on.

When man focuses his mind, energy and talent, he can achieve such great success! We stopped at Hoover Dam to witness one such focus.

We pulled into Vegas right at rush hour. The traffic crawled up the strip so we had a great viewing of the glitz, sparkle and madness of Vegas. Pulling into the Wynn Hotel I felt relief and a melancholy feeling. I have so enjoyed driving #10 - Audi’s A4 TDI Quattro, touring a remarkably beautiful part of this vast country and getting to hang out with Kami Buchholz and Bob Massa. I could not have asked for a better driving partner, and traveling companions.

by Amy Mattinat

Car #10 Wins Day 2’s mileage marathon in it’s class!

Every day before we head out on the road, all the drivers gather after breakfast for a briefing by Audi of the route we will take, suggestions for safe and fuel efficient driving and the results of the best average mileage for each class of cars for the previous day. Since we did so much site seeing yesterday we were not even considering that we would be in the running. So we were shocked (and so were all the other drivers in the room) that we won 1st place out of 6 Audi A4s.

This was pretty humorous to us. So many of the drivers were sooooo very serious about their various techniques to get the best mileage, and here two women drivers take the lead and their strategy was to enjoy the scenery and collect postcards.

Yes we were conscience of gentle starts and stops and coasting downhills with our foot off the gas, but that was about it. This said a lot about the advanced technology of the Audi A4 TDI to me. It is so well engineered, that you don’t have to hyperplane behind trucks and put the car into neutral downhills (like some of the drivers did) to achieve great gas mileage. The Audi engineers did all the work ahead of time. This proves that in real world driving, even up and down mountains you can achieve an average of 39 mpg with an average speed of 51 mph when you drive an Audi A4 TDI.

Did we go 51 mph all day? No Way! We were cruising on the straight aways and coasting downhills. We pretty much drove just like we would in our day to day lives.

YEA US!

WE ROCK!

WE WON!

by Amy Mattinat

Day 2 of the Audi Mileage Marathon - Wave 3

This morning at breakfast, Kami, Bob and I all decided that since the Grand Canyon was only about an hour off our itinerary we would turn off the navigation system AKA: ‘Bossy’, and take a detour to see “The Big Hole”. Bob is quite the ‘adventure man’ and has climbed to the bottom of the GC numerous times and helped convince us that a detour was necessary. We wouldn’t have any extra time for hiking, but we did have time for some spectacular viewing. Much to our chagrin, at the morning meeting Audi suggested this very thing and we found a number of various Audi TDI clean diesel models driving around the park.

It took about six hours to get to the Grand Canyon. There were a lot of loooooong straight-a-ways that went on forever. We would be zooming along just fine and then come up behind a large camper vehicle. Our little A4 Audi #10 makes it fun to pass. Don’t tell anyone but I had her up to 100 mph a number of times. The turbo is so quiet, sleek and powerful and those Michelin tires just hug the road. I tried to stay somewhat near the speed limit, but it was hard. We had to reminding ourselves that we were on an Indian Reservation and the speeding tickets were very painful.

While cruising through an Indian Reservation we came upon these red rocks on the side of the road. Reminded me of when I was a child at the beach and I would make sand sculptures by dripping wet sand in a pile.

The Grand Canyon kinda took me by surprise. The roads leading up the park are kind of boring. Mountains in the distance and a lot of scrubby fields between them and the roads. It was a very uneventful drive right up to the place we paid to get into the park. But once we parked the car, it was one of those mind boggling experiences. All I could say over and over was “WOW”.

We viewed the hole from as many angles as possible. From various lookout points and from up a tower.

Number 10 seemed to love the GC too!

It was about 5 pm when we left the park. We were happy to see our pit crew at the designated Shell station . Audi has staff there to take down data, fill the tank and check the car over. The fuel door is sealed and the tech signs off that we have not strayed from anything that would compromise the study.

After filling up the tank with diesel we still had about an hour to go. Heading into Sedona you drive down a very steep incline full of switchbacks. By this time it pitch black outside. We were very happy to discover that our Audi A4 was loaded with a headlight feature that would automatically turn on and dim the bright lights as needed. This was a fabulous thing! Kami was busy keeping her eyes on the road and the car made it as easy as possible to see as much as possible. I’m just loving this car more and more each day!

We were all so glad to pull up to our hotel. Audi is taking such great care of all of us. The hotel staff whisked away our luggage to our rooms and we were invited for food and drinks.

What a fabulous day! A BIG THANKS to Jody Devere for sending me on this adventure for AskPatty.com

by Amy Mattinat

Denver to Durango

Today started the first leg of my Audi Journey. The weather was cold the skies gray and we were told there was black ice on the mountain roads. The weather people were calling for sunny skies, so we had an extra long breakfast and started out on the road about 1.5 hrs behind schedule.

I met my partners this morning: Kami Buchholz and Bob Massa.

Kami writes for www.kjbsyndicate.com and provides her readers with vehicle driving impressions that emphasize the technical features of popular automobiles. She is also the Detroit Editor of Automotive Engineering International. A monthly publication that reports on product development trends. Sounds like she would be pretty high tech and dry… but Kami is so much fun to have in the car. She tells the funniest stories and has a great eye for spotting deer, birds, waterfalls and the biggest wasp nest I have ever seen hanging off a branch of a tree.

Bob is representing Michelin Tire. He is driving the whole way with the Audi Mileage Marathon. That’s 4,800 miles and 14 days of driving. I’m really enjoying to talking to Bob about one of my favorite automotive subject: Tires!

I feel that tires are one of the MOST Important parts of an automobile. Why? because it is the only contact the vehicle has with the road. Bob has been in the tire business in one aspect or another for years and years. I had always had the misconception that to make tires, they poured liquid rubber into a mold. Way Wrong! I learned a lot today about how tires are made. Tomorrow Bob has a video to show me so I can see what he was talking about. I’ll write more about tires after I get the visual to go with my notes.

But What About The Car?

This little Audi A4 TDI (Turbo Diesel Injection) is wicked fun to drive. Hugs the road, has quick pick-up and go - or should I be blunt and say it kicks butt when you need to pass a huge truck carrying a giant road vehicle that is taking up more then half the road and going very slow!

Plus, it is very styling! checkout this front grill. Is it sexy or what?

The trunk is loaded with all of our luggage with room to spare. The seats are very comfy with lots of various ways to adjust the seats. This is always a good thing after sitting in a car for over 8 hours. Bob also claims he has plenty of legroom in the back.

It drives so nice that I keep forgetting it’s a diesel. It climbs the steep mountain roads without a hiccup and hugs the road when cruising down the curvy backside of the mountains.

I wanted to share with you two of my favorite views of the day! The first one is outside the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs where we had lunch, and the second is ‘A Magic Valley’ we found cruising down one of the many mountain roads we drove on today.

Tomorrow we head to Sedona Arizona. I hear the scenery will be even more spectacular!

Audi has welcomed the 43 journalist / photographers / drivers with open arms. We were given some styling clothes for the road trip, good food and a lot of information about the benefits of Clean Diesel Technology of TDI. These diesels meet emissions regulations in every state of the USA, while offering great driving performance and fuel economy.

I was able to corner a couple of drivers from wave 2 to learn their secrets of getting good fuel mileage without having to drive like my grandmother. I was told 3 secrets:

1) Put the vehicle into dynamic range first thing every time the vehicle is turned on.

2) Drive in Manual Mode and there are supposedly some toggle buttons on the steering wheel that I’m suppose to keep hitting to get it into high range ASAP.

3) When driving downhill, take your foot off the gas pedal and coast. Do Not put it into neutral because the car will keep sipping on the fuel, and Do Not keep a slight pressure on the gas pedal because it will also keep sipping gas.

This is a serious test. The cars are only fueled up once per day at a specific Shell Station, and then the fuel doors are sealed so we can’t add any ourselves. The vehicles also have an on board data to gather information. These guys are not fooling around!

Denver is cloudy, rainy and cold enough that the rain now falling is rumored to be snow by tomorrow. Will be interesting to see how this vehicle handles in the cold and on snowy mountain roads.The car should not be a problem, the Audi A4 3.0 TDi quattro is all wheel drive. It remains to be seen how the tires handle. The have outfitted the A4s with Michelin Primacy HP tires.

Onward Ho and away I go!

We had a beautifully taken care of 1980’s Volkswagen Vanagon GL come into my shop Auto Craftsmen the other day. What was remarkable about this old camper van was that it was born and raised in Vermont.

Now for those of you that have never lived in Vermont, you need to understand that vehicles just don’t last a long time in the Green Mountain State. The road crews of VT in their attempt to keep the snow off the roads during the long 6 months of winter dump tons and tons of salt all over our roads. The salty snow clings to the underbodies and sides of our automobiles and rusts the heck out of them. Every vehicle I have ever owned I have lost to ‘Rust!’ The engine would have gladly kept running, but the body of the vehicle was rusting off the bare bones of the frame and it wouldn’t pass the yearly state inspection that takes those old rusty buckets off our

roads.

Well, this van has been truly loved. It’s owner must have given it a bath on a regular basis for the body to be in such fine shape. The van came to the shop for an oil change and a new battery. The battery lives under the passenger seat. The seat flips around slips forward to give access to the battery compartment. Typical Volkswagen. Those Germans love to make working on Volkswagens interesting, amusing… keep you guessing where things live. Oh, and of course you need to have special Volkswagen tools to even think about working on them.

This van has over 300,000 miles on it.

Seriously… 300k. Remarkable! No it’s not the original engine. It was rebuilt by my tech Jim. But it has driven over 300,000 thousand miles of the highways and byways of this country, Canada and Mexico. It’s traveled to every state in this huge country of ours and has been to Alaska and back.

What is so cool about this van is the interior. It is a camper van. Contains a very comfy bed, really cool kitchen set up and the top pops open so you can stand up in it. There is even an awning that connects to the side so you can have a porch to sit under once you have set up camp.

It would be such fun to take this old van on a road trip. Was a treat to see such a fine old van taken care of so well, and enjoyed so much!

Anyone out there have a Vanagon to top this one?

by Amy Mattinat

Yes, there are Jeeps that Swim!

They drive on the road right into the water and float away being propelled by a propeller!

Back in 1941 during WWII the US Army decided it needed a swimming jeep (known as a SEEP - Sea Jeep) to ferry the big wigs to and from ships off-shore so they could direct the battles. They built about 13,000 of them.

Only…. out in the field they got stuck easily in the mud, and tended to tip over and sink in rough waters. Instead of fixing the problems the US Army gave most of them to Russia. For more history you can to Wikipedia.

Anyways… one of the automotive technicians that works at my shop Auto Craftsmen hangs out with a group of like minded WWII buffs, who enjoy finding old jeeps, tanks, big guns, amphibious jeeps and restoring them. The Crew has been working on this Seep for a while now. The engine had to be rebuilt, various parts hunted down and it was painstakingly put together and painted. Looks Great!

I had the honor of being invited to view the maiden voyage and go for a ride if it didn’t sink.

Last Sunday morning I got a tour of the groups “toys.” They had two buildings filled with thousands of parts & pieces (supplies) and numerous vehicles and big guns. I wanted to ride in them all… but today was all about the baby duck.

I followed the Seep down the road to a small lake. They monkeyed around with it for a while making sure it was “just so” and once they were ready, they jumped in and headed for the water.

Jim is sitting in the passenger seat. He does not like the water much and claims that he sinks like a rock… but he rebuilt the engine and wanted to make sure it was running well.

Some may say these are brave men to take the first ride. When I watch ‘the boys’ do these kind of things I call it “brute strength an ignorance.”

They drove around in a circle for a bit and I could see Jim had that funny look on his face that usually meant “we have a problem here.” He kept looking down and was waving his arms about.

Jim had opened the hatch that led to the transmission area and noticed that we’re taking on water Caption!

If you look closely you will notice that the boat-jeep is leaning a bit to the right.

Those of us on shore watched in amusement as they quickly headed to dry land. When they pulled onto the ramp we noticed a deluge of lake water coming out the bottom of the Seep.

Seems that someone had neglected to put in that last plug. But that did not stop them. They jumped into a pick up, raced back to the shop to bring back the ‘box filled with various sized plugs’.

Of course they found just the right size, plugged up that major hole and jumped into the jeep and drove it back into the lake.

This time there were no problems and it went in and out of the lake all afternoon giving each of us a turn to drive into the water.

Would you jump in the Seep and go driving into the lake?

by Amy Mattinat

Do You Want To Know A Secret?

I personally think it’s a bit foolish to ever purchase a brand new car. Why not save thousands of dollars and buy at least a two year old vehicle with at least 15,000 miles on it.

Today I purchased a 2004 Toyota Corolla LE with 98,000 miles on it for my husband. It was a one owner vehicle and was very well maintained. We should be able to get 5 yrs out of it, and hey…. we don’t need a monthly car payment.

We always put a bit of money aside every week in a special account to purchase our next vehicle. We sold the old Corolla for $4000, so we only paid $4000 for this beautiful 04 Corolla.

A lot of folks are afraid to purchase a used vehicle, especially if it has over 50,000 miles on it, and rightly so. You need to have help to purchase a good used car.

1. You need to know what your wants, needs and budget is before you even think about looking in the paper and on the streets for a used car.
2. Then once you know what you are looking for you need a good walk about checklist & a good test drive checklist so you can “Pre-Qualify” a used vehicle.
3. But you mostly need a trained automotive technician who knows the make and model you want to purchase, and who can do a Thorough Used Car Inspection to determine if this vehicle is worthy to buy.

You want to know the real shape the vehicle is in. I don’t care if the dealer says it is “Used Car Certified”, you still need to have a trained automotive technician do a thorough used car inspection. I want you to remember: Almost All Used Cars Need Something! And, when I say thorough I’m talking about the technician taking 2 to 2 1/2 hours. You want them to take the vehicle on a test drive and do an inspection that includes going up on a lift and taking the tires off the vehicle.

“But what are the Secret Words”? Hang on, I’m getting there…

If the technician feels that this is a solid vehicle and worth buying, have them take pictures with your digital camera of any repairs the vehicle needs: a picture says a thousand words! Have the shop work up an estimate for all repairs and maintenance service the vehicle needs to be safe and reliable.

Pictures and a real estimate are the tools you need in hand to negotiate a good deal on a used car. You are going to use these facts about the car to turn the tables on the sale and become a salesperson.

Give them the information you have in hand and then say The Magic Words: “What Can You Do For Me?” Then “shutupa you mouth”!

Private owners and Independent Used Car Dealers without a service department are more likely to lower their price. BONUS: You were going to buy the car anyways, so any amount they take off the sales price you can use to repair and/or service your new rig.

Dealers or Independent Used Car Dealers that have a service department are more likely to offer to do the repairs and maybe even some of the service work. It is cheaper for them to do the work in-house then to lower the price and have you to take the work elsewhere. BONUS: you would of had to have the work done anyways and now you won’t have to spend the time or money.

Do You Have Any Additional Secrets To Negotiating A Used Car Purchase?

This is a press release from AskPatty.com

AskPatty.com to Offer Independence Day Incentive to Car Dealers to Meet the Needs of Women Car Buyers.

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Women today are looking for cars with improved fuel economy, enhanced safety features and are shopping for a dealership where they will feel comfortable during the entire car buying process.

To honor these millions of independent women car buyers, AskPatty.com is offering a special independence day incentive to new and used car dealerships to become part of the AskPatty.com network of female friendly certified dealerships June 14th - July 4th. Becoming an AskPatty.com female friendly certified dealer helps new and used car dealerships attract, sell, retain and increase loyalty with women car buyers.

Go here to learn more about becoming an AskPatty.com female friendly certified new or used car dealer here: Ask Patty.com Female Friendly Certified Dealer Tour

Properly armed with the right tools and training, new and used car dealerships can increase their share of the largest and fastest growing demographic of new car buyers in the US — Women Consumers. The Ask Patty Certified Dealer program was designed specifically for car dealerships to attract, sell, retain and increase loyalty with women car buyers.

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Car dealers have already noticed the effect that the Internet has had on their interaction with women car shoppers. Women do their research and usually have information printed out from the Internet so they are more confident in negotiating a good deal. With all the information fully disclosed, women feel they can make their own car buying decision, without bringing a man along. The Internet has certainly been an equal opportunities provider in the world of car sales.

What Is An AskPatty.com female friendly certified dealer?

An Ask Patty certified dealer is a dealer that has been trained to communicate more effectively with women car buyers and creates a safe and comfortable environment where women feel welcome and a dealer that makes the experience of purchasing and maintaining her vehicle a pleasant one.

Ask Patty trained and certified dealers are held to a high level of customer satisfaction for women consumers.

The Ask Patty Promise.

1. Ask Patty Female Friendly Certified dealers provide women consumers with an automotive retail experience based on relationship building, trust, respect and improved communications.

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3. Ask Patty Female Friendly Certified dealers provide women consumers with an automotive retail experience that is safe and comfortable.

4. Ask Patty Female Friendly Certified dealers surpass the highest levels of customer satisfaction for women consumers.

5. Ask Patty Female Friendly Certified dealers are committed to providing the highest quality repair and maintenance service while striving to repair the vehicle right the first fime.

About AskPatty.com, Inc.

The ask Patty.com, Inc. website, blog and Second Life venue is a safe place for women to get advice on car purchases, maintenance and other automotive related topics. Women can shop for vehicles at our network of certified female friendly dealerships across the U.S.

AskPatty.com is a member and 2007 corporate sponsor of the Women’s Automotive Association International based in Detroit, MI, Chair of the UnitedSpinal Association Motorsports program, Member of the California SkillsUSA.org board, on the Women’s Board of the Car Care Council, a SEMA member and a member of the SEMA Business Women’s Networking Group.

AskPatty.com is partnered with Girl Scouts of America, AutoTrader.com, NIADA, Arkona, Chrome Systems, Inc., MyCarPage.com, MyAutoLoan, Aware and SheKnows, LLC.

Ask Patty Certified Dealer Program:

Properly armed with the right tools and training your dealerships can increase its share of the largest and fastest growing demographic of new vehicle buyers in the US — Women Consumers. The Ask Patty Certified Dealer program was designed specifically for car dealerships to attract, sell, retain and increase loyalty with women car buyers.

Go here to learn more about becoming an AskPatty.com female friendly certified new or used car dealer here: AskPatty.com female Friendly Dealer Tour

If you want more information on AskPatty.com or their dealership program, please email me at amymattinat@askpatty.com