The four rings on the Audi grill represent the four German companies that amalgamated and formed Auto Union in 1932. In 1969 Auto Union merged with NSU and became known as Audi. At that point Volkswagen took a majority interest in the company, which it holds to this day.
    Audi's experience in the United States has been mixed. Indifferent build quality in the 1970s and an accusation in the 1980s that Audis jump out of park and roll away blemished its reputation.
    But in the 1990s Audi carefully elevated its name with the production of some high-quality cars that seriously challenge anything that Mercedes or BMW puts into the marketplace.
    For the year 2000 the A6 comes in four flavors, the basic A6 front-wheel-drive with a 2.8 liter, 30-valve V-6 engine; the A6 Avant, a station wagon version of this car; the A6 2.7 liter, 30-valve, twin turbo V-6 with Quattro all-wheel-drive; and the A6 4.2 liter, 40-valve V-8 with Quattro all-wheel-drive.
    The Audi A6 looks crisp and aerodynamic. It is not easily confused with Lexus, Mercedes or BMW, its chief rivals, but it’s not a standout like the new Jaguar S type sedan.
    All of the A6 variants are exciting, but you simply must get into a 2.7 twin turbo with a six-speed manual transmission and learn what it is like to fly. The rush you get when you find yourself doing a ton (100 mph) going uphill in sixth speed is incredible.
    The Porsche-designed, five-speed Tiptronic automatic with manual override is, for most drivers, the transmission of choice. Nice gentle shifting for the meek, and manual shifting for the gifted. The six-speed fully manual transmission (available at no charge on the A6 2.7 liter twin turbo) is for the Andrettis among us. A very smooth short stroke shifter which, with the twin turbo V-6, can hurl this car from zero to 60 in six and a half seconds.
    There are many very fine automobiles in the Audi price range available in the U.S. market — many from Europe, some from Japan and a couple from domestic car companies — but few have the all-round competence of the 2.7 liter twin turbo V-6 or the 4.2 liter V-8.
    The real talent that separates the A6 from the competition is the Audi Quattro all-wheel-drive. This system, along with Audi's innovative suspension geometry, delivers excellent ride and handling and a feeling of complete confidence under virtually all circumstances, wet or dry, freeway or back road. This car is fun to drive in any configuration. The Quattro all-wheel drive gives you a feeling of absolute and complete confidence that the car will do what you want it to do with total aplomb.
    Technically the car is quite innovative, reducing weight by using a number of aluminum parts in the suspension, hood and front fenders. It offers as an option a solar panel in the moonroof to keep the battery topped off and run the interior ventilation fan when parked, along with window coverings for the rear (powered) and rear side windows (manual) for those hot summer days.
    This is a full four-seater with seat belts for five, and lots of room and lots of little places to put stuff. It’s beautifully finished inside, at least as good as Mercedes and BMW. It suffers a little from the German disease, a lack of those little creature comforts that Lexus has taught us are so necessary. This Audi has plentiful multi sized cup holders, a clock that everyone can see, factory tinted windows, fold-back mirrors for narrow areas and other little personal trinkets that Japanese auto makers know we want.
    In any form, this is a very fine automobile, arguably the best to come out of Europe into the U.S. market.
    If you need a car in this price range, you should talk to the helpful folks at Miramar Volkswagen/Audi and test drive an A6.

Motoring since 1952, Austin Lynas has owned 54 cars and at one time raced mini-sedans in England. An aerospace engineer, he was instrumental in developing the anti-skid systems used in British military aircraft that preceded today’s ABS systems. Lynas can be reached by e-mail at osten@aol.com.