Above Photos by George Berelson
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We finished right on schedule, and after dinner, half of us went on the Haunted Ghost tour, and others enjoyed the Key West nightlife. The next morning, we took a few pictures at the Southernmost Point of the United States and made history at Cars and Coffee Key West. Invited by a local Audi owner, we set the record for the most Audis in attendance and outnumbered every other make. After we returned to the hotel for an outstanding breakfast before most hitting the road.
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Photos taken by David Loppert
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Again we would like to thank ABT-Sportsline, E3 Upholstery, Luft-Technic, Audi Clearwater and Audi of Jacksonville for their support of this event. Also on final thanks to Andreas Regalado for coordinating with the hotel for our group discount and dinner reservations. This was a great event and if you feel like you missed out, yes you did. Start planning to join us next year for our signature event.
Now it is time to focus on Audi Gainesville and the Oktoberfest fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House in October and FixxFest in November. These events are detailed in the regional sections.
Gerry Simms
President and BoD Member
[email protected]
Chapter Regional Reports
First Coast Region- Jacksonville
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There are some significant savings available based on availability at their two local Audi dealerships. If you are looking for something, call it may be on the lot, being inspected and prepped before being listed for sale. Visit our Prestige Partner for your automotive needs.
e-trons are in stock for delivery
2020 R8 is here we have the lowest price one in the country $173,545
New Q3 should be arriving soon.
2019 RS5’s are available some are in Audi exclusive colors, these are the last ones for a while, Audi is skipping 2020, will re-release for 2021, so if you want one, get it now.
2020 S6, S7, SQ7 and SQ8 are all available to special order, arriving before the end of the year.
2020 A6 2.0L available soon, the Avant next year
2020 A4 1st quarter next year with a new dash and front end
2020 S8 long wheelbase will have V8 twin-turbo
2021 RS6 Avant
2021 RS7, RSQ8 will have V8 Twin Turbos
2021 RWS R8, RWS Spyder, RWS Coupe
Incentives that can be paired with ACNA Member discount:
Buy:
2019 A6- Buy A6 gets $4500 plus ACNA club price if you own an Audi – without Audi financing
2019 Q7- Buy Q7 gets $5000 plus ACNA club price if you own an Audi – without Audi financing
September Audi Club Special:
10% off across the board Audi branded parts and accessories and with any purchase over $20, the club members get a limited edition AudiJax Hat and Audi sunglasses.
September Luncheon
The First Coast Region September Monthly Luncheon after the Automotive Addict Cars and Coffee at the Avenues Mall will be Saturday, September 14th, 2019 at 11 AM at Sneakers Sports Grille 111 Beach Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32250. RSVP to the JaxRings Facebook page or email me by Thursday 12 September if you are planning to attend.
First Coast Region (Jacksonville)
Leslie de la Serna First Coast Region Lead
[email protected]
Gulf Coast Region September Report
UroTuning Report
UroTuning is your one-stop-shop for all things Audi performance! We are excited to announce a few great sales going on for September including unbeatable deals from brands like HPA Motorsport and Air Lift Performance! Head to our site for even more sales incoming this month from brands like P3 Gauges and Black Forest Industries!
HPA Motorsport Sale – Have you been in the market for a new downpipe, test pipe, or exhaust for your Audi, but were holding out for a great deal to come along? Wait no longer! HPA has sale prices for a wide range of performance parts for Audi models including MQB, B8/8.5, and C7 vehicles! This sale ends on September 13th so scoop up an awesome HPA Motorsport upgrade for a steal before time runs out!
Air Lift Suspension Sale – 15% Off! UroTuning is excited to announce the Labor Day Sale from Air Lift Performance! For a limited time enjoy a 15% discount on a huge variety of performance suspension parts from Air Lift! Save some cash and equip your Audi with the air suspension setup of your dreams from Air Lift Performance! Take advantage of this sale before time runs out! Not to mention free shipping and a $50 UroTuning Gift Card with the purchase of a full kit! Sale ends 9/15!
Black Forest Industries Labor Day Weekend Sale – From 8/28 through 9/2 save 10% across the board on all parts from Black Forest Industries! Now is the perfect time to grab a new shift knob or MQB performance motor and transmission mounts!
P3 Gauges is also jumping in on the Labor Day savings! From 8 AM Friday, 8/30 – Midnight Monday 9/2 enjoy 10% off any OBD2 Multi-Gauge system!
FixxFest #16 is right around the corner! UroTuning puts on the largest EuroCar show in the southeast on November 16th, 2019 at Bradenton Motorsports Park! In addition to thousands of awesome cars, the event includes all-day drag racing, a pie-eating contest, and best of show for multiple categories, low car limbo, a ton of parts vendors, a German food truck and more! There will be many vendors at the show supporting FixxFest. Many will have parts for sale and some great FixxFest only deals. Head to www.FixxFest.com for more info. UroTuning is very excited to have Audi Club of Florida as a sponsor for FixxFest #16! We look forward to seeing you there!
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| Oktoberfest
It is not too early to set aside Saturday October 19thand make plans to join the Gulf Coast Region’s caravan of the ACFL on their drive to Oktoberfest at Audi Gainesville. We will be gathering for lite continental breakfast and heading north for their event to help raise funds and awareness for the Ronald McDonald House. Last year saw ACFL members from across the state meet up at this event where there was a band flown over from München along with the appropriate German food and Gemütlichkeit as all had a wonderful time under the big tent. The time and place for our departure to be announced in the October newsletter. All ACFL members and non-members and of course their different cars are invited to this drive and family oriented event. So stay tuned |
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Photos: Oktoberfest 2019, Bob Greving ACFL
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FixxFest
Saturday November 16that the Bradenton Motorsport Park marks the gathering of the ACFL for our statewide event a FixxFest. Activities start at 10:00 am, with the ACFL sponsoring for the first time our own Corral for Chapter Members and a special Show and Shine Competitionopen to all Audis. Prizes for first, second and third place at the Show and Shine to be awarded. We will need participants to pre-register for the corral in-order that we can plan the size of the corral and Show and Shine. If you plan to participate in the ACFL corral, I will need your name, ACNA number and car description by November 9th. This will allow us to plan appropriately for parking. Please email Bob Greving [email protected] with that information if you plan to participate in the corral only.
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Show and Shine will be open to all Audis both ACFL members and non-members. The entry fee for non-members is $15 but if you join the ACNA between September 1stand November 1stthe entry fee will be waived. For ACFL members the entry fee will be $10. Contestants will need to send a check, or pay via Pay Pal to Gerry Simms [email protected], or snail mail at the following address so he can make the bank deposits, and verify membership. Please include a short note with your name, address, ACNA member, model and year of your Audi, with your email address for registration confirmation
Checks will need to be payable to Audi Club of Florida and mailed to:
Audi Club of Florida
C/O Gerald Simms
207 Muskogee Court
Saint Mary’s, GA 31558
First Place for the ACFL Show and Shine will be an Audi Ital designed metal bowl constructed with polished trapezoids and the red Audi Sports Logo, a stunning and rather expensive piece of modern art compliments of our Prestige Partner, Clearwater Audi plus $150 in UroTuning Gift Certificates (photo of trophy below). Second and third place will be $100 and $50 gift certificates respectively from our Prestige Partner UroTuning.
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| First Place Trophy ACFL 2019 FixxFest Show and Shine |
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This competition will be spirited. Frankly we are looking for the best of the best so make sure your engine is detailed, doorsills are cleaned, inside wheel rims are polished and tail piles sparkle if they are chromed. All contestants’ cars must have at least 5,000 miles on the odometer.
The ACFL will also have our tent selling and renewing memberships to the ACNA. In addition it is planned that one will be able to purchase sweepstake tickets for the ACNA’s car, rumor has it that it will be the winners choice, either an e-tron SUV or an Audi RS5. Of course we will also have our black chapter license plate holders for sale. We are looking forward to your participation at this fun event.
Audi Clearwater Report https://www.crownaudi.com/
First off, on behalf of the ACFL I would like to give a shout out and thank you to Audi Clearwater and specifically Todd Emery for many of the fantastic items that were distributed at the Saturday night banquet that was held during our recent drive to Key West. It is the generosity of our Prestige Partners that helps to make these events so enjoyable.
There are some incredible deals and cash discounts on Q5’s, Q7’s, and A6’s Once again, this is a combination of both end of year inventories and quite frankly AoA’s continuing less than stellar sales performance over the last six months. AoA is buying the business through back office incentives and working with the dealerships to help the latter move cars. This is nothing new so now is the time to take advantage of the supply and demand curve.
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For2019 model year Q5’s up to 8% off MSRP and up to $7,000 with loyalty rebates.
For 2019 model year Q7’s up to 10% off of MSRP and up to $7,000 with loyalty rebates
For 2019 model year A6’s up to 8% off and up to $5,250 with loyalty rebates
Clearly, these are significant savings and worth checking into if you are in the market for one of the above vehicles.To receive these deals you will need to contact JB directly at 407-470-3718 on his personal line. Just for comparison, our 6% ACNA discount will only get you $4,200 on a $70,000 Q7. Contact JB and you will see how much better a deal you will be able to receive and make sure you mention that you saw these deal in the ACFL newsletter.
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The above are quite frankly some exceptional values from our Prestige Partner, Audi Clearwater and only for recipients of the ACFL newsletter. To ensure you receive these specific savings when you go to purchase your new Audi, make sure to contact JB directly at 407-470-3718 and he will get you squared away. By going through JB, this also helps us in tracking the value of the Prestige Partnership program and how many vehicles the ACFL helps the dealership sell when we try to recruit other dealerships in different geographic regions of the state.
In addition, and JB has done this in the past for a number of ACFL members, if there is a special Audi your local dealership does not seem able to locate or work with you on, contact him directly, he will find it and get it delivered to you at an exceptional price.
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Do not forget that Todd Emery who manages the operations, service, and parts departments at Audi Clearwater is offering a 15% discount to all readers of this newsletter on Parts and Service for your Audis. This discount cannot be combined with any other discounts or offers but is available and all that is required is that when you are writing up you service order that you mention the ACFL newsletter the code 1909 for the month of September to your service writer. It is all that simple to start saving money on needed parts and service.
Down the Road
Cars and Coffee Saturday September 8th 6:30-8:00 AM Reeves Motorsports
11333N Florida Ave, Tampa, FL 33612
Come early for a good parking space
Some thoughts on the Range of an A8L TDI on I 95 North to DC
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Challenges of an EV in “Fly over Country” driving West on I 90
Sadly, we will not see the likes of these Autobahn cruisers again thanks to diesel gate. It is also doubtful that a trip from St Pete to almost the doors of our nation’s capital about 900 miles away will not be replicated prior to needing some sort of refueling/charging. Below is a photo of a svelte Audi A8L TDI quietly idling on a mist shrouded fall morning in front of the Eternal Light Peace Memorial at Gettysburg (lit flame in the background), which accomplished that feat.
Though I cannot show you the dash photos, they were taken while the car was underway and that unfortunately is “ verboten”. The driver’s log noted just prior to fill up, 89 miles to empty, 45.9 average MPG, 815.7 miles since last fill up in St Pete with an average speed of well over 60 miles per hour. Washington DC was less than 60 miles to go. When one considers the total efficiency and carbon footprint of the new EV vehicles and I mean start to finish, the coal fired plant to generate the electricity plus the issues regarding the lithium batteries, their third world sourcing and disposal, not sure we are making whole lot of progress yet nor have we solved that question.
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Photo: Audi A8L TDI Bob Greving
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Twenty-one gallons of diesel, fill up took all of 10 minutes, enough time to buy a couple of Slim Jims, a birch beer soda then back on the road. Were the same drive to be taken next year in the new Audi e-tron GT with its projected maximum range of 240 miles or even today with the e-tron SUV, one would have to add at least three stops (80% charge). I am assuming one could easily find high speed charging stations when needed, easy off and ons with no queue times, avoiding the extra battery drains of night driving, AC, and windshield wipers. I also believe one would need to keep the average speed below 60 mph. I suggest that you check out this link: e-tron range test. The fellow has a strong Nordic accent and does an excellent job. In addition, one would add another hour and a half elapsed time on the road to hopefully cover the same total distance driven.
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Photo: Audi GT e-tron Audi AG
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Below is not a solution to extending the driving range issue of the actual GT or e-tron SUV but possibly addressing the very real charging station accessibility questions in fly over country such as South Dakota. It is 276 miles on I 90 from a universal charging station in Mitchell, SD home of the Corn Palace to Rapid City, SD which is not all that far from Berglund’s Mount Rushmore. Mitchell to Rapid City is approximately 36 miles beyond the GT’s or an e-trons range; one just needs to do the math, and one must stop and do a recharge or you will need a flatbed ride. There is a Tesla charging station in Murdo, SD but the hookup is incompatible with the Audis.
Of course there is a Ford dealership in Murdo, I actually bought a Ford Ranger XLT pickup there once upon a time and the spartan waiting room, the dealership has since been up dated, and XLT’s are no longer top of the line, always had really hot coffee with the magazines trending towards the latest Field and Stream and Guns and Ammo, not South Dakota’s equivalent of Southern Living with recipes of pheasant under glass. With the recently announced new and developing relationship of Ford and VW, perhaps local Ford dealerships will become part of the ever expanding network of charging stations.
Should this come to pass, don’t expect your uptown quattro cafe, and lattes, they will still have coffee and instant cream but you might be sitting next to someone with not just spurs on their kickers as you wait for a charge while he is reading up on the features of the latest F250 Super Duty diesel pickup or checking pork bellies futures in the WSJ. I bet they still let out most of the High School as the students went from ranch to ranch to help out in the branding and cutting of the calves a couple of afternoons in the early spring, which was done in White River about 23 miles South.
You are in the midst of cattle country here, slow down, enjoy the cup of joe and that is a lot better than getting stuck in the middle of nowhere South Dakota amidst the buffalo and prairie dogs waiting for a lift because you ran out of juice.
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Perhaps I am viewing all of this MPG and range though the wrong prism. Not totally sure here. Should I have looked at this issue as an opportunity with the detour to charging stations on the I 95 Corridor or heading west following the Lewis & Clark Trail along part of I 90 west of the Missouri in Murdo SD if there is or will be one, as an adventure and instead and as possibly an article in Audi Magazinewith the following title: Birkenstocks meet Tony Lamas, “A Drive from the Corn Palace to Mount Rushmore”. Then sprinkled the article with photos of the Corn Palace in Mitchell a few buffalo and prairie dogs here and there after crossing the Mighty Mo at Chamberlin, Wall Drug for some free ice water and of course Mt Rushmore. Whether it is gas, diesel or electric sometimes it is all in the adventure of the open road and what one makes of it.
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RS6 Avant to finally arrive
Many will remember the short questionnaire we did almost two years ago now regarding the RS6 and RS4 Avants and how much you would put down to have your bespoke version of one of these vehicles special ordered and built. Four of you responded of the close to 1,000 questioned or about 1% of our membership and of these you were willing to deposit nonrefundable I might add between two to five thousand dollars for just such a vehicle. The other item that was interesting about this short questionnaire was that the vehicles you were presently driving all trended towards the expensive to very expensive endof the spectrum of Audi vehicles.
In other words, you probably did not answer the questionnaire unless you were ready to spend over 85K plus for an RS4 Avant and 120K for the RS6 Avant. Prices falling in line with present RS5’s and RS7’s. Judging from the statistics of our sampling, if the percentage of respondents were to be become actual buyers, approximately 4 members of the ACFL will purchase RS6 Avants. It will be interesting to see if this actually happens. It will finally become possible, a faster way to get to Home Depot. Here is a link to an enjoyable video. An RS6 Avant story
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Photo: RS6 Avant, Audi AG
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Cheers and Safe Motoring
Bob Greving
Gulf Coast Region Lead and BoD member
[email protected]
Gator Region – Gainesville
Audi Gainesville – Cars and ‘Que
Saturday September 21st at 11:00 am join us, the 3rd Saturday of each month we host a friendly gathering of automotive enthusiasts! We will have free brats, drinks and plenty of great music.
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Our Prestige Partner ABT is offering a 10% discount to Audi Club Florida members.
ABT America
c/o F355 Miami
16560 NW 10th Ave
Miami, FL 33169
[email protected]
September 14th@ 8:00am-10:30 AM Cars and Coffee – Miami @ Casavana
Andreas Regalado the Gold Coast Region Lead will be attending the Cars and coffee Miami, September 14th 8202 Mills Drive Miami, FL 33183 at Casavana Cuban Cuisine. He will be there as well as other Audi owners also. He would be glad to see you there.
Gold Coast Region (Key West to WPB)
Andreas Regalado Region Lead and BoD Member
[email protected]
Also please thank our Prestige Partners below by visiting their places of business or website and see what they have for you. That does it for now, looking forward to seeing and meeting as many of you as possible.
Gerry Simms President and BoD Member
[email protected]
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