Article by Anita Tavakley
How many people these days can say they’re driving their dream car? It might surprise you to hear that Terry is in the minority who feels that way about his current ride – a black 2009 A5 that he picked up in 2013. He told me that, honestly, he can’t imagine driving anything else, not even an R8 (besides, maybe, an RS5 V8).
Terry has always been a trailblazer and self-described Renaissance Man. Since high school, he’s unapologeticly done exactly what makes him happy. From JETS club (an engineering society) to chess club, martial arts to music (trumpet and baritone), his interests have been vast yet carefully curated. His love of cars is no different.
His first car, a ’68 Ford Galaxie 500, Terry fondly remembers as his “baby.” As a teenager in the 70’s, he experienced a turning point. At the time, he admired the cool American muscle cars of years past, but found himself gravitating toward the refined yet still powerful European cars of the present and near future. This preference eventually developed into a lasting passion that forms the foundation for Terry’s love of the Audi brand.
In his opinion, Audi has always had a more dramatic interior that’s a “nicer place to be.” He appreciates the reliability, gas mileage, quality interior, and overall quality and luxury of the brand. Granted, BMWs and Mercedes are okay, too, but Audi speaks directly to his passion and individualistic nature. In 1988, in an attempt to sate the Audi craving, he picked up a ’75 Audi Fox that appeared pristine in every way – seats, body, dash, everything. However, he suffered a big letdown when, despite his engineering expertise, he was unable to get it running. But reality, however unpleasant, was not going to keep Terry from becoming a diehard Audi fan.
In 2010, Terry made a trip to Houston to pick up an A3. It was a great car – quick and gorgeous. To his disappointment, he found out the sad news that it had been wrecked, and that the deal was too good to be true. Even though it was fixable, this fact weighed on him so much that he chose a different car instead – a dolphin blue 2006 A4 that he owned and drove hard for two years. “It wasn’t bad, by any means,” he said, “but it felt like mom & dad’s car. Just not sporty enough.”
Then one day in 2013, Terry took the A4 in for service and saw the A5 and S5 models in the lot – it was love at first sight. He went for an A5 with an automatic transmission for the luxury of it – most of his previous cars having had a standard. The Bang & Olufsen stereo was music to his keen ears. His favorite memory of that car is driving it home that first day. He recalled, “It was a shark-looking rocket thing, fantastic, sounds good – handles good. The seats, the interior… it was like winning the lottery.” And I think we can all identify with Terry’s comment that the worst days of owning your dream car are the ones where you can’t drive it, or when it’s been freshly washed but then it rains.
Being an enthusiast, Terry has become very active in the club over the past year. He regularly attends ACLS Austin area happy hours and lunches, and loves the banter with other enthusiasts who are a sort of family to him. Being with the Audi club is exciting, both from a driving and social perspective. He loves COTA and fun runs, and is especially excited about this year’s state meet, which will be held in Austin.