False Induction
I was excited to see MTM's RTT on the front cover of your September 2007 issue. As an American who spent a few years working in Germany, I was given the opportunity to test drive this exact car earlier this year. However, my excitement quickly turned to disappointment and frustration when I actually read the article. There are multiple references to the engine's 'supercharger' or 'low-pressure supercharger' throughout. Strange. This car has a single turbocharger producing nearly one bar of boost. The wastegate actuator hardware is clearly seen on page 54, as is 'turbo' written on the engine cover. The first time the test driver goes WOT, the sound and torque delivery should make it quite obvious what kind of power adder is used. To me, this says the person who wrote the article either... a) knows nothing about cars, b) never actually saw the car he wrote about, or c) both. It saddens me to see a magazine of your caliber make such an error on a cover story.Chris Ostberg BSMEvia e-mail
>Yeah, Nick buggered this one. Yes, we see the 'turbo' badging on the manifold. Yes, it's obvious. Yes, we're horrified. Jeez, cut the guy some slack. In his defense, he did drive the car (just check out that distinguished Hall profile). No one in automotive journalism sports such an elegant proboscis. This MTM TT was joined by a dozen more highly tuned cars at Hockenheim. It was all part of a collective 'tuner round-up.' This turbocharged TT sat next to a supercharged TT and Nick drove them both. All that condensed pressure must have blown Nick's head gasket. Despite his erroneous terminology, it was still a good story. Turbocharger... supercharger... they're both air pumps. Can't we all just get along? -LB
Rust never sleeps
I've subscribed to ec for seven years and learned so much from the tech articles. I was just wondering if you've ever done an article about rust. For those of us who live in the northeast and northwestern parts of the country, this is a real problem. I have a 1995 Jetta I'm going over and getting surface rust on chassis parts. I'm planning to have it sandblasted and treated with POR15.David Alstonvia e-mail
>Rust is nasty stuff. Not so much an issue on new cars with quality undercoating and galvanizing. Still, water, snow, salt and extreme temperature put cars through tough conditions and rust happens. The surface rust you describe is fairly easy to neutralize. Surface rust is more like a sunburn that will cause the top layer of metal to peel. Sand it off, fill (if necessary), primer, sand some more and paint. Deep core rust, the type that plagues older cars, is far more serious-like an infection. Not only do you need to remove the rust, but a good portion of the surrounding area. Rust actually changes the composition of steel as it oxidizes. It's a slow yet contagious process. Rust removal is expensive because it is labor intensive. Any good paint/body shop will tell you a paint job is only as good as the prep work beneath. We've used POR15 on our backhoe, just painted right over the corrosion and rust (no one wants to paint a backhoe). The stuff is good but expensive. Let us know how yours turns out. -LB
Exhibit Hey
I want to say how much I look forward to each new issue. I am a long-time reader and recent subscriber. After seeing the 'Horns of the Bull' shot in the October 2007 issue, I was inspired to tell you about a new exhibit at the Cincinnati Art Museum, called simply: Cars.
So far, two cars have been shown and the museum will be rotating different models every three months. The first was a 1950 Ferrari 166MM Barchetta. Currently on display is a 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S. Rumor has it that the next car will be a Porsche (although I don't know which model). It's great to see such beautiful machines placed beside great works of art. There is no doubt they belong there. As a side note, I currently drive a 2004 Audi A4 Quattro Ultrasport. Thanks for all your efforts and for providing great information and imagery.
Marc Fuson
Maineville, OH