Hi...

I recently moved to the USA from the UK and pretty much sold up everything I owned in the process, including my beloved car of 10 years, a Vauxhall Calibra Turbo 4x4. It's a car I never wanted to sell as I knew it inside out having maintained just about every system over the years and tuning her up to crank out over 280bhp in a nice wide power band. That said, I knew that one day it would have to go and that I would have to find a suitable replacement. After driving several Audis in recent years I knew that I had found my next car; it was just a matter of when I'd make the change. Moving across the Atlantic forced my hand on that score and on arrival I immediately started my search.

Having had 4x4 on my previous car, Quattro was a must. Initially, I was looking at the A4 turbo models, 1.8T, 2.0T and the A6 2.7T. I love the tuneability of turbos and the economy you can achieve whilst "off-boost". Gas prices in the UK were running at around $6.60/US gallon when I left so I still had fuel economy as a major concern. However, I then came across a great deal on a 3.0L V6 Quattro. The history wasn't too clear but first impression were good. I did a bit of research and despite a few minor problems the car was solid and clean. I'm very technically minded, partly due to spending the last 12 years maintaining military aircraft and partly due to me always working on my cars myself. I trust myself more than any mechanic I've ever met. My only worry is that these cars are completely new to me and they don't seem to be the easiest thing to work on, with limited space around the engine bay and countless fancy electronic systems just waiting to go wrong. I used to have access to full workshop facilities complete with car lift but the best I can do now is a trolley jack and a pair of axle stands. I have no doubt it will be a steep learning curve.

However, in the meantime I'm really enjoying driving the car. It lacks the raw power of my old turbo but, it's not like I'm in any rush to get out of the lush cabin and it has enough grunt to keep me happy. In any case, I had to opt for an automatic transmission as my wife can't drive a stick, so the thrill of slamming through the gears was never a possiblity. I hit 40 last year so maybe my driving needs to be more sedate nowadays and sub 6 second 0-60 times fail to provide the thrill they once did.

In the UK, I was a member of a very good forum, full of friendly folk with endless knowledge and advice. My only wish is that this forum is just as friendly and full of technical know-how. I look forward to hanging out here...