Why the word "Quattro"??
06-23-2010, 04:08 PM
#11
AudiWorld Member
Thread Starter
The Audi Quattro was the first mass produced sports car with AWD, that was the actual model, like your S4, rather than a reference to the AWD system, back in 1980. It was a revolutionary vision for the era, and was such a touchstone sort of car for the brand, and how it performed during the years that it ran in the rally circuit (I say ran, when it really just dominated) that it became something more than just a model - Audi used to define any AWD car they produced, much like the Quattro model (designated the model by the capital "Q" rather than quattro like you see on your dash trim) was the defining car that brought AWD to cars from something that just offroad vehicles used for Audi.
06-23-2010, 04:11 PM
#12
AudiWorld Member
Thread Starter
Actually, Quattro is derived from Italian word for "four". Some more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_Quattro
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quattro...l_drive_system)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_Quattro
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quattro...l_drive_system)
06-23-2010, 04:14 PM
#13
AudiWorld Super User
It's actually supposed to be Latin for 'hark' or 'to listen' - you should read the history of August Horch, the founder of Audi and how it was named by his son, it's a very good read. The little guy overcoming the odds and growing a massive company, and all that.
06-23-2010, 06:45 PM
#15
AudiWorld Super User
As for Audi and it's tenses I am unsure, only what I gleaned from the story, here is a snippet from Wikipedia:
In 1909, Horch was forced out of the company he had founded. He then started a new company in Zwickau and continued using the Horch brand. His former partners sued him for trademark infringement and the German Supreme Court (Reichsgericht in Berlin) finally determined that the Horch brand belonged to his former company.
August Horch was barred from using his own family name in his new car business, so he called a meeting with his best business friends, Paul and Franz Fikentscher from Zwickau. At the apartment of Franz Fikentscher they discussed how to come up with a new name for the company. During this meeting Franz's son was quietly studying Latin in a corner of the room. Several times he looked like he was on the verge of saying something but would just swallow his words and continue working, until he finally blurted out, "Father – audiatur et altera pars... wouldn't it be a good idea to call it audi instead of horch?" "Horch!" in German means "Hark!" or "hear", which is "Audi" in Latin (compare audible). The idea was enthusiastically accepted by everyone attending the meeting.
August Horch was barred from using his own family name in his new car business, so he called a meeting with his best business friends, Paul and Franz Fikentscher from Zwickau. At the apartment of Franz Fikentscher they discussed how to come up with a new name for the company. During this meeting Franz's son was quietly studying Latin in a corner of the room. Several times he looked like he was on the verge of saying something but would just swallow his words and continue working, until he finally blurted out, "Father – audiatur et altera pars... wouldn't it be a good idea to call it audi instead of horch?" "Horch!" in German means "Hark!" or "hear", which is "Audi" in Latin (compare audible). The idea was enthusiastically accepted by everyone attending the meeting.
06-23-2010, 06:58 PM
#16
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All this reminds me of the famous Chevy that they basically couldn't give away in Central- and most of South America. Know what the model was and why they couldn't get anyone to buy it?
06-23-2010, 07:04 PM
#17
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If it's the Chevy Nova you're talking about, Snopes debunked that story already.
http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp
http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp
06-23-2010, 07:12 PM
#18
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If it's the Chevy Nova you're talking about, Snopes debunked that story already.
http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp
http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp
06-26-2010, 06:39 PM
#19
AudiWorld Super User
Audi is latin for "to listen" same as what Horch means in German. Mr. August Horch couldn't use his own name anymore because he sold the rights to it. Mr. Horch needed a new name for his new company, and since he couldn't use his own, his son, whom at the time was studying Latin suggested Audi.
Also, it is quattro and not Quattro, the latter is for shaving.
Also, it is quattro and not Quattro, the latter is for shaving.