text: "The silver submarine rules!" writes sister publication Cycle World Editor-in-Chief David Edwards upon returning from a trip to Texas in our long-term Audi. "The is a great GT car with a surprising amount of room. The cockpit is quiet, free of rattles and wind whistles that can really aggravate on long trips." With the car seeing below freezing temperatures for the first time while on this excursion, David was also impressed with the TT's climate control and individually heated seats.
  Back on the R&T side, Senior Editor Andrew Bornhop says the has lost none of its charm. "The TT continues to delight with its style and verve. It still gets looks and still feels pretty tight with nearly 40,000 miles on its clock."
  For some fresh insight we handed the keys to Shaun Bailey, a Cal Poly-Pomona engineering student who has been assisting Road Test Editor Patrick Hong part-time with ongoing development of our testing equipment. Sean writes, "This is a very solid car. People still ogle this car. Its looks are classic and the craftsmanship is awesome. I expect this car to be a good Used Car Classic someday."
  Yes, the TT's futuristic looks still attract onlookers but many of them don't know what they are looking at. "Half the gawkers in Texas wanted to know, `Hey, is that some kind of Porsche?' " says Edwards. On lunchtime drives in our TT, even some of the young car-savvy locals here in Newport Beach ask just what the heck it is that we're driving. Looks like Audi needs to step up the PR and/or marketing just a bit.
  Thanks to the 3-year/50,000-mile warranty and complimentary scheduled maintenance, we still haven't spent one dime for repair or service work (the sole repair so far was for a broken electric side mirror adjustment switch, repaired for free). But as we passed the 40,000-mile mark, all four tires, despite rotation, were starting to look pretty worn so we replaced them with new Michelin Pilot Sport rubber that cost $1070 for the set.
  "Whatever you do," pleads Edwards, "do not let [Cycle World VP and Editorial Director] Paul Dean buy this car. He'll have it painted black in no time with can-opener flames and Von Dutch pinstripes, not to mention hot-rod red wheels with wide whitewalls." Very hep, Daddy-o.