Peter Smith wrote:

Google yields the following:

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q-ship

"...Losses mounted rapidly. On January 20, 1942, Commander-in-Chief,
United States Fleet (Cominch), sent a coded dispatch to Commander,
Eastern Sea Frontier (CESF), requesting immediate consideration of the
manning and fitting-out of 'Queen' ships to be operated as an
antisubmarine measure. The result was 'Project LQ.'"

--
Mike Smith

"Mike Smith" <mike_UNDERSCORE_smith (AT) acm (DOT) DOT.org> wrote

Q (queer, whatever) was never assigned in standard codes - hence it's
traditionally the "left-overs" or specials.

Cars & bikes with a similarly murky history are given Q-registration number
plates in the UK[1]

H1K

[1] I assume that this is still the case, following the latest (illogical)
change..

Thanks! Very interesting...should have guessed it!

God Save The Q-Ship!


"Mike Smith" <mike_UNDERSCORE_smith (AT) acm (DOT) DOT.org> wrote

The term (or "Q-car") has subsequently been used to describe cars that have
much higher than average performance (often through extensive modification)
but look like conventional, uninteresting family transport. As well as the
ships, this term may also be reinforced from the United Kingdom's system of
registration plate numbering - the first symbol on a British plate is a
letter code for the year of manufacture, but for vehicles of uncertain or
mixed age, a plate beginning with "Q" is used.

Also for non-British readers, there are certain letters of teh alphabet that
do not appear on British registration plates as they are similar with
another and can be confused when attempting to make a quick recognition. "Q"
can be confused with "O" so neither are normally used on plates.

Tony
Ottawa -Audi S6 which must a Q-car?

"Stephen Clark" <nospam> wrote

I personally perceive audis to emphasize innovation,
rather than vanity. I think they were among the
first mass-market turbos & awd introduced.
Also, the 5000 began the transformation of body
design to the rounded edged, softer airflow look
back in the 80s, making all cars look like blobs.
The TT design is having some mass influence as well.

wayne wrote:
I'm a BMW M3 owner myself but I considered an A4 back in 1997 and will
again when I replace my car. Audi is known for all-wheel drive and they
tend to market to the "I want the car with everything" type. The
downside at least with the A4 has and still is with the
transmission/engine matching. While it's improved over the years, the
A4 still slow off the line. Check out the owner reviews on Edmunds to
verify. I think the main difference between BMW and Audi is that BMWs
lean more towards overall performance and Audi leans more toward overall
luxury. Audi models also cost slightly less than similar BMW ones. So
perhaps, Audi is a happy middle ground between BMW and Mercedes.

Robert La Ferla wrote:

That's how I see it, and I'd say that's a very happy place to be. Let's
face it, at least in this part of the world (Long Island NY USA), most
Bimmer owners don't use 10% of their car's capabilities. Meanwhile, MBs
are *too* cushy IMO, and too expensive to own. Audi fits right in the
middle - more than sporty enough, while still very comfy, rock-solid,
and not too terribly expensive (unless you *must* have an A8).

--
Mike Smith

drove my beamer I would fall in love with it all over again. You can
feel the difference. I have a 5 series BMW and I am in the process of
switching to an A4. When I drove the A4 I loved it. But then when I got
back to my car, I loved my car even more! I felt more solid on the
ground in my car, more confident and safer. For my beamer acceleration
was better than the A4. Handling was not as good as the A4 but that's
understandable b/c of the quattro (both were excellent), and my car was
much more luxurious. But, there was a feeling in the Audi I didn't feel
in my car: it felt cozy! it felt nice and I didn't know what it was. My
car is more comfortable but when I get behind the wheel I feel like I
have to awaken all my senses so I can drive in a way aggressive enough
to live up to BMW's reputation as a sports luxury (and I do and its
fun!). But in the Audi I felt more relaxed and "homey". I haven't bought
the audi yet as I am not sure if I should get a 1.8T and chip it or a
2.8. I know it has to be quattro and an A4 because I don't like the way
the A6 feels and looks (no insult meant to A6 owners! ). Until then I
would have a preference for my car (but only a small one!). After I buy
the A4 maybe I will change my mind.On the other hand, maybe I feel that
way because I am comparing a 5 series to an A4 when I should be
comparing it to an A6.

BMW sucks bad in comparison to my test driving 4 and
6 series. Audis are *very* good in performance -that's what I look
for- and my V8 Quattro kicks ass and does not look like a sleazy
gangster car.



On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 23:56:18 -0400, Imad Al-Ghouleh
<ighoul (AT) po-box (DOT) mcgill.ca> wrote: