Well . . . I have a new car! An Audi Q4 e-tron 50 Premium Plus SUV.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

All electric, complicated as hell, leather interiors; just took delivery today!

Here's a few photos:

[George McGovern]

1. No more gas pumps for you young Lady! Congratulations!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. Thanks, George! That was the primary reason! ♥

[Bluethroughu]

2. Looks nice, I wish our garage was that clean!

Keep us posted on the performance, after you've had it a bit.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

11. Thanks, Bluethroughu! We're just naturally tidy, lol! And will do. ♥

[Chi67]

3. Yay!

You'll love it! I just bought my second A3. Audis are great fun.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

12. Thanks, Chi67! Sure looks like fun from here! ♥

[Chi67]

45. Sure!

Just take your time figuring out all the features. My new A3 has just about all of the options and I am still figuring it out after 3 months!

[Grumpy Old Guy]

4. That's great!

Congratulations!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

13. Thanks, Grumpy! Learning it will be exhausting . . . for a while! ♥

[LoisB]

5. Beautiful. Good for you. Car and garage look great.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

14. Thanks, LoisB! It was time. ♥

[MLAA]

6. Pretty cool wheels to take you to the farmers markets for great pics of veggies and flowers!

Really nice!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

15. Thanks, MLAA! Can't wait to do that! ♥

[Diamond_Dog]

7. Beautiful car!

I can just imagine that new car smell! Enjoy!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. Thanks, Diamond_Dog! It actually smells like leather, which is what it has! ♥

[louslobbs]

8. Enjoy your new ride!

Love it👍🏻

[CaliforniaPeggy]

17. Thanks, louslobbs! As soon as I get used to how different it is, I expect to! ♥

[2naSalit]

9. Oooh! Nice!

I hope it's everything you expect and then some. Congrats!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

18. Thanks, 2naSalit! It feels really good and the view is terrific! ♥

[2naSalit]

19. I saw one yesterday and wondered...

What it was like inside and to drive. I used a new Jeep a few months ago when my BMW was in the shop and I did not like it, wasn't electric though. That's the newest car I've been in for some time.

Enjoy!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

21. We wanted something more comfortable than we've had before.

Also, our driveways are quite steep, so the clearance was super important. No more scraping the underside of the car!

This car has really good road clearance and that was very important.

I know I'll enjoy it, once I get used to driving it!

[bsiebs]

20. Your garage looks like a showroom... I'm sure your new Audi appreciates that... very nice..

[CaliforniaPeggy]

22. Ah, thanks, bsiebs! It tends to look clean since we only store cars in it! nt

[Evolve Dammit]

23. Sweet ride! I share your joy. Not only new, but so efficient. Enjoy!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

25. Thanks so much, Evolve Dammit!

It suits us down to our toenails! And it doesn't hurt that we can, if we want, drive solo in the carpool lane.

[Evolve Dammit]

34. Have a drive to Big Sur for all of us! Or wherever. Road Trip!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

36. I may do that, sometime. Not this summer! Too much going on. ♥

[Lonestarblue]

24. Great looking car! Congratulations! How on earth does anyone have such a clean, neat garage?!!!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

27. Thank you, Lonestarblue!

All I can say is, you should see our storage spaces!

[Lonestarblue]

30. I have a friend who loves to organize anything and everything.

Everything neatly cleaned and hung on a rack or hook, shelves with storage bins for everything, nothing on the floor. She once organized my pantry, and it took me all of two months to turn it into chaos! I don’t seem to have the knack, which is why I never know where anything is!

[3catwoman3]

41. I think organization is genetic - either you naturally are...

…or you aren’t. If you aren’t , you can be but it takes a lot of effort. I “aren’t.”

[bello]

26. Charger?

Okay, I am just totally green with envy. Congrats!

Not that I own an EV, but that won’t stop me from tossing out gratuitous advice that I am totally not qualified to give. If you plan to purchase a home charger to put in that disgustingly tidy garage, take a look at a bi-directional charger. Also known as V2G (vehicle to grid) or V2H (vehicle to home.

Some of these will allow you to power your house during a grid outage. Others will also allow you to ship power back into the grid. Every power company is probably different, but my electric provider will sell me power at $0.07 per kilowatt hour during low pricing periods and then buy it back from me at $0.13 per kWh during peak pricing period.

Since the possibilities are wide and varied, I won’t try to explain it all. It will take some research to understand the rules where you live.

But yeah, nice car.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

29. Thank you, bello!

We're way ahead of you; this is not our first totally electric car.

We've already gotten the charging port installed and it's ready to go. My husband has had a Tesla for some time and this is his area of expertise!

But I do appreciate the trouble you went to, to tell me about the options.

[slightlv]

28. Nice!!!!

I do take note of your "complicated as hell" comment tho (gryn). I'm now in one of those ages where it's "stick in the key, turn it, and have the car (hopefully) start.

Unfortunately, I have two cars -- one in bad shape; the other worse. I'm hoofing or catching rides, as I continue to pay taxes and license them. At some point, I guess I'm gonna give 'em up. I don't particularly like driving, anyway. Thank god hubby still has his truck working -- after some $650 spent on it.

Your new vehicle looks fantastic!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

31. Thanks, slightlv!

We've done our time with cars like yours, and thank gawd, those days are over!

I enjoy driving (up to a point), so this car really suits me.

And it doesn't hurt that it looks good!

[Pinback]

32. Sleek ride!

I’m still holding out for the electric Bulgemobile.



RIP, Bruce McCall…

[CaliforniaPeggy]

33. Thank you, Pinback!

Wow, it looks like a blast from the past!

Love the fins!

[Pinback]

37. This is from Zany Afternoons --

A hilarious book by the late, great Bruce McCall.

I love all the safety features on newer cars! We have a Subaru with all the bells and whistles — but gasoline only . It has a ridiculous “infotainment” display and several other settings that require a trip through the poorly written user manual every time!

[quaint]

35. Congratulations. It's a beautiful car.

My blind, activist, daily walker friend wants to know if it has "blind-friendly" "make a noise at low speed" technology. She has a service dog but says if she waits for his approval to cross a street, she would stand there forever and uses her hearing to decide herself. I tried googling but my phrasing doesn't yield any results.

Really asking for my friend. Thank you.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

38. Thank you for asking for your friend, dear quaint . . .

If it has that feature, I haven't run across it just yet. I'll try to remember to check this out, so I can tell you.

[quaint]

43. Thank you.

[AnotherMother4Peace]

39. Ohhh - sweet ride! Now for some fun little trips - maybe to Capistrano for a few nights in

that historic downtown - or maybe wait until after summer. Remember Huel Howser & California's Gold travel show? He visited so many beautiful & historic places.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

49. Thank you, AnotherMother4Peace!

Good ideas, all of them!

[love_katz]

40. Congratulations CalPeg.

May your beautiful new ride carry you safely and smoothly for many a mile.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

50. Thank you, love_katz! I certainly hope so! And, so far, so good. ♥

[BMW2020RT]

42. Good for you, Peggy.

I just moved from a combustion Toyota to a hybrid Honda. My next two-wheeled ride may be an all electric BMW scooter with about an 80 mile range between chargings.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

51. Thank you, BMW2020RT! Your ideas sound good, for you!

All-electric vehicles are the wave of the future.

Hybrids have contributions to make as well.

I've had my Hybrid Toyota since 2006!

[Martin Eden]

44. Very nice, except one thing ...

Couldn't you find a color other than white?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

52. Thank you, Martin Eden!

We chose white for two reasons: We like it, and it's designed to keep the car cooler when it's hot out!

So. There!

[Martin Eden]

56. Personal esthetic preference, plus practicality

I guess I can't argue with that!

Even though I buy a new car about once every ten years or so (and I still have a few years left in my 2016 VW Golf) I always like to browse the new models -- especially the EV's.

And I must confess, I've been enamored with the Q4 since I first saw it. The interior is beautiful, and the exterior looks great in any color (except white .)

[malaise]

46. Nice

😀

[CaliforniaPeggy]

53. Thanks so much, malaise!

[Glamrock]

47. Noice!

Congrats! Audi makes great cars, good choice!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

54. Thank you, Glamrock!

They do make good cars. One pivotal point was road clearance.

The driveway is quite steep and we used to scrape bottom unless we were very careful.

This car has great clearance so that won't be a problem at all. It's a huge relief.

[Glamrock]

57. Hell yeah!

Look at my recent post and you can see I TOTALLY understand ground clearance! LOL!
https://www.democraticunderground.com/12053815

[CaliforniaPeggy]

58. Wow, those are some great photos of your beautiful car!

But ouch, the ground clearance has got to be something you look out for.

Good luck with that!

[Glamrock]

59. Thanks Peggy!

High praise, coming from you!

How are you liking the Audi? I bet it kicks like a racehorse when you get on the gas…

It’s a beauty. Really happy for you!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

60. You're welcome!

I've actually only driven it once. My husband thinks that I should familiarize myself with the controls and do brief jaunts to get used to it.

He's probably right, damn it!

I am intimidated by the complex screens that I need to learn to scroll through. I do have a good owner's manual that will be very helpful!

[waterwatcher123]

48. Nice car, enjoy it (most of us probably envy the clean garage even more).

[CaliforniaPeggy]

55. Thank you, waterwatcher123! You know I'll enjoy it, once I get used to driving it! ♥