Old school New England 92 - Scanorama

AUTOBAHN
in the Audi store. Then it is time for dinner in the fine-dining
restaurant, followed by a drink in the cocktail bar. Finally you
check into the Audi hotel for a good night’s sleep. That there is no
Audi hotel yet doesn’t impede Franck’s vision. Nor does it occur
too him that most people just want to drive off in their new car,
not eat three Audi meals per day.
Like Markus Bölsterl and Indra Oelker from Munich who are
here to pick up the Q5 they ordered a few months ago.
“One reason for picking up the car here is that it is actually
a bit cheaper to get it straight from the factory. And then you
get a fun trip in the new car. We will probably skip the lunch
and dinner.”
STEEL AND GLASS – and maybe some polished concrete. After a
while, all the high tech gets to you. But a rustic idyll is never far
from the autobahn between Munich, Ingolstadt and Stuttgart.
You just turn off for castles, vineyards and small taverns.
We drive toward the village of Apfeltrach, two hours west of
Munich. When we continue through the cornfields, the hum of
autobahn gives way to a calming silence, the road signs surrendering
to apple trees. By a brook in the dense fir forest that takes
over from the cornfields, we find the Katzbrui-Mühle pension in
an old mill dating back to 1661. Our brand-new BMW rental is at
odds with its surroundings. Light trickles through the tiny windows
framed by dark planking. But first we have to pick up our
room keys at the restaurant. After a couple of perfectly grilled
Nürnburger rostbratwursts with creamy sauerkraut we’re ready
for bed. Driving on the autobahn demands a clear head, especially
when you’re up with the rooster.
The absence of speed limits is both exciting and terrifying.
But today there are only a few stretches of free-flowing autobahn.
And as long as you keep a close eye on the rearview mirror
and don’t block the left-hand lane, it is like any expressway
Racing colors: Porsche 908s
Roar power: The engine room
at the BMW Museum
anywhere. The autobahn’s reputation for crazy Porsche drivers
and gigantic serial collisions is humbling. Drivers indicate their
intentions clearly and maintain a safe distance better than those
on most European expressways.
THE GERMANY CAR INDUSTRY has a pretty incestuous history. For
example, Volkswagen owns Audi, which in turn owns brands
including Lamborghini. Volkswagen also owns Porsche, which
despite that has plans to purchase Volkswagen, and thereby own
Audi… it all fits together.
Ferdinand Porsche found time to design the Beetle for Volkswagen
and work at both Daimler and what would become Audi
before he started making sports cars in his own name.
In 2011, the car as an invention celebrated its 125th anniversary.
In 1886, Carl Benz was awarded a patent for his “vehicle
with gas engine drive.” Gottleib Daimler was working on his version
at the same time. When the two men later merged their op -
erations, they created Daimler-Benz, the foundation for what
we now know as Mercedes.
But the German car industry also has a darker past. Like many
other German industries, it was dragged into World War II – and
its actors are compelled to tell their story. The museums we visit
show how they used forced labor to build vehicles and engines
for the German army. The confessions never feel forced or dutiful,
but rather genuinely remorseful and believable.
The autobahn itself was largely a project initiated by the Na -
tional Socialists in the 1930s. Not that you have time to dwell on
52 DECEMBER 2011/JANUARY 2012 SCANORAMA
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