Airstream

With the boom of RV ownership since 2001, Airstreams are more popular than ever, and restoration of older models is a passion shared by many. The new Audi A6 (the sixth-generation) has been drawn by Italian Walter Dà Silva. Club members join together for one large International Rally each summer (which by club rules always includes the dates of July 1 and July 4), and hundreds of smaller local rallies. The updated 2005 A6 won the World Car of the Year award for 2005. Later, the word "International" was added to the club name, resulting in the acronym "WBCCI". The A6 was on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for 2000 and 2001. An owner's club was formed in 1955 during one of these rallies, named the Wally Byam Caravan Club. The C6 design was available with the following engines:.

This promoted a mystique which surrounded Airstreams and persists to this day. It is powered by a Lamborghini-derived V10. Photos taken of the trailers in front of many famous tourist sites were common. The sporting S6 was introduced in the Frankfurt Motor Show, with sales beginning in early 2006. In the early 1950s, the Airstream company founder, Wally Byam, began leading groups of owners on travels to many portions of the world, where the towed trailers were quite remarkable. The Allroad model is slated to make its debut during 2006. Airstreamers are a group of RVer's who have a community spirit because of their mutual love of Airstream travel trailers built by Airstream company of Jackson Center, OH. The Avant arrived during the course of 2005, while in China, a longer version was introduced in the same year, named A6 L (the A8 is not sold in this country).

The company presently manufactures about 1,500 motorhomes and trailers per year. Like the previous model, the A6 is available with other body options. and still produces their traditional aluminum skinned trailers, along with a full line of motorhomes, and the recently added Basecamp trailers. Quattro four wheel drive is available in most of the lineup, and standard in the most powerful models. Airstream, based in Jackson Center, Ohio is owned by Thor, Inc. The Multitronic automatic transmission continues as an alternative alongside a new 6-speed Tiptronic gearbox available in the high end models. A recent model the Skydeck, features bus like construction, and interior stairs leading to a fully appointed deck on the roof. Although the line of engines represents the same progression as the former model, all engines were new.

These classic motorhomes were followed by production of fiberglass, more traditional looking models in the 90's, with versions of these still being sold today. On the engine side the new FSI direct injection technology was introduced for the first time outside the race track. The motorhomes began as 28 foot models, and in the eighties and nineties models ranging up to 37 feet were marketed. Most notably is the MMI (Multi Media Interface) which is an optional system controlling radio, satellite navigation, climate control and (when available) suspension settings through a central screen interface. In actuality these were modified trailers, mounted on a step van chassis also modified for the motorhome. The new model is a larger car (492 cm) with more sophisticated technology. These began as painted aluminum 20 and 24 foot models, and were followed in 1979 by the first of their Classic model motorhomes, with an unpainted aluminum body, much like the trailers they are known for. The new A6 (C6-design) came in 2004.

In 1974 Airstream began manufacturing a Class A Motorhome, badged "Argosy". The C5 design was available with the following engines:. Beginning in the mid 1970s Airstream also began manufactures a line of "Class A" motorhomes and "Class B" van campers. This model saw the end of the C5 design which was replaced in 2004 by a new model. By August of that year the first Ohio made Airstream rolled off the line, and the California factory was also moved to larger facilities in Santa Fe Springs. Producing a staggering 450 PS (331 kW) and 560 Nm (413 ft.lbf), it propels the A6 from 0-100 km/h in 4.7 sec and on to 200 km/h in under 18 seconds. In July 1952, a new facility in Jackson Center, Ohio,was established to serve the demand for the trailers. In the late years of the A6 C5 design, a monstrous Audi RS6 model was presented.

By 1948 the demand for Airstream trailers increased tremendously, with a wide range of models eventually being offered. A four wheel drive version of the estate with raised ground clearance and slightly altered styling was sold as the Audi Allroad Quattro, Audi's first crossover SUV. When World War II ended, the economy boomed and people’s attention once again turned towards leisure travel. All models, except the 2.0 petrol and 1.9 TDI, were available with Audi's four wheel drive system, quattro. Byam decided that the best way to help the war effort was to use his experience with aluminum fabrication in the aircraft industry taking jobs at Lockheed and Curtis Wright for the rest of the war. Also new was the revolutionary Multitronic drive by wire continuously variable transmission, available in most front wheel drive models in the lineup. closed its doors. A new more powerful V6 diesel was also introduced presenting 180 bhp and 370 nm.

Airstream Trailer Co. The V6 Diesel was also slightly modified resulting in 163 PS (120 kW) (after the second modification) and 350 Nm (258 ft.lbf). However, during World War II, leisure travel and the materials needed to build trailers both became luxuries most in the country could not afford. The turbocharged 2.7 L was given a tweak on the turbo resulting in 250 PS (184 kW) and 330 Nm (244 ft.lbf), controlled by standard quattro. Of more than 300 trailer builders operating in 1936, Airstream was the only one to survive the Depression years. The 2.4's power was slightly upgraded and the 2.8 V6 was replaced by a 3.0 L engine boosting 220 PS (162 kW). introduced the “Clipper". The 1.9 L TDI was tweaked into producing a maximum of 130 PS (96 kW) and 310 Nm (228 ft.lbf), receiving a 6-speed gearbox in the process.

On January 17, 1936, the Airstream Trailer Co. The 1.8 L engine was removed and replaced by a 2.0 L powerplant with 130 PS (96 kW). He incorporated aircraft construction methods to lower wind resistance and improving the trailer’s strength, while retaining light weight.His designs took on a more aerodynamic look. In 2000 the A6 received a facelift which saw little change in the design of the car but presented a few notable changes in terms of engines. During the mid 1930’s, company founder Wally Byam perfected his skill of combining form and functionality. The Avant body arrived in 1998. In 1936, Byam introduced the "Airstream Clipper", which was essenntially a prototype of the now familiar rounded-cornered, silver aluminum Airstream trailer.Byam moved his operaton to Jackson Center, Ohio in 1952, where its headquarters still reside. As an alternative to the manual transmission, a 5-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission was also available.

Byam a former Bowlus employee, purchased the designs and revised them, initially selling kits to customers wishing to build their own trailer. The crisp 30-valve 2.4 and 2.8 V6 engines represented the bulk of the A6's development programme, but the resilient 2.5 V6 TDI and the powerful all-new Audi S6 were the flagships. The company was founded by Walter "Wally" Byam, who began building trailers in his backyard in Los Angeles during the early 1930s. The new A6 presented itself with a wide range of engines and configurations. . With the introduction of an ambitious new design (C5) and a new pack of engines, the A6 moved up a notch and was positioned alongside the hegemonious BMW 5-Series and the solid Mercedes E-class. The design cuts down on wind resistance and thus improves gas mileage. In 1997 the scene changed strikingly for the A6.

Airstream trailers are well recognized for their distinctive rounded aluminum bodies, which originated in the 1930s from designs originally created by Harley Bowlus and others. The C4 design was available with the following engines:. The company, which employs about 400, is owned by the Thor Industries. Like the 100, the A6 was available with. Airstream is the name of a brand of recreational vehicle presently manufactured in Jackson Center, Ohio. The exterior was largely left unchanged from the C4 100 as well as the engines; up until 1997 the A6 came with several different engines, two of them Diesel, and most of them available with Audi's quattro four wheel drive system. In 1994 the last version (C4) of the Audi 100 was facelifted and re-badged as the A6, to fit in with Audi's new naming policy (as the A8 had just been introduced).

. Its primary competitors are the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW 5-Series, Alfa Romeo 166, Jaguar S-Type, Lexus GS and Volvo S80. The second generation A6 was also used as the basis for the Allroad. It is available in two bodywork configurations, the sedan and the station wagon (Avant).

The Audi A6 is an executive luxury car produced by Audi.