"Ex wife" is the most used words on this channel

11:00 - $2,800 is equivalent to around $7,500 for anyone else who’s curious.

The passion in Johns face when hes explaining the Audis previous owners passion for the car is infectious

*Trails off*"...Which is all another story... "John just found his signoff/tagline. I love it!

“There’s nothing like driving a slow car fast”

Always a great story when John shows up! Even better when it's a Cannonball episode!!!!

Ficarra is truly one of the best. He could read a McDonald's menu and make it seem interesting

“He’s writing the president of Italy” 🤣

My hair stood on end when he said " nothing like driving a slow car fast" because I own a 70 Karmann Ghia with a cheap but tight suspension setup and only got a 1671cc engine pushing 77hp and when flying down a twisty road keeping up with a Porsche with 300+ HP it was the greatest feeling in the world when we stopped at the gas station and the guy was blown away I kept up that long until the long straight. It saddened me when me and my wife got hit by a teenager playing on her phone at 55 mph while we wait at a traffic light destroying my dad's car I grew up in for 28 years until the day he handed me the keys and I drove that lime green beauty for 6 years until that day and now she sits under a tarp waiting for the day to be a donor car to my next Ghia we find. Love the channel and the stories thank you.

I was instantly happy when I saw John Ficarra was today's storyteller. Great story John. Such a cool car. The widow couldn't have picked a better custodian for it.

Art Vandelay, Architect and Audi enthusiast

"Oh I know who You are!" - now that's a dedicated seller. Warms the heart of a petrolhead.Thanks for sharing, including the ex-wife-dent and all. The gentleman's widow found the perfect buyer for her late husband's Audi in Mr Musketball himself who also sports the middlename "2904" ..... Can't wait for _that_ whole other Musketball story!

when you said "a box of records" my first thought was vinyl 😅

"Nothing like driving a slow car fast..." - John Ficarra *smiles in first-gen Focus getting hooned down backcountry roads* Yeah...I feel that one.

No clue who Art was but as usual Jonh did an amazing job of telling a great story of the love this hobby brings out. Thanks as always

When you look at the world news and everything is just so awful, John's videos are a real antidote, his stories are always so entertaining, he should write his autobiography.

What an amazing story! Johns expressive and lively story telling is so fantastic that one almost feels like they were there. For fans of 80's cars and cannonball lore, there couldn't be a more engaging story of automotive appreciation and stewardship. Thank you John Ficarra.

John Ficarra is top of the mark in story telling! Always a welcome treat to hear his narrations.

'nothing like driving a slow car fast' - THIS! i absolutely agree with this.

Me thinks Ed has mastered the Jedi mind trick? Ed: You should buy this car, John! John: I should buy this car, Ed! Ed: These are not the Droids you are looking for.

My buddy had a “91”-“92” Volkswagen FOX Wolfsburg edition. Which was not available in America and was thought not to exist. But this car was his first wife’s father’s car. They are a Brazilian family and the car was built in Brazil for Brazilian roads. That was the best handling vehicle I’ve ever driven or ridden in. It would take a 45deg turn at 45+ mph and never ever break loose. That little 2.2 five speed was soooo so so much fun! We were eating mustangs off the line and with two fearless 25 yr old nut bag roofers behind the wheel. We could just flat out drive most powerful cars on New England roads. I miss those days and my best friend! Rest In Peace Rick Racer!!

The previous owner is an absolute legend. The way he cared for this car is amazing

She found the one perfect guy to own her husband's pride and joy.

That was the easiest 19 minutes I've spent in a long time! Great story about my favorite car brand (I'm in my third Audi, a 2000 A8). Looking forward to more stories from John.

i love the concept of 100hp and under ralley,this means you need to get the optimal gear ratio thats not to tall that you have unusable rpms at higher rpm but not to low a ratio that your redlined the entire run and have lower top speed that would be fun to do

I had a 1984 4000s Quattro (black on black) and it drove exactly like John said...one of my favorite cars ever! I remember one miserable winter storms, icy roads, cars in the ditch, people sliding through intersections...horrible dangerous to drive in conditions. My Audi, just walked through all of that with no difference than driving in the dry. I'd buy one today if I found one in quality condition.

I needed a Ficarra story today. Thank you VINwiki!

It just occurred to me that John and Christopher are the only commentators whose stories I listen to more than once. Great guys. Great story tellers.

Ed, you need to invite that woman over to tell her stories!

I have absolutely ZERO INTEREST in the Cannonball, but this guys passion is unbelievable. Im listening with a huge smile on my face. This guy is awesome! Great storyteller. Wow!

John has always been an excellent storyteller, but I admire how much his hair and facial hair has improved since story 1.

We love John Ficarra here. We are still waiting on the Union Boys story though John!

I used to have an Audi 1982 5+5 which was a 5 speed 5 cylinder front wheel drive and looked quite similar to the quattro and it was so much fun to drive. The 5 cylinder was so smooth after 3000 rpm and it had that unique sound that only a 5 cylinder had.

Now I need to find my '71 Mazda 616 from high school and run the Musketball! lol... I loved that car.

Mr Ficarra tells the best stories for me, always tells the complete facts and history about the car he's talking about, I love the original Quattro's and this car is incredible, to have loved and taken such good care of it is a testament to the previous owner. Thanks for your great stories John.😊👍

Seattle was *bad* for car theft back in that day. Most people parked on the street as garages weren't particularly common or large if one was available.

Can't wait for the full Musketball story!

This video keeps popping up on my algorithm about once every two weeks for some reason.. and I watch it every damn time.

Parents had an 85 4000. I was a hooligan in that thing and cried when folks traded it on a 5000. My dad wouldn't sell it to me or my brother. It was a blast and not even a quattro

"Where am i going to find a 5000 quattro turbo transmission?" Me: 🙋

A great story about Art’s car. You put some passion into the tale. Thanks.

Anyone who can successfully fights Seattle city hall is worth remembering.

Im a simple man. I see John Ficarra, i get excited!

Find The Mid Night Racing 930 911 turbo! It’s a piece of Porsche history. It’s seems to have gone missing since 2015!

There is a white Audi Quattro that fits the description here in my hometown. I will have to check it out if I see it again. Excellent story John!

I love getting to sit here and listen to Ficarra tell these stories. It's just great. And I'm so glad y'all had a chance to do this. I'm envious!

Seattle can be rough on theft. I was riding a tour bus through the city when I saw a bicycle FRAME (no wheels, no handlebars, no chain, no pedals) locked securely to a bike rack. Everything else had been stolen off the bike.

Damn, Ficarra is now including cliffhangers! Can’t wait to hear the musketball story.

WOW! What a FANTASTIC story. Can't wait for part two!

Go John.

Now that Rabbit stopped showing up, Ficarra is definitely my favorite frequent contributor on the channel (and there are many fantastic ones).

When you said it did not shift in reverse. I immediately knew the problem. For under $10 would restore the shifter to that new feeling(I am assuming it is manual stick shift on the floor). Audi is VW so much is the same designed stuff. Maybe would take you an hour with coffee in one hand, so a 1 handed job. Done. Good for another million miles. Unusual that reverse would go, normally it is 2nd or 3rd which you just bypass on the shift progression. No harm, no foul.

What a great storyteller John is. Thanks for sharing. Loved it.

Such a great story so interesting to hear the history on the car from the old owner & to see the excitement in the new owner now.

I am glad you kept it standard because it is rarety makes it valuable putting a five speed gearbox in it doesn't detract from its originally you can always put the original gearbox back in the Audi

My friend had one of these old Quattros in high school. His grandpa gave it to him. It was such a slow car that we deemed it broken and I think he ended up taking it to a wrecking yard.

Can absolutely confirm that all of us want a Brock Yates Audi, such a cool car, and John is the perfect owner

This story was the perfect start to my day, thanks!

I know who you bought that car from. He was a family friend.

Back in 1991 I was 19 year's old and bought my first "expensive" car - at least it was just a bit more expensive than I really could afford on what I was payed at the time - and it was a 1985 Audi 80 quattro. (the European version of the 4000 in the US) It was slow as f*ck, geared really low, as John mentioned, but a blast to drive, especially in the winter - as long as you remembered that it was a whole lot harder to stop then it was to accelerate on slippery roads, abs wasn't a comment feature in mid 80's car's... Even since then I've been stuck with at least one but often two Audi's with the quattro system, so I would say that I'm a living proof that product image is valuable to car's, even if I believe that Audi's of today don't really live up to the older ones, the newer ones got way too much electrical issues! 🙄😅 But...I got to admit that I still love my current A7 despite it's quite expensive to maintain. 🙂

the whole "honey?" thing... yea that's my house too. played that portion for my wife and she tried hard not to smirk and laugh inside but she did. that's me, that's us, I just need an Ed in my life to help.

13:40 driving a slow car fast 💨 is the best and I love that you found this beauty and kept it “as-is” 🤜🏼

Of all the hundreds of VW stories I’ve heard over the years, this one is one of the best old stories ever!

Sir John Ficarra is just the ultimate story teller with such a propensity to accurately throw in obscure, little known facts about anything automotive related. Truly the most entertaining Automotive Historian on the planet. Another treasure of a story! Thank you, John!

Great now I want a call from. Ed Bolian

Yes I really love the longer videos my friend. You should do more longer videos like this. I know its probably easier said than done but this is deff awesome. Keep up the good work and the awesome longer videos big doggy fresh lol. Please keep the awesome people coming on the show to brother.

Hands down the best car story you guys have ever told. I feel like we’d all enjoy having a pint with Art if he were still around. The man sounds like a legend 👍

I remember that 84 or 85 was the first year of production of the Audi 4000 & 5000. My parents knew we would be leaving Germany in 87 and they wanted a nice euro car since the government would pay since he was in tje army for the change of belts, emissions, bumpers and anything else the US needed for you to import the car. They got an 85 Audi 5000S Quattro Turbo. So they got the largest sedan with Sport suspension, 4 wheel drive, and a Turbo for the 5 cyl motor. It was silver with dark brown leather interior. Apparently a very rare model for the options they chose. The Audi 1985 to 1988 curse was power windows that would stop working. A climate control that start putting out 95 degree heat in July, an auto trans that starts to go into reverse on its own while idling. Power locks that stop working eventually forcing you to crawl in from the trunk.

John Ficarra + anything = engaging storytelling

13:22 I feel that every time I hit 90+ in my Corolla S like yeah, you go lil' buddy, whip it...

John is such a great story teller

My ABSOLUTE FAVORITE story of this channel Amazing Thank you

John Ficarra.... BY FAR the greatest VinWiki story teller.

Great story!! Listening to these stories gets me threw the day

I absolutely adore John Ficarra stories…..I could listen to him alllllllll day!

That picture of John at 4:00 flying by with the finger point just makes this story all that much better Ficarra is the man!

Whenever I see John pop up with an episode, I'm in! An awesome Audi, and Cannonball stories to boot! Thanks, dude! ✌️❤️🙂🇨🇦

About 12 years ago, I had an Audi 4000cs Quattro. Everyone thought it was ridiculous! I loved it. This was in the pacific NW also. It never snows, but guess what.? When it did, I was mobin around.

You got a car that a lot of Love ❤️ and care was put into it.

Another outstanding contribution by Ed and John. I see a Musketball story coming soon! That Audi is sweet, great provenance, maintained by one of the best!!

Using inflation calculator $2,800 in 1986 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $7,566 today, an increase of $4,766 over 36 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 2.80% per year between 1986 and 2022.

The 1978 Ford Fiesta would tear it up on a Musketball run. If you know you know.

Funny story about the dent in the roof. My dad had the Coupe GT model (2wd sadly) with a dent also in the roof. Story from the previous owner was that he came out of a restaurant in Oxford (England) one evening and there was a bicycle on the roof.

I feel like I could be friends with Ed just based off of the great beers he provides his guests.

Jhon is my spirit animal lol

I really respect him hunting down and swapping the transmission for that special run.💪🏾

Man what a Find and sure its a dealer special but still..... On the subject of Gotti wheels, They still make the stickers and rebuild kits. I have a 3 piece set on my 83 Range Rover in 16 inch, real 80's exotica :-)

I can’t get enough of these “Car Stories”!

What funny is that I've done "One Lap of America" for a road trip. Granted, it took three months and involved a slight detour to Europe, but it was still a full lap around all the perimeter (and some non-perimeter) states, going clockwise from CA. Highly recommended if you have the time and the driving inclination.

There's not much better than John Ficarra's automotive tales Thanks for the upload

John always has the best stories because he loves unusual cars.

"... which is a whole other story." I can't wait !!!

I love stories like these.

The Celica All Trac would have been a great runner for the musketball

Great story 👌

Very cool story thank you much

Now we have to wait for part 2.

at 16:56, there is a Citröen XM, with hydropneumatic suspension. I thougt those never made it to the US! There were several versions, a 2L 4cyl, the Diesel, and the 3L V6, same engine as the DeLorean. Those are super comfortable, but not the fastest thing out there. " To drive a slow car fast, he said..."

I thought “my wife at the time” was the most used phrase.

VERY Ed Bolian to bleep out the word “ass”