July 12: press launch for the Audi A8 in New Zealand. We’ve been lunched, wined and dined by the folks at Audi at Cape Kidnappers, but it’s not all fun and games. Taking the A8 on some of the windy roads around this part of the country, I’ve found that it has excellent grip, and the 800 Nm maximum of torque really delivers. In the back seat, there are the usual climate controls with optional massaging seats for those who need it. There’ll be more when I file my full report on the cars.
   We had an enjoyable quiz between the three tables of journalists tonight and I am happy to report that ours won. Named Back Jack, after my mayoral campaign, we took home the victory, along with Audi USB keys for the rest of us (sorry Lucire team, I’ll be holding on to this one for a change). All the compilation and editing of Autocade seems to have paid off when it comes to Audi trivia.
   Not only will there be a ‘Living’ report for the cars, but the service at Cape Kidnappers might deserve a piece, too. As most of my colleagues here are not working on the travel beat in their publications, this could be a good test to see how things are on a regular day for the resort. So far, I am very impressed.—Jack Yan

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