From: Jim Bailey [jim@928intl.com]
Sent: Friday, December 08, 2000 1:02 PM
To: 928
Subject: [928] RE: Seeking S4 Information

Porsche probably never considered air bags to be beneficial but were forced
to comply with U S laws and consumer opinion . The air bags were an option
in Europe in 1990 . While the air bag might save your life ---- it will kill
the car it blows apart the dash , breaks the windshield , blows out the
center of the steering wheel and if deployed you are "required" to change
all the sensors and the computer control unit ---- Air bag for steering
wheel $800 , passenger air bag $1,200 , dash $1,400 , windshield $900 ,
control unit $1,600 , two sensors $130 .In other words $6,000 in parts
probably 15 hours labor  just to repair the airbag damage .That added to the
damage of the accident totals out the car. Most insurance companies when the
initial repair estimate gets above 50 % of the "replacement value " opt to
not start fixing the car , there are always supplements for hidden damage
that will get added to the estimate . The PSD is a computer controlled
hydraulically actuated limited slip first offered in 1990 a rather
complicated system which "locks " the rear differential when slippage is
detected and locks when slowing in a cornering situation ,  older 928s were
available with mechanical limited slips. I have always been of the opinion
the  928 is the perfect replacement for any mini-van .