Audi (name)

Since August Horch (12 October 1868 3 February 1951)

was banned from using "Horch" as a trade name in his new
car business, he called a meeting with close business
friends, Paul and Franz Fikentscher from Zwickau,
Germany. At the apartment of Franz Fikentscher, they
discussed how to come up with a new name for the
company. During this meeting, Franz's son was quietly
studying Latin in a corner of the room. Several times he
looked like he was on the verge of saying something but
would just swallow his words and continue working, until he
finally blurted out, "Father audiatur et altera pars...(1) wouldn't it be a good idea to call it audi
instead of horch?" "Horch!" in German means "Hark!" or "hear", which is "Audi" in the singular
imperative form of "audire" "to listen" in Latin. The idea was enthusiastically accepted by
everyone attending the meeting. The first Audi car, the Type B, 10/28PS was delivered early in
1910.
August Horch left the Audi Company in 1920 for a
high position at the ministry of transport, but he
was still involved with Audi as a member of the
board of trustees. In September 1921, Audi
became the first German car manufacturer to
present a production car, the Audi Type K, with lefthanded drive.
Left-hand drive (wheel)(2) spread and established
dominance during the 1920s because it provided a
better view of oncoming traffic, making overtaking
safer.
(1)

Audi alteram partem (or audiatur et altera pars) is a Latin phrase that literally
means "It should be heard [audiatur] also the other party", "hear [audi] the other
side too", or "hear the alternative party too". It is most often used to refer to the
principle that no person should be judged without a fair hearing in which each
party is given the opportunity to respond to the evidence against them.

(2)

Signatory countries to the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (1949) have

agreed to a uniform direction of traffic in each country. Article 9(1) provides that:

All vehicular traffic proceeding in the same direction on any road shall
keep to the same side of the road, which shall be uniform in each country
for all roads. Domestic regulations concerning one-way traffic shall not be
affected
In the past, several countries had different rules in different parts of the country
(e.g., Canada until the 1920s). Currently, China, the United States and the United
Kingdom each have territories which differ from their primary traffic rule. In China
the bulk of the country drives on the right, but the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau which were transferred to
the country in the late 1990s drive on the left. In the United States the country drives on the right side of the road, but traffic in the
US Virgin Islands like on many Caribbean islands drives on the left side of the road. The United Kingdom drives on the left, but the
overseas territory of Gibraltar drives on the right. In the cases of the US and UK, it is not possible to drive between right-hand and lefthand regions; however, Hong Kong and Macau (both left-hand) border the remainder of China (right-hand.)