Ancient German dining habits

[Denis]

Because (if memory serves) THAT clip had to be under THAT bolt, and THAT bolt had to be the CORRECT bolt of the CORRECT length, because the length of the bolt (minus the thickness of the metal clip) extended to the tensioner for the timing chain, and had to push against the tensioner for the chain to be properly tensioned.  
Or the car would not start.

Probably good the car wouldn't start or it would have disintegrated. I've drive quite a few German cars over the years and each was great in its own way.
1985 Audi Quattro: the 2 door coupe developed for rallys. That car was AWESOME. It was a 5 speed, 5 cylinder intercooled and turbocharged with locking diffs. That car would go around corners so fast you really were scared shitless, but it was fun. It was a handful to drive though.
Early '90s e500: This was the weird 300 body style (but with fender flares and big, fat rims) into which MB deposited a souped up engine from the S-class sedans, then sent the car to Porsche for suspension work.  Blindingly fast, that car was a blast drive but you never really noticed you were going 100mph because 2 seconds before you were only going 60.
1974 MB 4.5 liter 280 sedan. It was a Euro-spec car imported into the US by an army officer back in the 1970s. That one was really neat and would leave rubber on the ground for as long as you cared to hold down the accelerator pedal. It also had a column shift which was unusual for an MB. My buddy who owned it drove us to lunch one day and said, "Watch this" as he shifted the transmission into reverse at 65mph. We freaked out, expecting to go through the windshield. Instead, the car slowed down, stopped and started backing up. He explained that it had the transmissions out of the MB limos which were designed for such abuse.
I wish I owned all of those!

[Pilgrim]

1985 Audi Quattro: the 2 door coupe developed for rallys. That car was AWESOME. It was a 5 speed, 5 cylinder intercooled and turbocharged with locking diffs. That car would go around corners so fast you really were scared shitless, but it was fun. It was a handful to drive though.

Ah, the legendary URQ!   One of the true beasts of the rally world. 

There's an outfit in Washington state called 'Intended Acceleration" that can get 600 HP out of a turbo 5-cylinder Audi motor.  Then you can go hunting giants!

[Hornisse]

My first car that I bought for $500 in 1978 was a '69 Opel Kadett 2 door wagon.  German made, I could haul a lot of gear in that car.  Plus I could haul 3 or 4 girls in it to take partying in downtown Panama City, Panama!

[jmcgliss]

When I met my wife in 1989, she was driving a used Audi that had its quirks. On the console were four electric window switches, but one never knew which ones would work at a given moment. When my window would not roll down, she impressed me by yanking out the uncooperative switch and suggesting I swap in one of the other three. A post mortem revealed a sealed housing that I could not clean or repair, so I helped her find a better car.

[gweimer]

My first car that I bought for $500 in 1978 was a '69 Opel Kadett 2 door wagon.  German made, I could haul a lot of gear in that car.  Plus I could haul 3 or 4 girls in it to take partying in downtown Panama City, Panama!

I had a '72 Opel station wagon.  Great car.  I could haul my Acoustic 360 rig, and the bass in a flight case with no hassles.  I also did a few things in the back of that car that bring back fond memories.