Audi News
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The 2010 Audi A3 TDI was awarded the 2010 Green Car of the Year Award today at the Los Angeles Auto Show by Green Car Journal, which has presented the award for five years. It follows last year's winner, the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI, to make two clean diesels in a row to win the award. The 2010 Audi A3 TDI is a compact five-door hatchback, powered by a 2.0-liter turbodiesel engine. The sporty A3 TDI is meant to appeal to the frugal side of Audi's affluent buyers, with a base price of $30,000. It beat one other diesel--the 2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI--and no fewer than three all-new hybrids, the...
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2009 Los Angeles Auto Show: Preview
Only a handful of U.S. auto shows count as important. Detroit, in January, is one; historically, New York in April has been another. But the up-and-comer is the Los Angeles Auto Show, which now occurs in late November or early December and focuses on green cars of all stripes: hybrids, electric...
John Voelcker -
2011 Volkswagen Touareg To Include Hybrid, Launch in January
The completely redesigned 2011 Volkswagen Touareg sport utility vehicle, which will be unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show this January, will include a hybrid model in the range from the start. The 2012 Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid will be Volkswagen's first hybrid electric vehicle, and it will go on...
John Voelcker -
Hide the Children! Porsche Goes Green And Hybrid, Purists Blanch
Europeans have been slow to the game with hybrids, having bet most of their green strategy on highly efficient clean diesels. But they are increasingly hedging their bets, learning to work with electric motors and battery packs. In the sports-car world, aside from startups Fisker and Tesla, no...
John Voelcker -
Who Will Be Awarded the Next Green Car of the Year? We have the Finalists
Will the Green Car of the Year be another TDI?
Jonathan McGrew -
2010 Green Car of the Year Finalists Announced, List Includes 3 Hybrids
Every year the Green Car Journal presents an award to the top Green Car of the year. The award is decided by votes from a long list of people that include Jay Leno, Matt Peterson of Global Green USA, and Carl Pop of Sierra Club. Last year's winner was the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI. The...
Eric Loveday -
Our editor Marty Padgett is spending the day with Volkswagen, driving new models, learning about advanced technologies, and quizzing executives. Here's his preview of VW's upcoming Touareg Hybrid sport utility vehicle. Volkswagen will launch a hybrid electric model of its Touareg sport utility vehicle late in 2011, as a 2012 model. The hybrid comes a year after the launch of its all-new 2011 Touareg next year, one of three related hybrid sport utilities from the German automaker. The hybrid Touareg will share a basic platform and some battery technology with the 2011 Porsche Cayenne Hybrid...
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Green Car of the Year Finalists: Three Hybrids, Two Diesels
The five finalists for the 2010 Green Car of the Year Award include three hybrid models--two Japanese hatchbacks and one U.S. sedan--and a pair of German clean-diesel cars. The nominations were announced today by Green Car Journal, which has presented the award at the Los Angeles Auto Show for five...
John Voelcker -
Audi e-tron EV Supercar Scheduled For Production, U.S. Debut in 2 to 3 Years
According to Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen, an electric vehicle based on the concept e-tron electric supercar will enter production and is expected to come to the U.S. in only 2 to 3 years. As de Nysschen said, "I expect we will see running examples in the next 24 months." The...
Eric Loveday -
Clean Diesels Cost More, But Will Americans Pay For Them?
It's well known in the car industry that a diesel engine costs 10 to 20 percent more to build than a gasoline motor of equivalent output. That's because diesels have to be sturdier, and these days all US-bound diesels are fitted with turbochargers to boost their power. Now a European executive has...
John Voelcker -
Full Details: Audi e-Tron Electric Supercar, Competition for Tesla?
Yesterday we brought you the first images of the Audi e-Tron concept car from the Frankfurt Auto Show. Now, we have all the technical details of this stunning supercar propelled purely by electrons. Until now, all we knew was that the e-Tron was based on the regular R8 sports car, with the side...
John Voelcker -
Volt Buyers 'Idiots'? Audi President Is The One Who's Wrong
We were going to let it slide, really. Just because the U.S. president of a major automaker calls the buyers of another carmaker's product "idiots" is no reason for us to sink to name calling. But the hoohah has continued, and the misunderstandings seem to be growing. We thought it was time to...
John Voelcker -
As of November, you'll have two choices if you want a compact five-door hatchback with a clean diesel engine. One is the brand-new 2010 Audi A3 TDI, which was just given a base price of $30,775 today by Audi. It'll start arriving in dealerships in November. Longstanding diesel champ: Golf TDI The other is the 2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI, the latest in a longstanding and popular series of Volkwagen diesel hatchbacks and sedans. It was just priced at $21,990. and we think it will may become the biggest clean-diesel winner in the US market. The 2010 Audi A3 TDI and 2010 VW Golf TDI share a basic...
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VIDEO: Audi's Electrifying New Microsite Revives R8 EV Rumors
In late May, we reported on rumors that an electric version of Audi's R8 supercar would be at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Nary a day later, Edmunds Inside Line crushed our hopesand put the rumors to rest, citing an Audi representative who refuted the blogosphere's claims. We're not ready to say "we...
Robert Scardino -
Mini Coupe Concept Celebrates 50 Years of Minis, Targets Audi TT
On Wednesday, August 26, 1959, a new type of small car was unveiled in Austin and Morris dealerships across Britain. Many buyers didn't know quite what to make of the Morris Mini-Minor and Austin 7even (yep, that's what they called it--for a very short while). It had seats for four, it was just 10...
John Voelcker -
Audi Turns 100: The A3 Isn’t the Only Thing That Has Been Refined In a Century
The Compact Audi Packs a Lot Of Value
Jonathan McGrew -
Diesel's Not A Dirty Word, Say New Audi TDI Ads
European automakers may be taking tentative steps into hybrids, but much of their green-car strategy still depends on clean diesels, adapted from engines that power half the new cars in Europe. Six weeks ago, Volkswagen launched its "TDI Truth and Dares" publicity effort to convince the US public...
John Voelcker -
Racing Goes Green As Diesels Romp At Le Mans
We were once told by an auto writer that "real car people" didn't want green cars. They wanted noise, and roaring engines, and squealing tires. Well, the triumph of diesel-powered race cars at the famed 24 Heures du Mans shows you can have both. The French carmaker Peugeot placed first and second...
John Voelcker -
"We have to do hybrids in order to show people that we are able to do them," said Wolfgang Hatz, head of powertrain development for the Volkswagen Group, back in January at the Detroit Auto Show. Maybe that explains why Audi has been waffling in their decision to make a hybrid version of the Q5 crossover. For now, anyway, the Q5 Hybrid is back on, with expected production happening by 2011. Though the powertrain details aren't yet known, there's a possibility that the new hybrid system could be applied to a number of vehicles in Audi's lineup, given that the Q5 is based on the A4. (The A4...
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First Drive: Audi A3 TDI Clean Diesel Hatchback
A splendid gearbox and neutral roadholding make the A3 TDI appealing to drive, but will buyers go for Audi's small, pricey, diesel hatchback?
John Voelcker -
Factmill: Electric Audi R8 Concept Will Not Be At Frankfurt Motor Show
Contrary to blogosphere speculation, Edmunds has confirmed that there will be no electric Audi R8 at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. An Audi spokesperson who wished to remain anonymous told Edmunds that rumors starting in the European automotive press (and perpetuated by yours truly) are not...
Robert Scardino -
Audi A3 TwinDrive Hybrid Planned
As part of the same program that will develop an electric Volkswagen Golf, Audi is planning an A3 electric. The program, called VW TwinDrive, has not released any firm release or sale dates, but Audi is hinting at fleet trial target of 2012. AutocarUK is reporting that the hybrid A3 will run on a...
Jennifer Knightstep -
Audi Q5 Hybrid On Schedule Release Expected in Late 2010
Audi, considered a holdout in hybrid powertrain technology, is on schedule to release a hybrid version of the Q5 Crossover vehicle in late 2010 or the ealry part of 2011. Though Audi has developed a considerable amount of fuel efficient diesel engines, they have yet to develop a hybrid...
Eric Loveday -
2011 Audi Q5 Hybrid Expected to Launch Next Year in the USA
Audi has previous considered entering the hybrid market, and now has finally confirmed it will officially to do aiming to bring a hybrid version of its luxury SUV the Q5 to the US in 2010.. Wolfgang Hatz who is head of Audi's powertrain development said the automaker will build a hybrid to compete...
Lyle Dennis