2007 Audi A4 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Finalists for 2014 Green Car of the Year announced

The list of finalists for the 2014 Green Car of the Year has been announced, and in a genuinely bizarre twist, there's only one hybrid and no electric vehicles among the five contestants, despite the arrival of cars like the BMW i3 and Tesla Model S. Taking the place of the EVs are a pair of diesels, repping a technology that last won a Green Car of the Year award in 2009, when the Audi A3 TDI took the title. No diesel was in the running for last year's award.
Naturally, both of the diesel finalists are fielded by the Germans - with BMW's 328d and Audi's A6 TDI getting the nod. In the case of the 3 Series, BMW installed a 2.0-liter, turbodiesel, capable of delivering 180 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque, while returning 45 miles per gallon on the highway. Audi and its larger, 3.0-liter, V6 turbodiesel produce quite a bit more grunt, with 240 hp and 428 lb-ft of grunt, but net a very impressive 38 mpg on the highway in the A6.
Finalists for this year's awards include two diesels, three gas-powered cars and a plug-in hybrid.

2015 Audi A3 configurator is up and running

Potential customers for the new Audi A3 should set aside some time during their lunch breaks to head over and build their ideal example of the new sedan. The official configurator, complete with pricing and options, has gone live on the Audi website.
Customers can choose from three trim levels (Premium, Premium Plus and Prestige), while each trim can be had with either the Volkswagen Group's familiar 2.0-liter, turbocharged, 220-horsepower four-cylinder or a 1.8-liter, turbocharged, 170-horsepower four-cylinder. Buyers of the 2.0-liter will enjoy Quattro all-wheel drive while power for the 1.8T is channeled through the front wheels only. A six-speed, S-Tronic dual-clutch transmission is standard across the range.
You can check out full pricing on the A3 right here, but as a means of recap, the base Premium trim with the 1.8-liter engine starts at $29,900. A Premium Plus 1.8T starts $32,800 and the Prestige 1.8T will cost $38,700. Adding a 2.0-liter turbo and Quattro increases the price by $3,000, regardless of trim. Those prices don't include an $895 destination charge.

Audi Q7 E-Tron confirmed?

Rumors out of Australia say we'll be seeing a new variant of the Audi Q7 when the next-generation models bows in a few years. Joining the diesel and gas range will be the second production member of Audi's E-Tron family, which was introduced by the R8 E-Tron, but will actually see production in the form of the A3 E-Tron.
Speaking with Audi's managing director in Australia, Andrew Doyle, Car Advice asked what the future held now that the electrified R8 had effectively been shelved. "I don't see it [R8 E-Tron] as a major thing for us. We'll launch [locally] with A3, followed by Q7..."
The new Q7 will share its platform with the Volkswagen Group's two other large SUVs, the Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg. But, as Car Advice is quick to point out, the Porsche and VW variants are slated for arrive next year - the second-generation Q7 won't arrive until 2015. Doyle refused to explain the discrepancy.