2012 Audi A4 Quattro 4-door 2.0l Awd 6-speed 50k Miles Excellentcond. We Finance on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla seeks Gigafactory architect, Uber hails carpools

Tesla is looking for an architect to help design its proposed Gigafactory battery manufacturing facility. According to the Palo Alto-based job listing, which is titled "Architect - Gigafactory," the applicant must have, among other qualifications, over five years of experience with "high-tech infrastructure and operational facilities (semiconductor, solar, battery, waste water treatment plants, etc.)." The job also includes being away from home quite a bit, as it the listing states, "This full time role requires the flexibility of traveling when needed (up to 70 percent) and doing whatever it takes to achieve project objectives." Think you've got what it takes? See the listing for yourself, here, or read more at Silicon Valley Business Journal. Tesla has appointed Robyn Denholm of Juniper Networks to its board of directors. Denholm is Executive Vice President, Chief Financial and Operations Officer at Juniper Networks. Denholm replaces Brad Buss as chair of Tesla's Audit Committee and a member of the company's Compensation and Nominating and Corporate Governance committees. Buss will remain a member of Tesla's board as he joins SolarCity as CFO. Denholm is Tesla's first female director. Read more at Bloomberg, or in the press release below. Uber, the company behind the now famous ride-hailing app, is introducing its carpooling service, UberPool. The service matches drivers with (hopefully multiple) passengers going to similar destinations, with users paying just a fraction of the cost of a normal taxi, or even an Uber ride. If a rider can't get matched with a driver, they can enjoy a discounted Uber ride. As the company points out in its blog, "At these price points, Uber really is cost-competitive with owning a car, which is a game-changer for consumers." UberPool is currently running a private beta program, which it plans to expand on August 15. Read more in-depth about the UberPool at Forbes, or learn more at Uber's blog. For a few reasons why this new expansion might run afoul of archaic laws (put there to keep entrenched interests in play), check out Engadget. Plug-in hybrids are encouraging an evolution of transmission technology. Companies like Schaeffler and ZF Friedrichshafen are adapting their transmissions to include electric motors within them for use in plug-in hybrids. For example, the electric motor in ZF's eight-speed powers the transmission when the internal combustion engine is shut off.

2014 Audi Q5 TDI

I've struggled with diesel technology. It's not that I have a problem with it or dislike it, but rather that I don't particularly understand what stops its wider-spread adoption. Sure, memories of rust-prone, smoky, sluggish and uneconomical Oldsmobile diesels aren't exactly easy to erase from the collective memory of the North American motoring public, but I'd think that a few years into the latest crop of clean diesels, there'd be wider adoption - or at least consumer consideration - by now.
Part of the issue is the still limited number of segments that diesels are available in. The Volkswagen Golf/Jetta TDI is finally getting a challenger in the form of the Chevrolet Cruze Diesel, and the BMW 328d is bringing something new to the entry-level sports sedan, but there are still a huge group of segments where diesel-power has no representation.
The small, luxury crossover realm is not one of those. It has the Mercedes-Benz GLK250 Bluetec, a stylish crossover with a silky-smooth 2.1-liter, turbodiesel four-cylinder that can return the kind of fuel economy that makes people take notice. And while the GLK250 is quite good, economy will only spread the diesel's appeal so far. People need to experience the seat-flattening torque that these mills can produce, and for that, we most humbly recommend the new 2014 Audi Q5 TDI.

Audi CVT suit settlement given green light, 64,000 cars covered

Audi drivers, listen up. If you bought or leased a 2002-06 model-year A4 or A6 with a factory-installed Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) that failed, you may be entitled to reimbursement under a recently settled class-action lawsuit with corporate parent Volkswagen.
According to Automotive News, the settlement covers about 64,000 vehicles and alleges that "manufacturing and design problems caused the transmissions to fail and left owners stuck with repair costs." While the suit also argues Audi was aware of these issues (going so far as to hide that knowledge from consumers), the settlement stops short of acknowledging any wrongdoing by the German automaker.
Audi drivers are eligible for a cash reimbursement if their CVT repairs occurred within 10 years or 100,000 miles of the date they bought or leased the vehicle before June 19, 2013. To be eligible for compensation, drivers must submit a claim form (found here) with supporting documents by November 18.