2003 Audi A6 Quattro Base Sedan 4-door 2.7l on 2040-cars

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Audi tops Consumer Reports' brand rankings while Tesla leads domestics at eighth

Tesla supplanted General Motors' Buick division as the top-ranked US automaker in Consumer Reports annual brand rankings, though the electric-vehicle maker finished eighth among global automakers. Buick had finished atop CR's domestic car-brand list for three years before Tesla leapfrogged it. Scores were calculated from a combination of performance, owner satisfaction, and reliability. CR noted that Buick scored big on reliability but not so high on performance, while Tesla appeared to present the opposite case. Volkswagen's Audi division repeated as the best overall brand for the second straight year, beating out VW's Porsche unit, BMW, Toyota's Lexus division, and Subaru. Kia and Mazda followed those brands, while Honda finished ninth, between Tesla and Buick. Consumer Reports took results from 31 brands. Reliability issues related to the Toyota Tacoma helped drop that Japanese automaker out of the top 10. Take a look at CR's results for its Annual Brand Report Card here. That Tesla, Audi, and Porsche placed so high is topical, given some of the issues plaguing those automakers. Audi, Porsche, and their parent VW have been coping with the effects of the diesel-emissions scandal that broke back in 2015. The scandal has cost Europe's largest automaker billions of dollars, and forced VW to put a stop-sale on diesel-powered cars in the US in late 2015. And while the Tesla Model S improved from the "worse-than-average" label CR gave it in its 2015 Annual Auto Reliability Survey, the problematic falcon-wing doors on the Tesla Model X SUV pulled that model's reliability scores lower last year. Additionally, the Model X's climate-control system and door locks have also caused issues. Toyota and Lexus finished atop CR's reliability rankings last year. Related Video:

Audi R8 LMX has frickin' lasers for headlights

It might look like just another Audi R8, but Ingolstadt tells us this one is different: it is the limited edition Audi R8 LMX (click image above to enlarge) with laser-enhanced LED high-beam headlights. Audi introduced the laserlight technology on its R18 E-tron Quattro LMP1 race car and then promised a production version of it at this year's Consumer Electronics Show. The eyes on the R8 LMX employ the same method when traveling above 37.3 miles per hour, utilizing a tiny laser module in each headlight that, after conversion to white light, can throw a beam about 1,640 feet down the road.
Because no one should ever stop at lasers, buyers of the limited-to-99 examples of the R8 LMX will also get a more powerful engine, with 570 horsepower erupting from the mid-mounted V10; that's ten more horses than came with the R8 V10 GT introduced last year, but the 0-62 mile-per-hour time hasn't budged from 3.4 seconds. It comes in coupe form only, dressed in Ara Blue paint with carbon accents all around, exclusive wheels, red brake calipers, and a black Nappa leather interior with contrasting blue bits.
The order book is open now, and deliveries will begin this summer for those willing to lay down 210,000 euros for the privilege of using one of Superman's powers for good, as standard (the BMW i8 has laser-equipped high beams, but as an option). We won't see them here, though, for as with Matrix Beam lighting and Audi's sequential turn signals, US laws forbid such shenanigans. The press release below has more info.

Audi starts production of new TT in Hungary

Audi sure made waves when it rolled out the original TT in the late 1990s, putting fashion forward with a stylish coupe that neatly summed up the design direction the company was headed in. But that was a decade and a half ago, and the TT has moved on considerably since then.
The German automaker has since revealed its third-generation TT, replacing the original twice over with ever-more performance-focused but no less stylish successors along the way. But it wasn't until last week that the first new MkIII TT rolled off the assembly line.
That took place, of course, in Gyor at Audi Hungaria Motor Kft. It's the same assembly plant that handles the company's A3 sedan and cabrio, with the facility also handling final assembly of the TT ever since the factory opened in 1997 and the model began rolling off the line in '98. Last November, the plant in Hungary built its 500,000th TT, and now officials are ushering in the era of the new model.