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2015 Green Car Of The Year finalists announced, run alt-fuel gamut

The 2015 edition of the Green Car of the Year award is following right in the footsteps of previous years with a variety of alt-fuel powertrains making the just-announced finalists list. You've got your plug-in vehicle (the BMW i3), your compressed natural gas (the Chevy Impala Bi-Fuel), your high-efficiency diesel (the Audi A3 TDI), your 40+ mile-per-gallon gas engine (the Honda Fit) and, finally, a car that can do a little bit of everything (the VW Golf). The Golf is available – at least in some parts of the US – with three different powertrains: a 2.0-liter diesel, a gasoline engine and all-electric drive. The Impala can burn either natural gas or gasoline in its 3.6-liter engine. The A3 is an efficiency champ, able to get 73.5 mpg on some European tests. The i3 can be a pure electric vehicle or come with a short range extending engine. And the Fit brings 41 miles to the gallon in a practical, affordable package. The GCOY award is announced every year at the Los Angeles Auto Show by Green Car Journal. The committee doesn't just take the fuel-saving technology into account, but also a vehicle's "availability to the mass market." Last year, the Honda Accord Hybrid/Plug-In Hybrid won top honors, following up on wins from the Ford Fusion models (plug-in hybrid and hybrid) for 2013, the Honda Civic Natural Gas for 2012 and the Chevrolet Volt for 2011. FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR 2015 "GREEN CAR OF THE YEAR"" Green Car Journal to Reveal Winner of 10th Annual Award at LA Auto Show" Press & Trade Days, November 20 LOS ANGELES, CA (October 21, 2014) – Green Car Journal has announced its five finalists for the magazine's high-profile 2015 Green Car of the Year® program. The 2015 models include the Audi A3 TDI, BMW i3, Chevrolet Impala Bi-Fuel, Honda Fit, and VW Golf. The Green Car of the Year® award, an honor widely recognized as the auto industry's most important environmental accolade, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. An increasing number of vehicle models are considered for the Green Car of the Year® program each year, a reflection of the auto industry's expanding efforts in offering new vehicles with higher efficiency and improved environmental impact. Green Car Journal has been honoring the most important "green" vehicles every year at the LA Auto Show, since its inaugural award announced at the show in 2005.

597-hp Audi RS7 Performance coming to US

The Audi RS6 Avant and RS7 Sportback certainly aren't hurting for power. Their 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8s offer mountains of muscle as tall as the Alps. However, the engineers at the Four Rings are pushing those peaks just even higher for the new Performance versions of the pair. Tweaks to the engine management, bring horsepower up to 597 ponies and 516 lb-ft of torque. Temporary overboost can take the twist to 553 lb-ft, though. This high-performance duo can haul passengers with aplomb by hitting 62 miles per hour in 3.7 seconds – two tenths quicker than a regular RS. Even more impressive, the 12.1-second run to 124 mph also takes 1.4 seconds less than the standard version. Top speed remains the same 155 mph, but the optional Dynamic Package takes off the limiter to let the RS6 reach 174 mph and the RS7 go 189.5 mph. The eight-speed tiptronic remains from the standard RS versions, and it routes power through the Quattro all-wheel drive system with a 40:60 front-rear split. An optional sport differential at the back can also provide some extra assistance. Both Performance models come standard with an adaptive air suspension, but for those willing to spend a little more a stiffer RS sport suspension plus with Dynamic Ride Control is available, as well. The Performance pair launches in Germany at the beginning of November, but there's reason to get excited in the US, too. Audi spokesperson Mark Dahncke confirms to Autoblog that the RS7 Performance is coming here. More details about it should arrive around the Los Angeles Auto Show, he said. Related Video: Plus performance: the new Audi RS 6 Avant performance and RS 7 Sportback performance 4.0 TFSI now with 445 kW (605 hp) and up to 750 Nm (553.2 lb-ft) Like a supercar: from 0 to 100 km/h (62.1 mph) in 3.7 seconds New model designation hones brand's sporty profile Even more performance coupled with outstanding efficiency – that is what is behind the new "performance" model designation at Audi. The Audi RS 6 Avant performance* and Audi RS 7 Sportback performance* further hone the brand's sporty profile. Their 4.0 TFSI engine with 445 kW (605 hp) and up to 750 Nm (553.2 lb ft) of torque push acceleration (3.7 seconds) nearly to levels usually reserved for supercars. Fuel consumption remains unchanged at 9.6 and 9.5 liters per 100 kilometers (24.5 and 24.8 US mpg), respectively, corresponding to 223 and 221 g CO2 per km (358.9 and 355.7 g/mi). These are best-in-segment figures.

Audi releases quartet of A3 commercials, likely headed for Super Bowl

With the announcement from Audi that it's new A3 would be the star of this year's Super Bowl advertising efforts still relatively fresh, it comes as a bit of a shock that what may be game-bound ads for the new small car are already starting to show up.
A3forums found four ads for the new A3, all of which are currently unlisted on YouTube, that play on the idea of young drivers saving themselves for the right luxury car. The spots are amusing, although we'll admit that we've seen better from Audi. Each spot plays like a clip from a documentary, with owners of cars from BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus talking about their regrets when it came to buying a luxury car, rather than waiting for the A3.
We've got all four videos below, so take a look now, as we're betting they'll be pulled before too long.