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Volkswagen Group, BMW Z4 top Total Value Awards by Strategic Vision

It was just nine months ago that Strategic Vision announced its 2011 Total Value Awards, but you don't have to wait until next year for the 2012 awards. The Volkswagen Group keeps its lead as the number one brand, with seven products taking top category spots: Golf, Jetta Wagon, CC, Eos and Audi A3 Wagon, Q5 and Q7. Strategic Vision says "true innovation" - "rich and impactful, intuitive, motivational, in-depth and is able to trigger description by the user in great specificity" - is the open secret of the brands with the strongest showings. Results are culled from 77,153 owners covering more than 350 new cars bought between September of 2011 and 2012 ranked in the Total Value Index (TVI).
Other notable winners are Hyundai-Kia following VW in the brand category and having the Hyundai Elantra and Kia Sorento among category winners, the BMW Z4 taking the premium roadster category and the highest overall score of any vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt continuing to gather silverware in the Special Category, nabbing the second-highest score of all and representative of "nearly perfect innovation," and Chrysler and Dodge being most improved.
Check out the press release below for your day's dose of jargon and all the winners.

Audi, BMW, Daimler buy Nokia's Here digital mapping business

The fight for control of Nokia's Here digital mapping service appears to have drawn to a close as a consortium of German automakers has announced a deal to jointly acquire the business from the Finnish telecom giant. As anticipated, ownership in Here will now be taken over jointly by Audi, BMW, and Daimler, beating out reported rivals bids from the likes of Apple and Uber. Here is one of the largest and most advanced digital mapping and location systems. It started out in Chicago in 1986 as Navteq before Nokia acquired it in 2007, and is now slated to change ownership again. The cloud-based service maintains high-definition digital maps for nearly 200 countries and supports over 50 languages, gathering data from users to update the data continuously. Rather than transition the service into their own proprietary technology, however, the automakers insist that it will remain open "to all customers from the automotive industry and other sectors." Ownership will be shared equally between the three companies, with "none of them seek[ing] to acquire a majority interest" in Here. For another, Here's management is promised to remain independent, and "the consortium will not interfere into operational business." Though the purchase price has not been disclosed, it is rumored to be worth in the neighborhood of $2.7 billion. Assuming it passes regulatory approval, the acquisition is slated to be completed in the first quarter of next year. The German automakers anticipate implementing the service to provide connected vehicles with accurate, up-to-date information on road and other conditions. Examples it outlines include warning other drivers of icy conditions based on outside temperature and ABS activation. It could also warn drivers of impending traffic jams, or even guide traffic through green lights in an urban environment. In the future, the highly detailed maps are envisioned to enable fully automated driving as well. Related Video: AUDI AG, BMW Group and Daimler AG agree with Nokia Corporation on joint acquisition of HERE digital mapping business Ingolstadt, Munich, Stuttgart, Aug 03, 2015 - Acquisition will secure and strengthen HERE as an independent company serving customers from all industries - Real-time maps and location based services will be the basis for the mobility of tomorrow - Transaction expected to close in first quarter 2016 Ingolstadt, Munich, Stuttgart – August 3rd, 2015.

2016 Audi SQ5 TDI Plus a quick sprinter with 35 mpg

Not only does Europe get cool diesel-powered models, but occasionally, some of those oil-burners are of the high-performance variety. Take the Volkswagen Golf GTD, Audi Q7 V12 TDI, and now this, the new Audi SQ5 TDI Plus. In this new form, the 3.0-liter, turbodiesel V6 is very nearly as powerful as the supercharged V6 available in the US-market SQ5, producing 340 horsepower. That's 27 more than stock, for those keeping track at home. In terms of torque, of course, the diesel-powered SQ5 just embarrasses the gas-powered CUV. Torque is up 37 pound-feet to a thumping 516 lb-ft. We'll go ahead and classify that as a lot. This extra output allows the SQ5 TDI Plus to hit 62 miles per hour in just 5.1 seconds, matching the supercharged model we have access to here in the US. The top speed, as with the gas-powered model, is limited at 155. Unlike North America's CUV, though, fuel economy is very impressive. European drivers can expect the equivalent of 35.6 miles per gallon, compared to just 24 mpg with the gas engine. We have a full set of images of the new SQ5 TDI Plus from the floor of the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. Scroll up and check them out. Related Video: Even more power and top-of-the-line equipment: The Audi SQ5 TDI plus with 250 kW (340 hp) - The SQ5 TDI plus will launch on the German market in October 2015 - 700 Nm of torque; from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.1 seconds - On request, exclusive equipment package from quattro GmbH Audi is further expanding its range of S models. In October, the new SQ5 TDI plus* will arrive at German dealerships with more power and driving pleasure and even more extensive equipment – with 250 kW (340 hp), sport differential and 21-inch wheels. Even in its basic version, the successful Audi SQ5 TDI* comes as an SUV with the performance of a sports car. The plus version has an even higher power output. The biturbo V6 TDI produces 250 kW (340 hp) from its three liters of displacement by way of increased injection pressure. This results in 20 kW/27 hp more power compared to the SQ5 TDI. Its peak torque is increased by 50 (36.9 lb-ft) to 700 Nm (516.3 lb-ft). The powerful diesel SUV accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62.1 mph) in just 5.1 seconds; the top speed is electronically governed to 250 km/h (155.3 mph). In the NECD cycle, it merely requires 6.6 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (35.6 US mpg) with emission of 174 g CO2/km (280.0 g/mi).