2000 Audi Tt Quattro Base Coupe 2-door 1.8l 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.

Stay caffeinated at the speed of Audi

A large portion of the world would be in trouble without a daily dose of caffeine, and some of these coffee addicts are serious about the details, especially when it comes to specialties like espresso. For them, filling up a mug of regular java before hitting the road just isn't good enough, and Audi is happy to appeal to these folks' persnickety needs with one of its accessories available in Europe. The Germany luxury brand calls it the Espresso Mobil, and the fancy device plugs into a 12-volt outlet to brew up some espresso in a claimed two minutes. The user just needs to fill the contraption with water and press a button. The gadget runs on proprietary pods from Illy, however, which means coffee snobs can't pack it with their specific choice of bean. According to the Audi accessories catalog, Espresso Mobil starts at 199 euros ($217). In addition to the device, buyers gets a carrying case, two cups, a cleaning towel and 18 espresso pads. It's everything you need to make a fresh espresso while driving. Audi actually isn't the first to jump into the mobile-espresso-maker-for-cars category. It was the Italians at Fiat who launched a similar device with Lavazza a few years ago. That gadget was even more expensive at ˆ250 (about $300 at the time). Related Video:

Audi celebrates 500k TT models with new TTS Competition

The stylish Audi TT first debuted in 1998, and while we've only seen two generations of the car over the course of 15 years, some 500,000 examples have been sold. To mark the occasion, Audi has created this special TTS Competition model, available as either a coupe or a roadster and limited to just 500 units.
Competition models are set apart from the rest of the TTS range by their unique paint colors - Imola Yellow and Nimbus Gray. Additionally, the limited-run TTS wears new five-spoke, 19-inch alloy wheels and features a fixed rear wing (like the one on the TT RS).
Leather upholstery is found inside the cabin, done up in steel gray with yellow accents. Of course, there are special numbered plaques on the door trims, simply saying "1 of 500."