2016 Audi Tt 2.0t Coupe Quattro on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Audi, Jag, Kia and Tesla top Strategic Vision 2014 Total Quality Index

A couple weeks ago, J.D. Power released its latest Initial Quality Study, which gave high marks to Porsche, Hyundai and General Motors, with the latter earning more individual IQS awards than any other manufacturer. Now, it's Strategic Vision's turn, and it's doling out its praise not to Porsche, but to Tesla, which wasn't even included in the JD Power IQS.
The Model S was named the best vehicle overall in total quality, while Porsche's corporate brother and endurance-racing rival, Audi, was named the best premium brand, alongside Jaguar. Strategic Vision cited the Q5 and the ancient Q7 for individual segment awards, as well as the A5, which was a mere point off the top of its segment. SV also handed out compliments for the Audi's interior work. The win for the German brand is a nice improvement over its IQS score, with which it landed above the industry average, but solidly mid-pack.
Jaguar was without a segment winner, although SV did say that the Indian-owned English brand had a number of vehicles very near the top of their segments. This is the second significant win for Jag in two weeks, after it finished second overall on the JD Power IQS a few weeks ago.

Audi design chief Egger leaving for Italdesign Giugiaro

Wolfgang Egger, Audi's chief designer, is leaving the company according to a Automotive News Europe, which cites a report from Germany's Automobilwoche. Egger won't be going far, though, remaining within the Volkswagen family and taking up head design position Italdesign Giugiaro, a VW subsidiary as of 2010.
Egger took over the position at Audi from Walter de Silva, and has been responsible most recently for the Audi A6 and A3, as well as the 2010 Quattro Concept and the E-Tron Concept. He previously was head of design at Lancia and then at Alfa Romeo, where he was responsible for the achingly gorgeous 8C Competizione.
If Egger does move to Italdesign, his successor is likely to be Marc Lichte, the Volkswagen designer behind the current Golf. Of course, these personnel changes haven't been officially confirmed, and Audi is thus far refusing to comment on either Egger or Lichte's possible career shifts. We'll stay with this one, so sit tight.

Audi bringing Q3 Stateside after all?

One of the major changes that made to the Audi SQ5 to get it ready for the US market was a ride height that was lifted by 1.2 inches compared to its European counterparts. The small increase allowed the SQ5 to retain its "light truck" classification of the Q5 for emissions regulations. In a similar move, Car and Driver is reporting that the Audi Q3 crossover will also be joining the Audi lineup in the US once it receives a facelift and taller ride height.
Expect this facelift to fit in with other recent product updates including the Q5, which mainly focused on a cleaner, more upscale front end and the company's signature LED running lights. The report says that Audi could bring the Q3 Stateside "within a year or two," and it also says that a souped-up RS Q3 will follow close behind. This performance version of the compact crossover gets its power from a 2.5-liter turbocharged inline-five-cylinder engine shared with the Audi TT RS.