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Audi to spend $17 billion to fight BMW

It's no secret that VW Group, parent company to not only Volkswagen but also Audi, Bugatti, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche and Ducati brands sold in the US, is determined to become the world's largest automaker. Even more impressive is that VW is prepared to spend billions to make it happen.
With that comes word that VW Group will be spending $17 billion on its Audi brand over the next three years to push itself above rival BMW. The money will be invested in both vehicle development (including lightweight auto design and alternative powertrains) and facilities (including expansion in Hungary, China and new operations in Mexico). The luxury brand is focused on global manufacturing infrastructure.
Already Europe's best-selling luxury brand, Audi's objective is to overtake BMW by the end of the decade by selling more than two million cars per year (BMW is shooting for 1.54 million sales in 2013). If those objectives are met, VW Group should be on track to be the industry's volume leader by 2018.

Behind the Scenes of BMW's 'Drift Mob,' Part 2 [w/video]

After spending four days practicing about a dozen drift stunt moves in a parking lot for an upcoming BMW "Drift Mob" internet mini-film, Rhys Millen, Sam Hübinette, Dai Yoshihara, Rich Rutherford, and Conrad Grunewald are finally ready for show time. We are brought to the huge urban traffic circle to see the stunts performed midway through the day to observe for a couple of hours.
The undertaking is massive, with multiple cameras set up, scores of crew members, a helicopter filming from above, a rigged pickup for car-to-car shots, sidewalks lined with security and plenty of curious onlookers, and oh, yeah, a major intersection of a top world city shut down for an entire weekend.
The five drifting legends are nestled in their identical red BMW M235i coupes, which have been modified with special handbrakes but essentially nothing else you can't get on a stock version, and are listening to direction from director Mic Rodgers and stunt coordinator Riley Harper. We're basically given free rein of the set, to shoot the cars, the drivers, and at one point, even hopping in with Yoshihara for one of the admittedly more tame stunts. Even then, the g-forces are so severe that they flip our cameraphone's video recording from landscape mode to portrait. Yes, this is a pretty cool day to be reporting on cars, and as we said during our first installment of our behind the scenes coverage of Drift Mob, we're honored to be the only US media outlet here to tell the tale.

2018 Kia Stinger vs. other luxury hatchbacks compared by the numbers

Ten years ago, if you had told us that one of the many new luxury segments to develop would be sedan-style hatchbacks, we'd have said you'd lost your mind. And yet, here we are today with not one, but four cars competing in just such a niche upscale segment: The Kia Stinger, Buick Regal Sportback, BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo and Audi A5. That's just in one size and price bracket. Two of the manufacturers listed here make larger versions of each luxury hatchback. We aren't entirely sure how it happened, but we're not going to complain, because we love the idea of a car with almost no compromise: luxury features, sporty performance, and plenty of practicality. Try Autoblog' s Car Finder to search for your next new vehicle. One of the reasons we're taking a look at these cars right now is that Kia has recently released pricing for its entry in the segment, the Stinger and Stinger GT. Buick wasn't far behind with the Regal Sportback and Regal GS, nor was Audi with the A5 and S5. So it seemed like an appropriate moment to look at the numbers and see which come out ahead or behind, with victors in each category highlighted with bold and underlined text. What we found when comparing these cars' statistics is that each one has a clear area of expertise. For performance, it's hard to beat the four-cylinder Kia Stinger and the V6 Stinger GT. The four-banger has the most horsepower of the four cars, and is just behind on torque. The V6 has the most power and torque among the six-cylinder versions. The Stingers are also the second lightest of the group when equipped with rear-wheel drive, though they fall to third with all-wheel drive. Space is a split between the Buick Regals and BMW 3 Series Gran Turismos. The Buicks have the most cargo space with the rear seats up or folded by a significant margin. The BMW on the other hand generally offers more space for passengers. It's up to you what's most important. Compare these and other potential new vehicle purchases using our tool. When it comes to cost, nothing can beat the four-cylinder Regal's base price of under $26,000. But if a V6 is what you're after, the Stinger GT is the cheapest. Neither matches the Audi A5 and S5 for fuel economy, though. Both Audis have the highest numbers for city, highway, and combined EPA estimates. Related Video: