2006 Audi A4 1.8t Cabriolet on 2040-cars

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Audi overtakes BMW as adulterers' favorite car brand

As Audi hopes to surpass BMW as the top-selling luxury automaker, sometimes it has to look at the small victories, too. For instance, IllicitEncounters.com - a UK dating site for married folks (also known as adultery) - is reporting that a recent poll shows that more people willing to cheat on their spouses drive an Audi. Last year, this same poll showed that BMW was the car-of-choice for adulterers.
With Audi on top (pun intended) and BMW bumped to number two, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Volkswagen round out the top five car brands owned by unfaithful wives and husbands. Check out the poll over at IllicitEncounters.com, but be sure to clear your browser history afterward. You know, just to make sure your spouse doesn't get the wrong idea about the websites you visit.

Audi reveals all-new R8 ahead of Geneva debut

This year's Geneva Motor Show is shaping up to be an absolutely orgy of supercars, but though there will be many that will surely outperform it, few have been as hotly anticipated as the arrival of the all-new, second-generation Audi R8. And here it is. Based around an all-new Audi Space Frame chassis, the new R8 is constructed of a higher proportion of aluminum and carbon fiber than its predecessor. The result is a frame that weighs 15 percent less at just 441 pounds – yet is 40 percent more torsionally rigid - tipping the scales at 3,205 lbs in top spec. Into the middle of that frame Audi has installed a revised version of its 5.2-liter V10, eschewing turbochargers but incorporating new technologies. While other powertrain options are expected to follow, Ingolstadt has gone straight for the top of the range at launch: the 'base' V10 model kicks out 540 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of torque to reach 62 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 201 mph. The upgraded V10 Plus, however, turns those figures up to 610 hp and 413 lb-ft to reach 62 in just 3.2 seconds, 124 in under ten and a 205-mph top speed. All the while, Audi has also equipped the new ten-cylinder engine with both direct and indirect injection, stop/start and cylinder deactivation systems to cut fuel consumption by 10 percent. It also boasts dry-sump lubrication and a variable exhaust system. Power is transmitted to the road through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, a mechanical diff and a revised Quattro all-wheel drive system that can send 100 percent of available torque to either the front or rear axle. Aluminum wishbones suspend it all on 19-inch wheels (or optional 20s), with available variable steering and carbon ceramic brakes (optional on the V10 and standard on the V10 Plus). Underbody aerodynamics generate more downforce and a more slippery form, aided by a deployable rear spoiler (or a fixed carbon wing on the Plus model). All those tantalizing greasy bits are cloaked in fresh aluminum sheet-metal, riding on a track that's 1.6 inches wider: the whole shebang stretches 14.5 feet long, 6.4 feet wide and 4.1 feet high, riding on an 8.7-foot wheelbase. Among the myriad new technologies developed for the new R8 are the full LED headlights with optional laser high beams (where they're legal, at least, which currently doesn't include these United States).

'Worldwide, every third Audi will be an SUV by 2020'

Automotive News Europe reports the new Audi manufacturing facility in San Jose Chiapa, Mexico will increase the automaker's production capacity for the Q5 SUV by 150,000 units per year. While the plant will supply every market with the exception of China, most of the production is slated to head to the US.
While speaking with ANE, Audi CEO Rupert Stradler said, "Worldwide, every third Audi will be an SUV by 2020." So far this year, 40 percent of Audi vehicles sold in the US have been light trucks, with the company's sales in that segment jumping by 53 percent. By comparison, Audi passenger car sales have increased by just one percent.
The first Q5 vehicles from the San Hose Chiapa plant will show up on dealer lots in 2016. Audi of America recently received a larger 9,000-unit allocation of Q5 models after seeing sales increase 36 percent through April compared to the same period in 2012.