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Audi, McLaren to bring winning cars back to Le Mans

Now gearing up for its 83rd running, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is as much about history as it is about racing forward. So this year, two key outfits in the event's history are celebrating by bringing back the cars with which they dominated in years past. Audi has been a force to be reckoned with and the team to beat at Le Mans in the modern era. It still may not have topped its sister brand and chief rival Porsche's record 16 wins, but Audi's 13 have all come in the past fifteen years since the turn of the millennium. That's one heck of a winning streak, which the German outfit will highlight by bringing every single one of its winning prototypes back to La Sarthe this year. From the R8 that kicked it all off in 2000 through the diesel R10 TDI to the R18 E-Tron Quattro that won last year. Ingolstadt won't be alone in racing down memory lane. McLaren announced it will be bringing back all five F1 GTRs that dominated the race in 1995. The quintet that finished first, third, fourth and thirteenth overall will lead a parade lap around the French circuit, joined by the new P1 GTR that will be making its dynamic debut as well as the customer examples of the special edition 650S Le Mans. What's more, winning drivers from '95 – Yannick Dalmas, Masanori Sekiya and JJ Lehto – will be on hand to participate in the parade lap as well, further highlighting the occasion. Related Video: UNITED FOR THE FIRST TIME: AUDI'S 13 LE MANS WINNERS - Efficiency technologies since 2001 in the Audi R8 - Pioneering achievements with the TDI diesel engine - R18 e-tron quattro with hybrid technology unbeaten at Le Mans Ingolstadt, May 15, 2015 – 29 days to go until the Le Mans 24 Hours: Audi is intensively preparing to battle for its 14th victory in the world's toughest endurance race. Since 2000, the brand has won the race 13 times. This year, Audi has assembled all of its Le Mans winning models for a group photo for the first time. Every single one of them represents 'Vorsprung durch Technik.' The string of victories began with the Audi R8 in 2000. "Following a year of learning and gathering experience at Le Mans, we started the 2000 season with a completely new design," says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich.

Recharge Wrap-up: Chevy Volt named KBB "Best Buy," slow BMW i3 sales in Germany

The Chevrolet Volt has been awarded Kelley Blue Book's Electric/Hybrid Car Best Buy for 2015. KBB cited the car's electric commuter capabilities, extended range, acceleration, design and overall value as reasons to place it above the Nissan Leaf, BMW i3 and Toyota Prius. It works well in the real world, and doesn't leave drivers with range anxiety. Plus, it's comfortable, and a fun car to drive, according to KBB. Read more at Kelley Blue Book. The BMW i3 is seeing slow sales in Germany. BMW has sold about half the number of i3s it expected in its home country, with about 1,900 sold in the first nine months. BMW projected sales of 5,000 to 6,000 in the first year. BMW partly blames long shipping times for the slow sales, and the company is offering incentives in hopes of getting more people to adopt the electric car. In the US, BMW sold more than 1,000 units each month between August and October. Read more at Green Car Reports. Audi is pursuing new carbon-neutral synthetic fuels - or e-fuels - such as Audi e-diesel. Audi's newest project uses electrolysis of water to create hydrogen, which it then reacts with CO2 extracted from the air. The result is a liquid - called Blue Crude - full of energy from hydrocarbon compounds. The Blue Crude can then be converted into a sulfur-free synthetic diesel called e-diesel. This e-diesel can be used as a drop-in fuel, blended into fossil diesel for a more renewable fuel. Read more at Hybrid Cars. Uber is partnering with Spotify to allow passengers to choose what music they listen to during their ride. Users will be able to choose their own playlist that will be ready and playing for them when they are picked up. It offers a more personalized experience from the ride-hailing service, which, according to Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, is "nirvana" for music lovers. Paying Spotify users will be able to use the feature initially in London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Nashville, New York, San Francisco, Singapore, Stockholm, Sydney and Toronto. Check out the video below and read more at Wired. Featured Gallery 2014 Chevrolet Volt View 11 Photos Related Gallery 2014 BMW i3: First Drive View 33 Photos News Source: Kelley Blue Book, Green Car Reports, Hybrid Cars, WiredImage Credit: Chevrolet Green Audi BMW Chevrolet Transportation Alternatives Technology Emerging Technologies Electric Videos recharge wrapup

Genesis G70 vs sport sedan rivals: How it compares on paper

We got our first look at the Genesis G70 sport sedan today. We think it looks good, with enough ties to its fellow Genesises (Geneses?) to further establish the brand and just enough distinction to help it stand out from the crowd. But ah yes, the crowd. Although Genesis didn't release the G70's full spec sheet, it revealed just enough for us to start sizing it up to its future competition. There are certainly others with which to compare (Lexus IS, Cadillac ATS, Alfa Romeo Giulia, Jaguar XE just to name a few), but we decided to take a look at the best sellers and most competitive luxury sport sedans. (And hey, if you like this, we can always do a follow up) So, here we have the Genesis G70 vs BMW 3 Series vs Audi A4 / S4 vs Mercedes-Benz C-Class vs Infiniti Q50. Nothing like a good chart to dig your teeth into on a Friday. Note that we only compared those models that line up with the G70. So, we left out the BMW 320i and Audi A4 Ultra entry level models as well as the Q50 3.0t mid-grade model that's considerably cheaper than the German performance upgrade models we listed. All 0-60 figures are rough estimates based on several sources, models/drivetrains and OEM figures. Related Video: Featured Gallery Genesis G70 vs other sport sedans View 15 Photos Audi BMW Genesis Infiniti Mercedes-Benz Luxury Sedan consumer infiniti q50 audi s4 genesis g70 mercedes-benz c-class bmw 330i bmw 340i