2007 Audi A8l 4.2 Quattro 19 Wheels Bang & Olufsen Sound Not A4 Or A6 on 2040-cars

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Audi following Tesla with 280-mile EV family car

The press days are finished at the LA Auto Show, but things said there are still making news. While in California, Audi technical development chief Ulrich Hackenberg told reporters that his employer plans to release an electric car with a range of 280 miles "around 2017." Hackenberg wouldn't say what kind of car - or crossover, perhaps - it will be, but one report said it would be "a large car, fitting five large people with ample luggage space." Most observers expect it to be a sedan to take on the Tesla Model S. It's no secret that Audi respects Tesla, and there have been hints that The House of Quattro is ready to really flex its progress-through-technology muscles in Tesla's direction. Audi will be applying lessons learned in the development of the coming R8 E-tron to the future electric car, after it managed to double the range of the electric sports car thanks to new battery technology to 450 kilometers, or 281 miles. This puts another tentative all-electric Audi in the mix and another Tesla competitor, after rumors of a possible electric Q8 from February of this year. If an electric Q8 does happen, it's expected to be a challenger to the Tesla Model X. And that might not be all: Bloomberg reported in June that Audi had "devised blueprints for several high-performance electric saloons and sport-utility vehicles." News Source: AutoExpress Audi Technology Electric audi e-tron

Berlin demanding costly German recall of 12 million diesel cars

BERLIN - Germany's Transport Ministry is in talks with car manufacturers about updating the engine management software of up to 12 million diesel vehicles, people familiar with the talks told Reuters on Monday. The cost of updating cars could amount to as much as 1.5 billion to 2.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion to $2.8 billion), and the ministry is demanding that vehicles with engines conforming to the euro-4, euro-5 and euro-6 standards be part of the recall, government sources said. The German government has demanded that the auto industry shoulder the costs of the update and is pushing for a solution to be presented before German elections on Sept. 24. The ministry is in talks with German auto industry associations VDA and VDIK as well as representatives from local governments to try and cut nitrogen oxide pollution by about 25 percent, the sources said. The talks come amid growing opposition to diesel in the wake of an emissions cheating scandal at Volkswagen. Several European cities including Stuttgart and Munich have considered banning some diesel vehicles because of emissions of nitrogen oxides, which are blamed for causing respiratory disease. ($1 = 0.8942 euros) Reporting by Markus WacketRelated Video: Government/Legal Green Audi BMW Mercedes-Benz Porsche Volkswagen Emissions Diesel Vehicles dieselgate

Volkswagen breaks 40-year-old sales record in 2012

The last time Volkswagen moved this many vehicles in America in one year, Richard Nixon was still a President in good standing, Let It Be was a radio hit and each car wearing the VW badge boasted an air-cooled engine. That's right, with a grand total of 580,286 vehicles sold in the US last year, the VW Group has broken its own four-decades-old sales record by 2,899 vehicles.
Of that 580k total sold, 438k were Volkswagens and 139k were Audi products - increases of 35.1 percent and 18.5 percent, respectively, in year-over-year sales. The ultra-premium members of the VW group also fared well; Bentley delivered 2,315 vehicles for a 23.3-precent increase, and Lamborghini delivered 520 units for a 52.9-percent jump. Bugatti, we're told is "right on track."
Jetta (pictured) sales paced the marque with 170k models sold, and Passat also finished very strong with sales of 117k total. Tiguan also racked up its best year on file, with 31,731 models shifted.