1996 Audi Cabriolet, Tv's, Nice Rims, Not To Many Around In This Shape!!! on 2040-cars

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VW Group to split brands under four holding companies

The Volkswagen Group is planning a tremendous shift in its internal structure that will decentralize operations by splitting its 12 brands into four different holding companies. Here's the breakdown. Things will be split logically, considering the inter-sharing of parts, platforms, and engines. The Volkswagen brand, Seat, and Skoda make up a passenger vehicle division led by former BMW man Herbert Diess. Audi, which is tightly intertwined with Lamborghini and motorcycle manufacturer Ducati, will be managed by current Audi exec Rupert Stadler. Porsche and Bentley, which are already quite close, will be joined by Bugatti and run by Matthias Mueller. Finally, a commercial vehicles division will include Volkswagen Commercial, Scania, and Man. Former Daimler exec Andreas Renschler will take care of the big vehicles. The massive move, according to Automotive News Europe, is part of an internal VAG effort to move away from the structure established by ousted Chairman Ferdinand Piech, who favored a compact, but highly centralized, management structure to oversee the independent actions of the company's brands. Criticism of Piech's arrangement stemmed from the company's slow responses to changes in the market, ANE reports. The new structure should make for a more efficient, streamlined company that's better able to make crucial decisions. What are your thoughts? Should VAG decentralize, or did Piech have the right idea? Have your say in Comments.

Justin Bell laps Willow Springs... in the dark... using only night vision

Night vision has made its way into quite a few luxury cars as a night-driving safety feature, but eBay Motors wanted to see if the technology could be used to actually drive the car. Former racer and World's Faster Car Show host Justin Bell grabbed the keys to an Audi A7 and headed to Willow Springs Raceway to find out.
As if driving in the dark of the desert night wasn't hard enough, the car's windshield and side windows were blacked out, so Bell's driving relied completely on the three-inch night vision display located in the gauge cluster. In addition to navigating the track, his producers also threw in a few surprises for Bell on the track. We don't want to spoil too much for you, but based on the speeds exhibited in the video, we don't think 24-hour endurance races will be adding this tech any time soon; that being said, he probably drove the car faster and better than we could have.
Scroll down to watch how Bell does lapping the track using only the car's night vision.

Audi R8 bids adieu with the 570-hp Competition in LA

Audi is saying auf Wiedersehen to the first-gen R8 at the Los Angeles Auto Show in the best way possible - the even more powerful, limited edition 2015 R8 Competition. This might be the vehicle's swansong, but it's going out with a bang.
Audi is sending just 60 of these supercars to the US, and the heart and soul is a beefed up version of the 5.2-liter V10 from the V10 Plus model. The mill now makes 570 horsepower, a 20-hp boost, and is mated to a seven-speed, dual-clutch S Tronic gearbox. Audi claims that the potent package shoots the Competition to 60 miles per hour in 3.2 seconds and to a max speed of 199 mph.
The extra ponies might be enough for some, but Audi really wants to make the Competition something special. Matte carbon fiber pieces replace areas around the car, including the rear spoiler, side slides, front spoiler, rear diffuser and center console. For contrast, the wheels and exhaust pipes are painted in high-gloss black. Ceramic brake discs should be a useful aid with deceleration, too.