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Audi's fastest cars won't catch your drift

"I don't like them. I do not see the reason for them. We do not see the sense in sitting there burning the back tires. It's not fast." – Stephan Reil Drift modes are popping up in sports cars all over the world, but Audi Sport development boss Stephan Reil refuses to have anything to do with them, insisting they're a waste of time and tires. So if you want to show off with a wild-looking, tire-smoking, perfectly controlled drift in an Audi Sport model, you will have to brush up on your car control, not your button pushing. "No drift mode. Not in the R8, not in the RS3, not in the RS6, not in the RS4," Reil said. "I don't like them. I do not see the reason for them. We do not see the sense in sitting there burning the back tires. It's not fast." That seems a bit like Reil and his team are missing a trick that is proving popular with enthusiast buyers and isn't technically difficult to do. It's also a whole lot safer than holding down the skid-control button for long enough to switch off all the electronic safety nets, which Audi Sport will actually let you do. "You can do it yourself [drifting] with the ESP off, if you hold it [the button] for three seconds," Reil challenged. "Then it will not intervene for you even when it [the car] is fully out of control, because that's what you asked it not to do. "You wanted the full control by pushing that button. You got it." Almost every fast car, from Ford to Ferrari, now comes with (or soon will) a drift mode so drivers can just stomp on the gas and turn the wheel to instantly look like rally stars. The dangers of do-it-yourself drift control (which our forefathers used to call "driving") make up most of the moral defense for the companies that use the computer-controlled versions. While critics have called drift modes irresponsible, proponents argue that it is far safer than switching off all the safety nets, because there is still a level of skid-control safety behind it. "Drift control is a lot safer than just turning everything off," BMW M chief Franciscus van Meel said during the launch of the M550i xDrive. "The drivers can enjoy the car on a track but it still has another level of safety to catch them if they make a mistake." View 23 Photos But is that extra level of safety actually for the common good? Critics note there is no way to restrict drivers using drift modes on suburban streets.

VW stripped of Green Car Of The Year awards for Jetta, A3 diesels

In the wake of the ongoing VW diesel scandal, Green Car Journal has announced it will rescind the two Green Car Of The Year awards that the Volkswagen Group won with diesel vehicles that have been since been proven to not meet the stated emissions levels. The two vehicles are the 2009 VW Jetta TDI, which won in 2008, and the 2010 Audi A3 TDI, which won in 2010. Green Car Journal (GCJ) did not say if it would retroactively name any replacement winners. This is the first time in the history of the Green Car Of The Year Awards that the honor has been taken away from the winner. In a statement announcing the change, GCJ publisher Ron Cogan wrote that, "this award rescission should not cast a negative light on advanced diesel technology in general. Many diesel models from a variety of auto manufacturers meet EPA and CARB emissions standards, bringing with them higher fuel efficiency, decreased petroleum use, and lower carbon emissions – all important environmental goals." VW AND AUDI RETURNING GREEN CAR OF THE YEAR® AWARDS, VEHICLES DEEMED INELIGIBLE SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif., Sept. 30, 2015 – Green Car Journal is rescinding the Green Car of the Year® awards previously honoring the 2009 VW Jetta TDI and 2010 Audi A3 TDI, the first time this has occurred in the award program's decade-long history. Audi of America President Scott Keogh has informed Green Car Journal that Audi will return its 2010 Green Car of the Year® award in the wake of Volkswagen Group's admission that it deliberately deceived government authorities about emissions from the Audi A3 TDI. Volkswagen of America has also informed Green Car Journal it will return its 2009 Green Car of the Year® award for the VW Jetta TDI. "Rescinding the Green Car of the Year® awards for the VW Jetta TDI and Audi A3 TDI is unfortunate but appropriate," said Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal and CarsOfChange.com. "These models were selected as Green Car of the Year® above others for compelling reasons, including high fuel efficiency, reduced carbon emissions, a fun-to-drive nature, and the ability to meet 50 state emissions requirements with advanced diesel technology." However, VW Group has now admitted that its software programming intentionally caused in-lab emissions testing to read significantly lower nitrogen oxide emissions than these vehicles actually produced on the road.

Audi tops BMW and Mercedes in luxury sales

April was a good month for Audi, as the four-ring automaker beat out both Mercedes-Benz and BMW in sales. Bloomberg reports that it was America's appetite for CUVs like the Q5 and ancient Q7 that helped Audi move nearly 153,000 units around the globe. It's not all good news, though. Audi's worldwide sales only jumped by 2.5 percent, compared to BMW and Mercedes, whose sales increased 5.6 and 11 percent, respectively. On top of that, BMW is still the best-selling brand (of the three, anyway) so far in 2015, outselling Audi by roughly 9,000 units and Mercedes by about 23,000 vehicles. Considering the faster growth of its rivals, it's unclear if Audi will be able to hang onto the monthly sales crown beyond April, or if BMW will continue its reign as the world's biggest luxury automaker.