Audi Turns A3 Sedan Concept into e-tron Study with a Plug-in Hybrid Powertrain

Audi has been trying to show off its green credentials for quite some time now with a variety of plug-in hybrid and pure electric concepts, all sporting the e-tron nameplate, such as the 2009 e-tron Concept Coupe, the 2010 A1 e-tron, and more recently, the e-tron Spyder. Now, the brand with the four rings has prepared a new e-tron study, this time based on the A3 sedan concept shown at the Geneva Salon this past March.

The new A3 Sedan e-tron is a compact sized four-door saloon study featuring a gasoline-electric hybrid drivetrain, and it will receive its world premiere at this week’s 2011 Shanghai Auto Show in China.

Audi’s engineers replaced the Geneva concept model’s 408HP 2.5-liter turbocharged inline-five with a hybrid powertrain comprising of a 211HP 1.4-liter TFSI gasoline unit with turbocharging and gasoline direct injection, and an electric motor with an output of 20 kW (27HP), for a combined system output of 238HP. A seven-speed S tronic dual clutch transmission is linked to the gasoline engine.

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First Video of Audi’s All-New 2012 Q3 Baby SUV

If you’re done looking over the official gallery of the new Audi Q3 compact SUV, we have some good news as the Ingolstadt-based automaker has released the first video of the smallest Q series model yet. The new promotional clip shows the Q3 testing on an oval circuit while also offering us a quick walkaround of the exterior and interior. Read more »

New Audi Q3 SUV Officially Revealed: High-Res Gallery with 67 Photos

The wait is finally over. A mere week after the release of the teaser sketches, Audi has come out with official photos and details on its new Q3 compact SUV, which will receive its first public outing at the Shanghai Auto Show.

The Q3 is Audi’s third SUV model after the larger Q5 and Q7 and will compete against the BMW X1. Those familiar with the VW Group’s strategy won’t be surprised to find out that the Q3 is based on the platform architecture of the Volkswagen Tiguan. Audi’s interpretation of a compact SUV model measures 4.39 meters in length (14.4 ft), 1.83 meters in width (6.0 ft), and 1.60 meters (5.25 ft) in height with the roof rails, meaning its 240mm shorter, 50mm narrower and 53mm lower than the Q5.

The exterior styling is pure Audi with the design loosely inspired by the Ingolstadt firm’s Cross Coupe Quattro Concept from the 2007 Shanghai Auto Show. Compared to the Q5, Audi’s smaller SUV model introduces a sharper front design with wedge-shaped headlamps and a roofline that slopes gently towards the back for a more dynamic profile.

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SCOOP: New Audi RS4 Avant Snagged Testing on the Nurburgring

It looks like Audi has set its mind to fill all the performance niches in the premium category. Following news on the development of a hot S6 based on the latest iteration of Ingolstadt’s executive mid-size model, our man with the long lens has caught a prototype version of the upcoming RS4 Avant testing around the Nurburgring race track.

Even though the prototype is a test mule based on the S4 Avant, there are certain elements that tell us there’s something different about this model. These include the heavily blistered front and rear wheel arches housing the same dark 20-inch alloy rims found on the RS5 Coupe, as well as a modified front bumper with different air vents to supply additional cooling to the engine.

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Audi Drops Sketches of a Spyder Version of its Hardcore R8 GT

The 2012 A3 Sedan and Hatchback weren't the only future Audi models to be teased today, as another set of drawings previewing the R8 GT supercar in drop-top guise also hit the internet. Scheduled for a reveal in early 2012, the R8 GT Spyder will be the roadster version of the lightweight R8 GT Coupe. Read more »

Automotive Facebook Fans by Brand: March 2011

March was a rather subtle month without a lot of on-site fan growth ads from the automotive brands, but it was the first month a new brand returned to the United States. It’s been 27 years since Fiat has sold a car here. They returned with the Fiat 500 and I have added Fiat to this list. Like BMW, MINI and Mercedes, Fiat also has a USA-focused Facebook fan page, but like those brands I am reporting on the global brand’s Facebook fan page, but do record all of the USA-focused fan pages.


Meanwhile, Acura continued to run and promote their “Compete Like a Pro” contest for the all-new TSX Sport Wagon (as an interesting side-note, the TSX Sport Wagon is the Japanese Honda Accord wagon that everyone was hoping for back when the Honda CrossTour was announced last year causing quite an uproar on the Honda fan page.) The “Compete Like a Pro” contest is an interesting example of fan growth from marketing, CRM, and engagement.

Back in January they promoted the contest and bought some Facebook ads to support the effort creating a 23% increase in fan growth. In February, some marketing continued but most of the effort to promote the contest was done through Acura’s email communications (see image at left from a February 22 email) and there was some promotion by contestants to create interest (votes) for the contest that resulted in a 10% fan growth. As the initial surge of contestant promotion tapered, so did the fan growth, as it was only 5% in March when the contest was closing the voting.

Many of us see friends in our own communities promote – ask for – votes when they do an online contest. This initial surge in friend participation comes to an end rather quickly and then near the end of the contest, the highly competitive top people in the votes make an additional request for votes, but this is a much smaller group. What we see with the Acura contest is fairly typical and shows that the biggest impact in fan growth is still advertising to promote instead of counting on organic growth. The final 5% growth in March is a normal organic fan growth so the contest was doing very little in fan growth. Of course it might of (and hopefully did for Acura) create more clicks to dot.com and engagement which were probably the primary goals of the contest.

There was very little else going on in March for the automotive brands on Facebook. Lexus saw some positive growth with the biggest bump of 22% fan growth coming from their heavy media buys around the all-new Lexus CT200h.



Note: Unfortunately I missed a month in March, a first since starting this monthly post in November of 2009. I did record the fan numbers and you can see the early fan numbers from March in this post. I never did a February 2011 report, but have all the raw data if any one wants it. Please send me an email at red335i@yahoo.com if you do.

Future Audi A3 Hatch and Sedan Previewed in Official Sketches

Audi released a set of sketches portraying the next-generation A3, which is expected to go on sale in late 2012. The officials drawings show the three-door hatchback and sedan versions, plus a view of the interior.

The A3 Sedan sketch does not come as a surprise, since it shows a car very similar in design with the A3 Concept premiered by Audi at the Geneva Motor Show. The three-door hatchback, however, is more interesting, as this is the first time Audi offers a sneak peak at the design of its future compact model.

The three-door version looks sharp and dynamic, sporting a narrow glasshouse, massive wheel arches and an interesting crease in the lower part of the door.

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New Audi Q3 Baby SUV: First Official Teasers Revealed Ahead of Shanghai Auto Show

Audi has revealed the first official teaser sketches of its Q3 ‘baby’ SUV model, prior to its world premiere at the Shanghai Auto Show later this month. The drawings confirm the Q3 will look pretty much like the Cross Coupe quattro design study unveiled by Audi in 2007.

However, the front end of the production Q3 seems changed in comparison with the aforementioned concept, with the headlights sporting a thinner, stretched shape and being mirrored in the lower side of the bumper by the spaces for the fog lights.

At the back, the car looks similar to the concept, with the exception of the tailgate window angle, which is not as inclined as on the Cross Coupe quattro.

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2012 Audi A7 Sportback Priced from $60,125 in the USA

Audi has just dropped pricing information for its all-new 2012 A7 Sportback that will begin reaching U.S. showrooms later this month with a starting MSRP of $59,250, not including an $875 destination charge. At launch, the A7 will be offered in the States exclusively with a 3.0-liter TFSI V6 gasoline engine paired to the firm’s quattro all-wheel drive system and an 8-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission.

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VIDEO: 2012 Audi RS3 Chasing RS3 During Monte Carlo Presentation

In March, Audi invited members of the press to test drive the new RS3 Sportback on the roads of the Principality of Monaco. Not surprisingly, some of the journalists filmed their encounter with the smallest and most affordable RS model ever produced by Audi on the twisty mountain roads of the principality. Read more »

Why Lexus Lags Behinds its German Rivals in China’s Luxury Market

For the past eleven years, Lexus has been Numero Uno in U.S. luxury vehicle sales. Not so in China, where Germanic giants BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi lead the pack and Lexus is relegated to a paltry fourth.

One issue is customer service, or rather a level of customer service that fails to differentiate Lexus from its competitors. As business owner and Lexus customer Maggie Lin explains: “Nothing stands out from Lexus's service. I don't feel there's anything special compared with what Audi has been doing. They are more or less the same.”

It’s one of the reasons Lexus’s Chinese arm has sent two of its top managers to the United States to learn how things are done at the brand’s North American operation. According to J.D. Power, Lexus sold just a fifth of market leader Audi’s sales total for 2010. That’s just 49,000 vehicles to the latter’s 236,000. There’s also the issue of consumer tastes.

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Audi Teams up with Renovo Design to Create Wooden Frame Bicycles

Audi is joining a long line of car manufacturers that have reached out to bicycle specialists to create their own range of two wheelers. Being that the brand with the four rings is renowned for the use of aluminum in its cars, you’d expect Audi to employ the lightweight metal on its bicycle series. But that’s not the case as the Ingolstadt automaker teamed up with Renovo Design, a firm famous for its wooden frame bikes. Read more »

Five-Millionth Audi A4 Rolls off the Production Line in Inglostant

Audi's Ingolstadt plant produced on Wednesday the five-millionth A4 model, an Avant station wagon painted in Misano Red. The brand with the four rings started production of the A4 in Ingolstadt in 1994 and since 2007, it has also been building it at Neckarsulm. The A4 Sedan, A4 Avant, A4 allroad quattro, S4 Sedan and S4 Avant are manufactured in Ingolstadt, while the A4 Sedan is built in Neckarsulm in both plants. The A4 range takes up a high proportion of the Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm plants' production capacity. Read more »

Two Years the Wiser: Marouane Bembli Retackles his Audi R10 Design Study

Back in November of 2009, then 23yo Swedish industrial design student Marouane Bembli brought us an impressive design study for a proposed halo model for Audi to sit above the R8. With its sharp lines, centralized cockpit and Rolls-Royce Phantom rivalling proportions, the R10 was a pretty if unlikely proposal for a next generation Audi supercar.

Now, two years older and presumably a little wiser, Bembli has once again tackled the R10 in what I call the R10 v2.0. Though the concept of a low roofed, widebody coupe with a mid-mounted V10 remains the same, Bembli’s new-for-2011 R10 features a more aggressive front-end treatment, larger rear view mirrors and cabin windows and the addition of fighter jet-inspire side intakes.

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STaSIS Engineering Launches 710HP Audi R8 V10 in the UK

North American aftermarket specialist STaSIS Engineering has introduced its Challenge Extreme Edition package for the Audi R8 V10 to Britain. Available in the US since 2010, the performance kit includes powertrain, suspension and brake upgrades that transform the R8 V10 into an even more ferocious supercar, capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h [62mph] in 3.1 seconds, 0.6 seconds faster than the stock model.

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VIDEO: A Wonderful Road Trip through Brazil in an Audi R8 Spyder V10

Truth to be said, any journey would be a blast if you were behind the wheel of sports car like the Audi R8 Spyder V10, but we can’t help but applaud the brand with the four rings for this beautiful, 2-minute long clip filmed in remote, untouristy parts of Brazil. Sit back, turn up the volume and enjoy the ride in the video right after the break.

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Audi: 38 Percent of all Models Sold in 2010 were Equipped with Quattro Drive

In 2010, the year that Audi celebrated the 30th anniversary of the quattro, it sold an impressive 437,792 quattro-equipped cars, or about 38 percent of its total production. The brand with the four rings said it sells more all-wheel drive vehicles than any other premium manufacturer in the world.

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Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche Donate €2.5 Million for Japan Earthquake Relief

Volkswagen and Audi today announced that they will donate €1 million ($1.42 million) each for humanitarian aid to the Japanese people affected by the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the Asian nation on March 11. Porsche also said it will offer €500,000 ($707,000) to assist people affected by the natural disaster. Aside from these contributions, the VW Group has announced the launch of a donation campaign among its employees.

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Report: Porsche Cajun said to Launch in a 3-Door Body Style First, will be Based on the Audi Q5

*The above photo is a rendering from a Teamspeed forum member

New details on Porsche's junior SUV have emerged a day after the company confirmed the Leipzig plant as the production site for the new car. German car magazine AutoBild reported that Porsche will launch the compact SUV in a three-door body style adding that the Cajun will have a sporty character to differentiate it from the Audi Q5.

Porsche originally intended to launch the Cajun as a five-door model, but later decided it would be better to start off with a three-door variant since it doesn't want to affect the sales of the Q5, upon which the Cajun is based.

The Stuttgart automaker also feared that a five-door Cajun might threaten the Cayenne as well, so the company is said to have decided to give its smaller SUV a much more dynamic appearance. However, Porsche did not exclude a five-door version in the near future.

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Audi’s 560HP R8 GT Arrives in the States, Prices Start from $196,800

Audi has announced pricing details for its limited production R8 GT sports car at the launch of sales in the U.S. market. The flagship version of the R8 series is priced at $196,800, compared to $114,200 for the entry-level 4.2-liter V8 model and $149,000 for the standard 5.2-liter V10 variant. Nevertheless, that is considerably less than what a German would pay for the R8 GT in its home market where pricing is set at €193,000 or about US$269,300.

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