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2017 Audi Q7 Second Drive

One morning, I'm driving down the Malibu coast, top-down in a two-seat sports car. Twelve hours later, I'm on a straight road, in traffic, and piloting a seven-seat SUV. I think this is how new parents feel. There's no other word but "parental" to describe how three-row crossovers, like this 2017 Audi Q7, make me feel. Whether it was the Honda Pilot that was actually kind of tossable, or the plush Kia Sorento, one glance in the rear-view mirror at five headrests makes you wonder if someone isn't waiting for you outside an elementary school. The Q7, however, has always been a luxury car first. And this second-generation model is crammed with technology and convenience features to make life more effortless, as if it was designed for a person who lives in Bel Air but also must take the kids to horse-riding lessons on the one weekend it rains in Southern California. Autoblog already tested a European example, but I'm now getting the chance to finally drive it Stateside. When it comes to the Q7's appearance, I always seem to have a minority opinion. The old one looked like a bus when plenty of people said it looked beautiful. This new one has been widely criticized for looking like a wagon, but I don't see a lot wrong here. At some angles, it's reminiscent of the old 5000 Avants from the '80s – probably not a coincidence, since the Q7 is Audi's most prestigious wagon right now. Even Audi admits it pulled from the '80s with styling cues along the rear quarter panels and the ever-larger "Quattro" badges. While the shape grows on you, it isn't going to stop people seeing it and thinking it's a Q5. The new Audi Q7 has an incredible sense of elegance about it. The most ambitious design touches are the arrows in the LED lights, front and rear, but they're ultimately dwarfed by the size of the car. What's more, the string of white, silver, and gray cars on hand at our test aren't exactly striking, and the optional 20-inch wheels are boring in design. You could also call this "quiet luxury." Or perhaps stately. The new Audi Q7 has an incredible sense of elegance about it, never feeling ponderous like a truck and always feeling secure like a large luxury sedan. As the first application of the Volkswagen Group's MLB Evo platform, it really is a large luxury wagon. Which is the exact image the company seems to be running from.

2016 Audi A3 Sportback E-Tron First Drive

While its parent company is still in the throes of an emissions scandal that has thrust the "green" credentials of automakers worldwide under the microscope, Audi is launching its first plug-in hybrid in the US. Audi is ready to double down on its electrified future, putting up its own reputation as collateral. This A3 Sportback E-Tron – a vehicle we've sampled in prototype form – is a tech-savvy plug-in car that could be the perfect vehicle to mark the brand's new commitment to an electric lifestyle. Straightaway, Audi USA President Scott Keogh addressed the TDI situation. He says he and the rest of the company are "shocked, followed by appalled, followed by anger, and now in the phase of drop-dead determination to make this thing right." Out of the 500,000 affected 2.0-liter TDI engines around the world, 14,000 are in Audis: about 3,000 A3 TDI sedans and about 11,000 A3 TDI Sportbacks. "It's quite simple. CARB and the EPA have told us these cars can stay on the road, they will stay on the road until we have a fix, and when we have a fix, we will absolutely fix these cars." The most important thing going forward, Keogh says, is regaining the trust of both the dealers and customers. Audi has been enjoying a bit of momentum in recent years, building a reputation for itself along the way. Audi came on the scene in the US in 1969, but it took until 2010 for the company to sell 100,000 units in a single year. Now, "In 2015, we're starting to look down the barrel of nearly doubling our sales in five years," says Keogh. The A3 achieves a 40-percent segment share, and for 75 percent of those buyers, it is their first purchase of a luxury brand. But as its own pace increases, the momentum of the industry as a whole has pulled Audi toward this foray into electromobility. Enter the A3 Sportback E-Tron. There's a little extra weight from the battery pack, but the suspension does a good job of keeping it unnoticeable while driving. The A3 E-Tron has several strengths working in its favor. First of all, as Keogh puts it, the hatchback is a "real, proper Audi – a real, proper, fully rounded driving machine." Qualifications such as "this is an electric car" don't matter. "People just want to buy a car," he says. It has the technology, build quality, and drivability of an Audi.

Watch VW Group Night kick off the Frankfurt festivities

The Frankfurt Motor Show is Volkswagen's home affair. As a result, the whole of the automaker group makes a big splash, even before the show doors open. We'll be live from the Frankfurt floor starting early tomorrow morning, but tonight we're posted up in the stands at the always-entertaining Volkswagen Group Night. To give you a taste of what it's like to be there, we're going to be shooting some man-on-the-scenes video as the night progresses. Below you'll find videos of all the best that VW Group brands – Audi, Lamborghini, VW, the lot – have to offer, as quick as we can upload them. So, enjoy the Short Cut Videos you see here. And stay tuned as we add more to the tally, below. And, of course, be sure to check in on Autoblog early and often tomorrow, when we bring you official debuts of new production vehicles and concept cars, a ton of new video content, live image galleries, and lots more.Seat Leon Cross Sport Bentley Bentayga Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 Spyder Volkswagen Multivan PanAmerican Edition Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo Concept Audi E-Tron Quattro Concept Audi A4 Ducati Monster 1200 R Volkswagen Tiguan Skoda Superb Combi Porsche 911 Carrera S Coupe and Cabrio Volkswagen Tiguan GTE Porsche Mission E Concept Volkswagen Group Night Finale Green Frankfurt Motor Show Audi Bentley Bugatti Lamborghini Volkswagen SEAT Skoda Videos Original Video Frankfurt 2015