No Reserve!! 2003 Audi A4 Cabriolet Convertible 2-door 1.8l on 2040-cars

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Audi builds 5-millionth vehicle with Quattro

Quattro, the trademark name Audi has put on its all-wheel-drive system engineered for passenger vehicles, recently celebrated its five-millionth installation. The driveline has been offered in more than 140 different vehicles since its introduction more than three decades ago.
The all-wheel-drive technology made its world debut at the 1980 International Geneva Motor Show, beneath the floorpan of the Quattro Coupé, a low-volume two-door. It didn't take consumers long to embrace Audi's innovative approach. While most four-wheel-drive systems at that time utilized heavy transfer cases or second cardan shafts, Quattro was virtually tension-free, light, compact and efficient. Most importantly, enthusiasts found it was especially suitable for sports cars.
Today, the automaker offers Quattro on its full line of passenger vehicles and it is unquestionably successful (the technology enjoyed a 43 percent take rate in 2012). On models with transverse-mounted engines (A3 and TT), Audi uses an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch with hydraulic actuator. Under normal conditions, the clutch sends power almost exclusively to the front wheels (if wheel slippage occurs, up to 100 percent of the torque may be sent to the rear). Vehicles with transverse-mounted engines (A4, A5, Q5, etc...) use a self-locking center differential sending 40 percent of the engine torque to the front axle and 60 percent to the rear under normal conditions (it is able to send the majority of the power to the axle with better traction when needed). The highest-performing Quattro systems use torque vectoring to further improve cornering grip and speeds.

2015 Audi A3 configurator is up and running

Potential customers for the new Audi A3 should set aside some time during their lunch breaks to head over and build their ideal example of the new sedan. The official configurator, complete with pricing and options, has gone live on the Audi website.
Customers can choose from three trim levels (Premium, Premium Plus and Prestige), while each trim can be had with either the Volkswagen Group's familiar 2.0-liter, turbocharged, 220-horsepower four-cylinder or a 1.8-liter, turbocharged, 170-horsepower four-cylinder. Buyers of the 2.0-liter will enjoy Quattro all-wheel drive while power for the 1.8T is channeled through the front wheels only. A six-speed, S-Tronic dual-clutch transmission is standard across the range.
You can check out full pricing on the A3 right here, but as a means of recap, the base Premium trim with the 1.8-liter engine starts at $29,900. A Premium Plus 1.8T starts $32,800 and the Prestige 1.8T will cost $38,700. Adding a 2.0-liter turbo and Quattro increases the price by $3,000, regardless of trim. Those prices don't include an $895 destination charge.

Finalists for 2014 Green Car of the Year announced

The list of finalists for the 2014 Green Car of the Year has been announced, and in a genuinely bizarre twist, there's only one hybrid and no electric vehicles among the five contestants, despite the arrival of cars like the BMW i3 and Tesla Model S. Taking the place of the EVs are a pair of diesels, repping a technology that last won a Green Car of the Year award in 2009, when the Audi A3 TDI took the title. No diesel was in the running for last year's award.
Naturally, both of the diesel finalists are fielded by the Germans - with BMW's 328d and Audi's A6 TDI getting the nod. In the case of the 3 Series, BMW installed a 2.0-liter, turbodiesel, capable of delivering 180 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque, while returning 45 miles per gallon on the highway. Audi and its larger, 3.0-liter, V6 turbodiesel produce quite a bit more grunt, with 240 hp and 428 lb-ft of grunt, but net a very impressive 38 mpg on the highway in the A6.
Finalists for this year's awards include two diesels, three gas-powered cars and a plug-in hybrid.