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Audi promises Super Bowl surprise with Dog Show teaser

Last month, Audi announced that it would focus its Super Bowl XLVIII airtime on its new 2015 A3, but a new teaser video promises "something unexpected." Even though there's not so much as a single car in this 20-second teaser, we don't doubt that Audi has created an interesting and creative commercial based on what we've seen in recent Super Bowl ads from the automaker.
While we don't exactly see what could be scary or unexpected about the A3 (or even the S3), there is still the chance that Audi has something up its advertising sleeve for the Big Game. We only have to wait a couple more weeks to find out for sure, but in the meantime, the short video is posted below.

Audi scores 100th LMP win

Loïc Duval, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish took the No. 2 Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro to victory at this weekend's Six Hours of Austin at the Circuit of the Americas, marking the 12th victory for the R18 body and the 100th LMP overall victory for Audi since 2000. The milestone victory also saw a second R18, driven by Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer, take third place.
Audi's LMP boss, Chris Reinke pointed out the poignancy of snagging the brand's 100th victory in the US, saying, "For Audi, it's a very special result because it was the 100th victory in LMP racing. We celebrated the first victory int he USA as well, in 2000. What could be sweeter than achieving this milestone here?" It wasn't all easy going, though, as the team was racing at COTA for the first time, and the No. 1 car had more than a few difficulties.
This victory marked the 12th for the R18 since it started racing in 2011. For comparison, the R15 TDI only managed three victories between 2009 and 2011, and the R10 TDI took 22 wins between 2006 and 2008. Those cars are overshadowed by the original Audi R8 racecar, which won 63 races between 2000 and 2006. Take a look below for the full press release from Audi, and additional quotes from team members.

Startup will make your Audi A4 self-driving for $10k [w/video]

We are on the cusp of the next generation of semi-autonomous driving technology becoming affordable. Adaptive cruise control is already trickling down to the mass market, and the more sophisticated systems found on vehicles like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class are clearly coming, as well. If you're a little adventurous, live in California and drive an Audi, you might be able to upgrade to the next stage of driverless tech even sooner. A San Francisco start-up called Cruise Automation is launching an aftermarket autopilot system called the RP1 for $10,000, with deliveries starting in 2015.
The RP1 is designed for 2012 and newer Audi A4 and S4 models. Although, Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt told Autoblog in an email: "There's no reason we can't expand to other cars, and we will." The system includes a sensor pod on the roof containing cameras, radar and other sensors to scan the road ahead. It then sends data to a small computer mounted on the side of the trunk. The desired inputs are then made by actuators for the steering, brakes and throttle to control the car. A button in the cabin activates the autopilot and controls the desired speed. Not completely unlike Audi's own, developmental, semiautonomous system.
At this point, the RP1 is somewhere between an adaptive cruise control system and an autonomous vehicle. It can control all of the cars inputs and even bring it down to a complete stop and then accelerate again. However, it only works on select highways in California. "We use geofencing to limit the areas of operation to segments of highway in which we've collected enough data to ensure our customers' safety," said Vogt to Autoblog.