1995 Audi 90 Quattro Base Sedan 4-door 2.8l on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Audi's EV SUV to be built in Brussels, Mercedes-Benz to extend EV range

European Union Industry Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska is demanding that Volkswagen compensate owners of cars affected by the diesel emissions scandal. She says European customers should receive the same goodwill compensation as American drivers, whom VW is providing with $1,000 worth of recompense. "The issue of compensation goes beyond the difference in the legal setup between the US and the EU and plays a fundamental role in viewing VW as a responsible and trustworthy company," says Bienkowska in a letter to Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller. Bienkowska has also requested detailed data about the vehicles and "corrective measures" VW is planning. Read more from Automotive News Europe. Mercedes-Benz will equip its plug-in vehicles with higher-capacity batteries as it expands its electric model range. While the PHEVs it has released so far have electric driving ranges between 14 and 20 miles, better batteries should extend that range starting around model years 2018 or 2019. After releasing a slew of plug-ins by the end of next year, Mercedes-Benz development director Dr. Thomas Weber says, "The next-generation vehicle will overcome the 30-km to 50-km hurdle and then the next generation after that will be 80-100 km when they run as pure electric cars." Read more at Green Car Reports, or from Motoring. Audi will build its pure electric SUV at its plant in Brussels, Belgium. The batteries for the vehicle based on the Audi E-Tron Quattro concept (perhaps to be called the Q6) will also be built at the Brussels plant when production begins in 2018. With this announcement comes news that production of the A1 will shift from Brussels to Martorell, Spain, while Q3 production will move from Spain to Gyor Hungary. Audi says the Brussels facility will "become a key plant for electric mobility at the Volkswagen Group." Read more at Green Car Congress, or in the press release below. Audi production network: ready for electric mobility - Premium manufacturer to produce large series of electric cars in Brussels as of 2018 - New models for Martorell (Spain) and Gyor (Hungary) - Audi CEO Rupert Stadler: "We are increasing our efficiency and bundling key competencies" Audi is preparing its international production network for the mobility of the future. Large series production of the first purely electric driven SUV from Audi will begin at the site in Brussels in 2018. The plant will also produce its own batteries.

VW confirms Audi's emissions test transmission anomalies

Just a week after reports that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) found an emissions cheat in some Audi automatic transmission software programs, parent company Volkswagen has come clean. As reported by Reuters, VW's response to an article by Munich's Sueddeutsche Zeitung stated that the adaptive shift functionality can "lead to incorrect and non-reproducible results." Adaptive shift programs alter the characteristics of a vehicle's transmission to suit different driving styles. Gentle driving will result in earlier shifts and lower engine revs, while hard-charging on the pedals and steering will make the transmission more responsive and hold gears longer. That adaptation can change over time or even on a short-term basis. And it can save fuel. The difference in this case is that is seems that the Audi transmissions were specifically programmed to detect emissions test conditions. As we explained in a previous article, one of those test conditions is keeping the wheel straight. Turning more than 15 degrees shuts the test mode off. According to Reuters, the US government is trying to determine whether this classifies as an emissions cheat device, although VW, Audi, and the EPA have not commented on the record. This latest accusation is separate from the larger VW diesel emissions scandal. Related Video: Image Credit: Getty Editorial Government/Legal Green Audi Volkswagen Emissions vw diesel scandal

Genesis cars win accolades, offer value — so why are sales so bad?

My high-school buddy Brent Cormier was so smitten with the Genesis G80 when he saw it at an event I hosted at SXSW in 2016 he bought a used 2013 Hyundai Genesis a short time later and fell in love with the car. "It surpasses my every expectation," said Cormier, a self-described "renaissance man" who owns and runs a real estate agency with his wife Laura, is a food service executive chef and part owner of Austin-based Thin the Herd Guitars. "I was locked into Mercedes and Audi for 10 years," he added. "And felt trapped in an endless pit of maintenance costs." After owning the Genesis over the past two years — including using it as an Uber and Lyft driver to earn extra cash — Cormier learned what some frugal luxury sedan buyers and a handful of car reviewers have discovered: Genesis offers great bang for the buck compared to other premium brands and can compete with the best in terms of performance, features and comfort. Hyundai's luxury brand also earned a prominent third-party endorsement last week when for the first time Genesis topped J.D. Power's 2018 APEAL study, surpassing German luxury-performance icon Porsche. The APEAL study (which stands for Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout) "measures owners' emotional attachment and level of excitement across 77 attributes," ranging from performance to comfort, and asks nearly 68,000 owners of new 2018 models to score vehicles on a 1,000-point scale. In its second year ranked as a stand-alone brand, Genesis earned an APEAL score that bumped it up 15 points to 884 and helped push it past Porsche — and past BMW, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volvo, Cadillac, Land Rover and Lexus, in order of ranking. Last month, Genesis also topped J.D. Power's Initial Quality Survey (IQS) for the first time this year. And both its models were awarded Top Safety Pick Plus ratings by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, among 11 Plus ratings in all for Korean vehicles. Despite high J.D. Power rankings and great reviews, Genesis U.S. sales were off 50 percent for the first six months of 2018 compared to 2017, and in June Genesis sold only 796 vehicles — the first time U.S. numbers dropped below 1,000 in a month. Part of Genesis's APEAL and IQS success can be attributed to its small product lineup: just two models, the G80 and G90 sedans, with a third, the 2019 G70, launching later this year. And while those numbers may help in J.D.