2002 Audi A6 Base Sedan 4-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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Audi A3 gets Virtual Cockpit next year

Want the Audi TT's nifty virtual cockpit but need a more practical car? Great news for you, as Audi will bring the reconfigurable, all-digital instrument cluster to the A3 next year. The news was confirmed to our friends at Car and Driver, courtesy of the head of Audi's electronics department, Ricky Hudi. "In the future, there are not so many [of our] cars that will not have it integrated, even into the smaller cars. Next year in the A3, we will also integrate the Virtual Cockpit," Hudi told C/D. Now, don't go thinking you'll be able to pick up a basic A3 and be able to enjoy the new instrument cluster, like you can on the TT and R8. This is going to be an up-market option, just like it is on the new Q7. "If they choose a higher engine or a higher, well-equipped car then they will choose it – no doubt. The price reduces very fast with more people using it and the Virtual Cockpit is an Audi signature now." Related Video:

2014 Audi RS7 [w/video]

Stunning Sportback Gets The Performance To Match
Saying the 2014 Audi RS7 Sportback is not as good as the not-for-North-America Audi RS6 Avant we recently tested is a bit like saying one more strip of crispy bacon would make our Waffle House All-Star Special breakfast even more special. The RS7 goes to ten while the RS6 goes to eleven, maybe, but they both rock our world. The RS7 is meant for the far wider buying audience worldwide, not just for western European family bombing runs, as with the RS6 Avant.
But, hey, this RS7 simply hurtles down the road in a singularly sexy way. And if you really want this bodystyle - and who could blame you? - the RS6 Avant doesn't really even matter anyway. After a full day on perfect dry and warm Swabian two-lanes driving this Audi very hard, we barely thought about it at all.

Audi diverting a third of R&D budget to electrification

Companies make promises all the time. We'll do X by Y. The new A will be our biggest seller in B. You know the drill. But it's when an automaker puts its money where its mouth is that we really stand up and take notice. That's precisely what Audi is doing as it attempts to convert 25 percent of its sales to electrified vehicles by 2025. Citing two sources with knowledge of Audi's plans, Reuters reports that around a third of the company's research-and-development budget will go to " electric cars, digital services, and autonomous driving." Of course, shifting that much money over to newer technologies means sacrifices elsewhere – Reuters' sources claim Audi will move money away from combustion engines and reduce country-specific powertrain variants, but the sources wouldn't get more specific. According to Reuters, Audi is 22nd in total sales of hybrids and EVs. That's eight spots behind Mercedes and ten spots behind BMW (not to mention hybrid-happy Lexus). Audi's only electric representatives in the US market are the A3 e-Tron and Q5 Hybrid and things aren't much better in Europe – the company needs to dump buckets of money into expanding its meager lineup to bring up the percentage of EVs it sells. Expect greater detail on Audi's electrification plans very soon – CEO Rupert Stadler will discuss the company's path forward on Wednesday at a closed-door meeting in Munich with over 2,000 managers. It's unlikely all those managers will be able to keep quiet. We'll be listening. Related Video: Featured Gallery Audi E-Tron Quattro Concept View 36 Photos News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Audi Green Audi Volkswagen Green Driving Electric Hybrid PHEV e-tron audi e-tron electrification