2011 Audi Q5 Premium Plus Sport Utility 4-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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Lexus gets top brand marks from Consumer Reports; Ford, Jeep hit hard

Consumer Reports has released its 2014 Car Brand Report Cards, with Lexus again reigning at the top and doing so with the same industry-topping score of 79 that it registered in last year's Report Cards. This year, the institute credited its lineup for being "usually quiet, comfortable, and fuel-efficient," noting it's the only brand on the list "to achieve an excellent average overall reliability score." The Car Brand Report Cars list is meant to rank the best all-around vehicles based on CR testing and reliability results tallied by subscribers it surveyed. Each brand included must have sufficient test and reliability data for at least three models, a standard which left out 11 marques including Fiat, Jaguar, Land Rover and Porsche.
This 2014 Brand Report Cars edition is the first of a new format in which sub-brands have been broken out from their parent brands, with Acura using this year to move up the leaderboard into second place with a score of 75 for its "reliable, well-finished and somewhat sporty models." The top three was rounded out by Audi, climbing from eighth to third by scoring a 74 for "well-crafted interiors, nice handling and good gas mileage." Audi scored highest in the road-test portion, its improved reliability aiding its rise. The top nine was completed by Subaru, Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz.
Ford and Jeep weighed in at the other end of the rankings, Jeep taking the lowest overall score in the road tests and hampered by "a mix of spotty reliability." Ford was sunk by reliability issues with its MyFord Touch infotainment system which consumers found troublesome enough to negate its cars earning "solid test scores" for being "very nice to drive." Perhaps the rumored switch from Microsoft to Blackberry's QNX for the next generation SYNC will help them out. Cadillac's score also took a hit for infotainment reasons after it was the leading US brand last year, the CUE system in the XTS dragging Cadillac to the bottom of all General Motors brands.

2014 Audi RS7 is a 189-mph terror

If you have a burning desire to take yourself and four friends to 189 miles per hour, the 2014 Audi RS7 Sportback can help you out. The luxury hatchback bowed at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show today, complete with a 560-horsepower twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine thrashing under the hood. Getting to 62 mph takes a shave under 3.9 seconds thanks in part to the 553 pound-feet of torque on hand from just 1,750 rpm. While the base car comes with an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph, customers can request the governor be removed by purchasing the dynamic package plus, upping the V-max to 189 mph.
Ludicrous? Sure, but Audi says the RS7 can also yield up to 25 mpg on the US scale. With a cylinder-on-demand system, the V8 can deactivate up to four cylinders by closing their valves. Once the driver gets frisky with the throttle, the engine automatically kicks from four-cylinder to eight-cylinder mode in a few hundredths of a second. The engine is bolted to an eight-speed automatic transmission, which pushes power to all four wheels. You can read the full press release below for more information, but we think you'll have a better time viewing our live shots from the show floor..

Audi sends off second-gen TT with a few enhancements

The Audi stand at the Geneva Motor Show this year was the focus of a lot of attention with the reveal of the all-new TT, ushering in the third generation of the stylish sports coupe and roadster. But before the second-gen model gets the old heave-ho, Audi is giving it a few enhancements to send it out on a high note.
Stylistically, the 2015 Audi TT and TTS, both coupe and convertible, get a new single-frame grille and LED daytime running lights to make it better match its stablemates. The interior gets some upgraded equipment as well, but enthusiasts will be more intrigued by the optional Competition Package available on the TTS.
Like the package Audi rolled out to celebrate the 500,000th TT made, the new TTS Competition Package gets a fixed rear spoiler, five-spoke alloys, baseball-stitched leather seats with contrasting stitching and a choice of yellow or gray paints for the exterior.