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The Acura NSX leads this month's list of discounts

For the second time in the last three months, the Acura NSX has a larger monetary discount than any other vehicle in America. Acura's hybrid super coupe packs 573 horsepower under its sleek bodywork, sufficient to send it sailing off to 60 miles per hour in a scant 2.9 seconds. But it doesn't exactly fly off the showroom floor with the same level of urgency. Buyers of the NSX are paying an average of $138,078 right now, which is a savings of $22,823 off its window sticker. That represents a 14.2% discount, which is also the largest percentage savings in February. And if the NSX doesn't quite fit into your future plans, Acura is also heavily discounting the ILX, TLX, RLX and MDX, so much so that those five models from the premium Japanese brand all appear in the top 10 biggest discounts this month. 2020 Acura NSX View 11 Photos The sleek 2020 Aston Martin Vantage slides into second place on the biggest discounts list, with an average of $18,763 lopped off its sticker price resulting in an average transaction price of $137,298. That's awfully close to the out-the-door price of the leading Acura NSX, which is a quicker and more technologically advanced machine, though arguably less traditionally beautiful. Rounding out this month's top three discounts is the 2020 Audi R8, buyers of which are averaging $17,888 off the sticker price for an average transaction of $179,238. Note that the Audi R8 is available as both a coupe and a convertible, with two power levels offered from its standard V10 engine. That means some R8s are certainly going to be much pricier than others. For a look at the best new car deals in America based on the percentage discount off their suggested asking prices, check out our monthly recap here. And when you're ready to buy, click here for the Autoblog Smart Buy program, which brings you a hassle-free buying experience with over 9,000 Certified Dealers nationwide.

Automakers need to stop stalking celebrities

Since the invention of the automobile, cars and stars have gone together like paparazzi and the Kardashians. During this season of starlet-adorned award ceremonies, from the Golden Globes through to the Oscars, you will find a lot of car companies all vying to loan out their vehicles to any celebrity with a recognizable face who happens to be heading to a red-carpet award ceremony. There is, however, none so coordinated, consistent and aggressively playing the Fame Game as our friends at Audi. Since the invention of the automobile, cars and stars have gone together like paparazzi and the Kardashians, so by association getting a celeb behind the wheel of your car brand gives it an instant image boost that must make the car more attractive to buyers. Celebrity tales equals dealership sales. That's the logic, anyway. But surely the millions of dollars spent giving free cars to rich stars is a waste of precious and increasingly smaller marketing budgets. It's time to make the car the star, not the other way around. Lets be clear, we are not talking about the very obvious dropping of famous faces into big budget ads. That has its place in the marketing toolbox, but in a very media savvy world it's clear most of us get that play-for-pay concept. Today, the use of just a famous name in an ad yields very little influence on whether you or I will buy that car. No, this awards-ceremony loaner deal is a subtler, but higher risk, idea that if you see a "star" with "their" car in "real life" then surely that adds to the car's appeal. We, the audience, are expected to start salivating like Pavlovian puppies in our desire to have same car in our own, less red-carpeted driveway. Geoff Day has been called the "Pied Piper" of the auto industry, leading auto journalists on wild rides around the globe in his position as former director of communications for Mercedes-Benz USA. Before that, he worked at DaimlerChrysler UK on its PR efforts, and rubbed elbows with the Queen of England in his role at the Buckingham Palace Press Office. His phone is filled with the numbers of the great, the good and the bad. His head is filled with dirty little secrets hiding in many corners of the auto industry. There is no doubt that the publicity that comes with a well placed story, picture or feature can help raise awareness of a product – Oprah proved that with her "Favorite things" – especially if you are launching a line of wrinkle cream or juice bars.

Audi A3 diesel fails independent emissions test in Europe

The best-selling model under Volkswagen's Audi division was emitted about double the legal limits of nitrogen oxide (NOx) levels for Europe, Reuters says, citing laboratory tests overseen by the European Commission's Joint Research Center (JRC) in August. The Audi A3 was found in two tests to emit about double the legal limit of NOx, though one of the tests had the A3 within the limits when the engine was cold. An Audi spokesman told Reuters that the A3 was independently tested to have emissions levels within the legal limit and that he wasn't aware of the JRC test results. Still, the findings are another example of how Volkswagen, Europe's largest automaker, can not seem to shed the issues surrounding the diesel-emissions scandal that broke last September. VW has been fined about $19 billion for equipping diesel cars with software that cheats emissions-testing systems. About 11 million cars were affected, including about a half-million vehicles in the US. In addition reaching a $15 billion settlement with US regulatory bodies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) earlier this year, VW has been fined $15 million by the South Korean government, which may impose more penalties because of allegations of false advertising. Audi is not the only VW unit to face further scrutiny. Germany's Transport Ministry and Federal Motor Transport Authority are taking a closer look at VW's Porsche division for potential emissions-cheating efforts, Bloomberg News recently reported. Additionally, the European Union is saying that at least seven of its member nations failed to provide sufficient oversight of automobiles' emissions-testing process, and may take legal action against Germany, Spain, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Greece, and Great Britain, according to a separate Reuters article. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Audi A3 View 125 Photos News Source: Reuters via Automotive News Europe-sub.req. Government/Legal Green Audi Volkswagen AutoblogGreen Exclusive Emissions Diesel Vehicles testing