2013 Audi Q7 3.0t Quattro S Line Prestige 3rd Row Seat And Lots on 2040-cars

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Why Audi is staking its future on electric SUVs

This much we know: SUVs and crossovers sell like hotcakes. The body style has become such a juggernaut that for the first time in recorded history, sport utes beat out sedans this year to score the biggest slice of the luxury pie. Love 'em or hate 'em, SUVs are here to stay, and carmakers are investing more than ever in the segment. Sport utility vehicles also played a bigger role than you might think in making Audi relevant in the US, and based on what we learned during a sit-down with Audi of America president Scott Keogh at the Paris Motor Show, their role is only going to continue to grow at the automaker. Last year, the brand sold 202,202 cars in the States, capping off 60 consecutive months of record sales. But it's not enough to focus on traditional SUVs like the Q5, which was launched on the heels of the global economic meltdown in a tiny small segment of around 160,000 vehicles and has since ballooned to over 400,000 units. The Q5 has scored 80 percent of its buyers from conquest, and a new plant in Puebla, Mexico, promises to churn even more units to the US and the world. Still, tackling the future head-on can be like wrestling an eel – an elusive, almost impossible-to-execute challenge – and Audi is betting a huge part of that success will be the production version of the E-Tron Quattro Concept that debuted last year in Frankfurt. Internally referred to as the C Bev, this battery-powered SUV claims a 311-mile range, and might as well be nicknamed the Tesla Model X Killer. "If you look at where this car migrated from," Keogh says, "it started as a European-ish city car, and then it migrated into a sedan-ish sportback-y type thing, and then we pushed very aggressively to make it an SUV." Keogh says the vehicle will hit showrooms "after 2018." The SUV layout naturally lends itself to batteries, but it also boils down to a simple bureaucratic advantage: "We get [government CO2 and fuel economy] credits for volume," says Keogh. "It's not just enough for a car to be there, it's got to be a car that a lot of people want to buy." Sized between a Q5 and a Q7, the E-Tron Quattro resides in a target-rich environment, a 600,000 - 700,000 unit segment. Add Audi's goals of electrifying 25 percent of its lineup by 2025, and a high volume, medium/large SUV simply makes sense.

Audi joins the car-sharing party with Shared Fleet

Seeing the success Zipcar and Daimler's Car2Go, more auto manufacturers are cutting out the middleman and jumping into the car sharing business. General Motors, Ford, and BMW have all introduced or announced their own programs. And now Audi has now thrown their hat into the ring with its Shared Fleet program. Like its competitors, Shared Fleet will be accessed through an app. The fleet consists of a mere three all-new and fully loaded 2017 Audi A4s and will be rolled out in a small pilot program in Durham, North Carolina. Audi plans a nationwide fleet for sometime in 2017. Through the app, customers will be able to locate and unlock vehicles. Pricing is currently unknown, but it is likely to be based off the time used, not the distance driven. The pilot program will be based at American Underground, a technology incubator in North Carolina. This will give Audi the chance to get the program into the hands of tech savvy users who have likely used competing programs. More than 700 employees at 200 companies are based at the facility. This isn't Audi's first foray into the car rental business. They previously invested a large amount into Silvercar. They also operate Audi on Demand in San Francisco, a similar program to Shared Fleet. With Audi on Demand, users can drop cars off at their destinations. Related Video:

Audi CVT suit settlement given green light, 64,000 cars covered

Audi drivers, listen up. If you bought or leased a 2002-06 model-year A4 or A6 with a factory-installed Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) that failed, you may be entitled to reimbursement under a recently settled class-action lawsuit with corporate parent Volkswagen.
According to Automotive News, the settlement covers about 64,000 vehicles and alleges that "manufacturing and design problems caused the transmissions to fail and left owners stuck with repair costs." While the suit also argues Audi was aware of these issues (going so far as to hide that knowledge from consumers), the settlement stops short of acknowledging any wrongdoing by the German automaker.
Audi drivers are eligible for a cash reimbursement if their CVT repairs occurred within 10 years or 100,000 miles of the date they bought or leased the vehicle before June 19, 2013. To be eligible for compensation, drivers must submit a claim form (found here) with supporting documents by November 18.