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Audi celebrates 25 years of TDI

Nope, the diesel engine never really did go out of style for Audi. Now, the German automaker has released a video reminding the world of its persistence with the oil-burners and is commemorating the Silver Anniversary of Audi's first commitment to turbodiesels in 1989. And, yes, there are some road racers shown in the clip, so some of those bad boys actually move pretty well. Audi engineers on camera admitted to some of the early TDI engines being "slow" but still valuable for their torque and, obviously, their fuel economy relative to gas-powered engines. A bunch of tinkering later, though, and Audi says its diesels can be a legitimate "part of a performance car" and has even overcome the issue of noisiness that's often associated with diesels. The automaker made some news in these parts a few years back when its Audi A3 TDI won the 2010 Green Car of the Year at the annual LA Auto Show in late 2009, and the model even succeeded a fellow diesel (the Volkswagen Jetta TDI) to boot. Granted, diesel sales aren't nearly as popular in the US as they are in Europe. Still, Audi last year boosted its diesel sales in the US by 40 percent to 10,076, which was about a tenth of what sister company Volkswagen sold in diesels last year in the States. And things have looked even rosier this year for Audi's TDI sales. Through June, Audi diesel sales have almost quadrupled from a year earlier to more than 8,100 units. Check out the 150-second video on Audi's 25-years of TDI production below.

Audi CEO announces new electrified car each year starting in 2018

Audi is preparing an aggressive (and possibly desperate) plan to electrify its lineup following the disastrous diesel emissions scandal. CEO Rupert Stadler announced the plan during the company's Annual General Meeting in Ingolstadt. "Starting in 2018, we will launch another electrified car each year," Stadler said. This is easily the most dramatic statement we've heard about electrification since Audi of America President Scott Keogh told Autoblog that one out of every four Audi models will have some kind of plug-in capacity by 2025. This new push for electrics will kick off with Audi's long-awaited all-electric CUV. We've already known about this guy for a while – according to our conversation with Keogh, it will be based on the E-Tron Quattro Concept first shown at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. And earlier this year, Audi even went as far as confirming its Brussels, Belgium factory will screw together the new EV. Speaking of those batteries, Audi expects them to match the 310-mile range promised by the E-Tron Quattro. What we're really eager to see, of course, is what Audi has planned after 2018. Will we get an all-electric A4 to battle the Tesla Model 3? An A7 E-Tron to challenge the Model S? Or will Audi go with a segment Tesla hasn't exploited yet? Expect a few years before we get answers to those questions. Beyond the EV announcement, Stadler also confirmed the next-generation Audi A8 will debut in 2017. The new luxury sedan will be capable of driving itself at speeds up to 37 miles per hour, fitting with previous reports. From there, Stadler expects to "see fully automated driving" by 2025. Related Video:

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