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Audi prepping a flex-fuel A3 for Latin America

Volkswagen's Audi division hasn't fared well from its parent company's diesel-emissions scandal, especially in the US and Europe. In South America, though, Audi is set to unveil its first vehicle of the flex-fuel variety, according to Nseavoice. Perhaps the German automaker can earn some good karma down in the Southern Hemisphere. The model is the 2016 Audi A3, which is made in Audi's Brazil factory. The engine is a 1.4-liter variety, and it will be able to run on either conventional gasoline or ethanol, or a blend of both. The decision makes sense because ethanol is plentiful in Brazil since the government has long pushed for it and there's plenty of sugar-cane feedstock to produce the stuff. Audi can use all of the positive news it can get, especially in the wake of VW's diesel-emissions scandal. As many as 11 million VW and Audi diesels may have been fitted with software that cheats emissions-testing systems. One result from the scandal's proverbial shrapnel is that the Audi A3 TDI diesel was stripped of its 2010 Green Car of the Year Award by Green Car Journal. The decision marks the first time in the award's history that a winner was stripped of the honor. VW has a long history offering flex-fuel vehicles in Brazil. In 2003, the German automaker was the first to debut a flex-fuel engine, and within two years, VW's Brazil factories were making 300,000 flex-fuel vehicles annually. Other companies have since jumped into Brazil's flex-fuel fray, including Nissan and Honda.

Tanner Foust and Scott Speed get VW internships

Tanner Foust and Scott Speed both already have quite impressive motorsport resumes. The former is a rallycross and drifting champ, and the latter counts two years in Formula One with Toro Rosso among his accomplishments. Still, it's never too late for a career change. In a humorous new ad for Volkswagen, the professional racers take on the duties of summer interns at a dealership. The commercial is timed with the kickoff of the 2015 Global Rallycross Championship season in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on May 30 and 31. Speed and Foust are both racing in Beetle GRCs for the Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross team. This year's Bug is even more potent than last year, though. It now packs a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine to produce 553 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque, versus the previous 1.6-liter turbo four with to 544 hp and 387 lb-ft. The racer can reportedly hit 60 miles per hour in just two seconds thanks in part to low gearing and all-wheel drive. One of the Andretti team Beetles might look a little different, too. Foust is sticking with his Rockstar Energy Drink sponsorship, but Speed gets an animalistic livery for Shark Week to celebrate the annual event from the Discovery Channel. Check out both of the cars in the gallery below or the ad in the video above. SCOTT SPEED TO RACE SHARK WEEK THEMED BEETLE GRC IN RED BULL GLOBAL RALLYCROSS SEASON OPENER Scott Speed and Tanner Foust will contest the Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship in Beetle GRCs, starting this weekend in Fort Lauderdale Herndon, VA — The Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross team begins its second full season of racing this weekend in Ft. Lauderdale. The team will again be battling with two Beetle GRC race cars, which debuted in the closing races of 2014. As Volkswagen enters its fourth consecutive year as a presenting sponsor of Discovery Channel's SHARK WEEK, Scott Speed will concurrently begin the Red Bull Global Rallycross season behind the wheel of the No. 41 SHARK WEEK Volkswagen Beetle GRC, wrapped for SHARK WEEK, which begins on July 5th. "My father raced with No. 41 in karts when I was younger so it's pretty special to me," said Speed. "I have only had the option to choose the No. 41 twice in my career and was able to win championships each time. Hopefully it continues to bring me luck in 2015!" New this year, the team has chosen to change the engine specification from the Beetle GRC race cars that ran in 2014.

Volkswagen Group, BMW Z4 top Total Value Awards by Strategic Vision

It was just nine months ago that Strategic Vision announced its 2011 Total Value Awards, but you don't have to wait until next year for the 2012 awards. The Volkswagen Group keeps its lead as the number one brand, with seven products taking top category spots: Golf, Jetta Wagon, CC, Eos and Audi A3 Wagon, Q5 and Q7. Strategic Vision says "true innovation" - "rich and impactful, intuitive, motivational, in-depth and is able to trigger description by the user in great specificity" - is the open secret of the brands with the strongest showings. Results are culled from 77,153 owners covering more than 350 new cars bought between September of 2011 and 2012 ranked in the Total Value Index (TVI).
Other notable winners are Hyundai-Kia following VW in the brand category and having the Hyundai Elantra and Kia Sorento among category winners, the BMW Z4 taking the premium roadster category and the highest overall score of any vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt continuing to gather silverware in the Special Category, nabbing the second-highest score of all and representative of "nearly perfect innovation," and Chrysler and Dodge being most improved.
Check out the press release below for your day's dose of jargon and all the winners.