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Autoblog Podcast #344

Doug DeMuro from Plays With Cars, Infiniti Q50, Subaru BRZ STI, Porsche Macan
Episode #344 of the Autoblog podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth and Executive Editor Chris Paukert are joined by Doug DeMuro, author of Plays With Cars and prolific internet autowriting presence. Topics include the latest spy shots of the Porsche Macan, the 2014 Infiniti Q50, and the teaser images we've recently seen of a Subaru BRZ wearing STI badges. As always, we start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions. For those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. You can follow along after the jump with our Q&A. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #344:

Audi and Porsche squabble over future product platforms

In the buildup to the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, Audi delivered an amusing video that worked on the playful rivalry between the German brand and its favorite frenemy, Porsche. We called it sibling rivalry, and at the time, it may have been just that. But just like sibling rivalries, it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, and that's just what seems to be about to happen in the formerly peaceful Volkswagen Group family.
A new report from Automobile calls out the growing animosity between Porsche, who is backed up by Bentley, and Audi, whose primary ally is Lamborghini. No blows have actually been thrown, although there is a fair amount of "he said, she said" going on.
As Porsche tells it, for example, the new global fullsize SUV architecture being developed by Audi isn't up to snuff, citing size and structure issues, as well as an inability to accommodate a wide variety of engines.

Jaguar I-Pace named World Car of the Year

NEW YORK — The Jaguar I-Pace has been named World Car of the Year, an award meant to honor the most significant new car introduction and conferred by an international jury of automotive journalist judges. The group announced the winners of additional awards at the New York Auto Show, with the Audi A7 named World Luxury Car of the Year, the McLaren 720S recognized as World Performance Car of the Year, and the Suzuki Jimny named World Urban Car. The I-Pace additionally took home two other awards: World Car Design of the Year and World Green Car of the Year. The WCOTY team of 86 jurors hail from 24 countries, and the organization is independent and not tied to any publication. This is the 15th year for the awards. For this year's World Car of the Year award the top three finalists were the I-Pace, the Audi E-Tron, and the Volvo S60/V60. Previous WCOTY winners were the Volvo XC60 in 2018 and the Jaguar F-Pace in 2017. View 74 Photos