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Audi RS4 Avant Nogaro Selection puts a fresh face on old memories

I've been fortunate enough to drive plenty of memorable cars over the years, and one of my all-time favorites is the Audi RS4 sedan. It was only sold in the United States for a short time, but during that quick run, it made a huge impression on me. I remember everything about that car - the smell, the sound, the exact feeling of the manual shifter as it clicked between the six gears, and the texture of the steering wheel that I so happily tossed about. In fact, whenever I'm feeling nostalgic, I go back and watch this video of the late David E. Davis, Jr., running the California Mille roads in a Sprint Blue RS4 - a video we shot for Winding Road many years ago during my tenure as an editor there.
So even though the Audi RS4 Avant Nogaro that debuts here in Geneva isn't super important, especially for our American-centric audience, I feel compelled to write about it. No, we don't get the lovely RS4 in the States anymore, but the package offered in Europe is just as sweet as ever - perhaps even more so, what with that stylish longroof shape. Under the hood is Audi's excellent, naturally aspirated 4.2-liter V8 engine, tuned to deliver 450 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque, allowing for a 0-62 sprint of 4.7 seconds.
The Nogaro name refers to the special blue paint - a throwback to the original Audi RS2 Avant that kicked off the company's super sweet luxury offerings. Other unique features for the Nogaro car include gloss black exhaust outlets, window frames and grille surround, as well as matte black roof rails. Special 20-inch wheels round off the exterior enhancements, and inside, Nogaro Blue Alcantara accents can be had on the door panels and seat inners.

It's a good time to get a great deal on a new sports car

Anyone who regularly follows our reporting on the biggest discounts on new cars already knows that the largest sums of money are generally lopped off the sticker prices of the priciest vehicles. It just makes sense. The formula holds true in April, with the 2020 Audi R8 leading the way. It's important to note that the Audi R8 comes in both coupe and convertible flavors and, despite coming standard with a V10 engine, multiple power levels. On average, customers are paying $18,551 less than the R8's $191,136 sticker price. That's nearly 10% off, with the average out-the-door price hovering at $172,585. Up next is the 2020 BMW M8, a vehicle we've grown used to seeing on this list. It's sold in hardtop, convertible and four-door Gran Coupe body styles, and when you average out all of its transactions, buyers are scoring discounts of $16,930 with an average transaction price of $139,891. That's 10.8% off the German car's sticker price. Another familiar face is in third place this month. The 2020 Acura NSX often leads the biggest-discounts list, and even though it's fallen a bit behind in the savings race, we doubt buyers who see $16,675 cut off the sticker are complaining. With an average transaction price of $143,013, that discount equals a savings of 10.4%. 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. Related video:

VW CEO lost his job over buggy software that delayed new models

It says a lot about the state of the auto industry and where it's going that software problems have cost the CEO of a carmaker his job. Volkswagen ousted Herbert Diess as chief executive officer after severe software-development delays set back the scheduled launch of new Porsches, Audis and Bentleys. This was untenable considering buggy software postponed the debut of VW’s initial rollout of ID models, and customers are still having to drop off their cars at the dealer for updates the company has struggled to make over the air. Sure, Diess also didnÂ’t do enough to make allies and became increasingly isolated due to his hard-nosed leadership style. In his push to transform the company into an electric-vehicle leader, he repeatedly clashed with labor leaders by warning VW was losing out to Tesla and needed to cut thousands of jobs. But failures at the carmakerÂ’s software unit Cariad ultimately eroded DiessÂ’s support from the powerful Porsche and Piech family that calls the shots. Back in December, VW overhauled its management board, stripping Diess of some responsibilities while tasking him to turn around Cariad. While thereÂ’s been a lot of re-arranging since then, Diess didnÂ’t manage to make the issues go away. Discord at Cariad has pushed back the rollout of important new models including the electric Porsche Macan, a high-volume sport utility vehicle for the division thatÂ’s planning an initial public offering in the fourth quarter. AudiÂ’s new line of Artemis EVs has been delayed by around two years to 2027. And VWÂ’s ultra-luxury brand Bentley may not be able to go all-electric by the end of this decade as planned because of the software issues, Automobilwoche reported earlier this month. “Taking over the ship at Cariad seems to have been DiessÂ’s downfall,” said Matthias Schmidt, an independent auto analyst based in Berlin. VWÂ’s solutions to challenges tend to reflect its status as an industrial behemoth: itÂ’s able to throw lots of money and people at its problems. But modernizing the company for the digital age is going to take bringing in talent and building skillsets outside its traditional zones of expertise. Drivers increasingly demand intuitive user interfaces and services that could create new revenue streams, if done correctly. “Software is the key to the future,” TeslaÂ’s Elon Musk tweeted when one of his followers asked about VW switching CEOs. Diess certainly didnÂ’t lack ambition.