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Delphi thrilled with results from autonomous car's cross-country trip

In the first trip across the United States ever made by an autonomous car, engineers from Delphi Automotive were surprised to learn that, in some cases, their vehicle behaved a lot like a human driver. "The car was scared of tractor trailers," said Jeff Owens, the company's chief technology officer. "The car edged to the left just a little bit when it would pass trucks, and that was an interesting observation." Engineers made hundreds of notes throughout the drive, as the autonomous car covered 3,400 miles through 15 states en route to a showcase near the New York Auto Show. Overall, company officials said the car performed better than anticipated in a variety of road and weather conditions. In the course of the cross-country drive, drivers actually controlled the car only for about 50 miles, and those cases were limited to on-and-off ramps and the occasional construction zone where lanes were not marked or only sporadically marked. The purpose of the trip was to glean information on how the autonomous car worked in a real-world environment. Google and others have tested autonomous cars and autonomous features in select real-world environments before, but Delphi's adventure was the first to trek into a test with such varied challenges over a nine-day trip that began near the Golden Gate Bridge on March 22. There are some things the engineers have already learned, like the fact the camera systems had the occasional blip when the sun-angle was low. And there are some things to still be learned, as they pour over three terrabytes worth of data from cameras, radar and lidar sensors in the weeks ahead. "It's going to take us a couple weeks to digest all this," Owens said. "But we had all the data from tests. It was time to put this on the road." Built into an Audi SQ5, the vehicle was striking, if only for the fact it looked like a normal car. Many other autonomous vehicles have quirky sensors atop the roof or other features that make them stand out as experiments. Delphi arranged this one to look as much like a normal car as possible, right down to stowing an army of computers under cargo mats, so the rear contained as much trunk space as the production model. If a fellow motorist didn't know where to look -- or take the time to notice the person in the driver's seat didn't have their hands on the wheel -- there was no reason to suspect this was anything other than a regular car.

2017 Audi S4 goes running naked through the Alps

Audi just launched its new A4 sedan barely more than two months ago, bringing with it a raft of improvements over the outgoing model. And you know what that means: A new S4 performance model is just around the corner. Fortunately, that's just what we have here in these latest spy shots, snapped completely undisguised. Spotted testing in the Alps, the new Audi S4 is closely based on the new A4 we've already seen, benefiting from all its enhancements and weight savings. Only it promises to be more potent. Where previous S4s packed V8 engines and the current (outgoing) model pressed a supercharged V6 into service, this new model is tipped to switch to a fresh turbocharged V6. Expect power to rise from 329 horsepower up to 340 or more, and with less weight to motivate, we can expect performance to improve markedly in the process. Along with a more powerful engine, the S4 clearly stands out visually from ordinary A4s with bigger intakes, upgraded rolling stock, quadruple exhausts, and more. We'll have to wait a little longer to find out all the sordid details, but from the look of it, we won't have to wait long. In fact, we'd be surprised if Ingolstadt didn't take the opportunity to unveil it at the Frankfurt Motor Show this month, so watch this space for more and scope out the photos in the gallery above in the meantime.

Audi has new Q5 and Q2 crossovers coming this year

Update: Audi has released a teaser video for the Q2 crossover ahead of its debut in Geneva. That video is above. The original post from December continues below. Before the new year is done, Audi will introduce two new crossovers. The announcement comes as part of a planned ˆ3 billion investment plan for 2016, and will include a new Q5 as well as the addition of a new Q2 model into the range. That's pretty ambitious considering the company hadn't produced its first SUV until ten years ago. The replacement for the Q5 should be fairly straightforward, replacing a model that already exists. The current Q5 was launched in 2008 and underwent a refresh in 2012. Expect the new model to offer similar dimensions and specifications, but with improvements to help it fend off the likes of the Mercedes GLC, BMW X3, and the Porsche Macan which shares its MLB underpinnings. The arrival of the Q2, however, promises to take Audi's crossover range further downmarket. With the existing Q3 already taking on Mercedes GLA and BMW X1, the Q2 could go a size smaller to rival the next Mini Countryman. Whatever form it takes, we'll find out within the year, according to Audi. Beyond next year, Audi says it will build its first volume electric vehicle in 2018. The vehicle will take the form of a battery-powered crossover, previewed by the E-Tron Quattro concept (pictured) at the Frankfurt Motor Show this past September. With these and other additions, Audi aims to expand its range to 60 models by 2020. Audi launched into the crossover market with the debut of the original Q7 in 2005. It has since expanded its high-riding lineup with the arrival of the Q5 in 2008 and the smaller Q3 (in overseas markets at least) in 2011. The Q2 is one of several new crossovers said to be in the works at Ingolstadt, including a potential slant-back crossover coupe to be dubbed Q6 and a Q4 to put the TT Offroad concept into production. Audi Group invests in the future - Capital expenditure of more than ˆ 3 billion in 2016 - Audi CEO Rupert Stadler: "Continuing with high levels of investment in future technologies to enhance strong position" - Axel Strotbek, Board of Management Member for Finance and Organization: "Gaining financial scope through further cost optimization" - Audi Board of Management Member for Human Resources Thomas Sigi: "Looking for experts in areas important for the future" Audi will lay the foundations for future growth in 2016.