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Junkyard Gem: 1987 Audi 5000 S

U.S.-market Audi sales climbed steadily in the 1980s, and the third-generation Audi 5000 (known as the Audi 100 outside of the United States) was a big part of that success. Then, in 1986, "60 Minutes" aired the infamous "Out of Control" report about the 5000's alleged propensity to put itself into gear and crash into stuff at full throttle. U.S. Audi sales went into the crapper straight away, and they stayed there for years. Here's one of the '87s that did sell in the aftermath of the unintended acceleration debacle, spotted in a California wrecking yard. The 5000 was big, comfortable, futuristic-looking (sporting flush glass long before most of Audi's competitors), and lent an air of European sophistication to its American drivers. Sure, 5000s broke down frequently, but daily-driving cutting-edge technology comes at a price. Just 82,699 miles, and the interior is in excellent condition. Perhaps this car was driven sparingly and religiously maintained, or maybe something expensive broke 20 years ago and it sat in a garage until now. I am assuming that there was a heart in this sticker, not a skull-and-crossbones or other non-love-related symbol. Audi recalled all the automatic-equipped 5000s extant in the aftermath of the unintended acceleration drama, installing these stickers on the gearshift consoles. Sure, the problem was more likely to have been caused by drivers mixing up the pedals than by mechanical failure (unlike, for example, the all-too-real "park-to-reverse" defect in 23 million vehicles that Ford didn't have to fix, a few years earlier), but Audi's fixes may have saved some lives. Here's an Audi PR film about the issue, released about the time today's Junkyard Gem was rolling off the showroom floor. Audi dumped the 5000 name for the 1989 model year, calling these cars 100s and 200s. There's a lot of interesting automotive history in your local U-Wrench-It yard! Related Video:

Audi A3 Clubsport Quattro concept bringing its 525 horses to W?rthersee

It's almost late May, and you know what that means: the last of the snow has melted, the Stanley Cup playoffs are in full swing, the flowers are blooming, and the performance-car faithful are descending on Wörthersee in Austria for the annual GTI-Treffen.
Not only is the Wörthersee Tour (as the automaker calls it) a chance for enthusiasts to show off their rides, it's also a prime opportunity for the Volkswagen Group to show some of its most dedicated customers what it can do. Past meets have given us such notables as the Audi A1 Clubsport Quattro, Volkswagen GTI W12-650 and Skoda Fabia RS 2000 Roadster, to name just a few. And now Audi has emerged as the first VW Group brand to reveal what it has in store.
It's called the A3 Clubsport Quattro, and seems to offer a pretty clear indication of what we should expect of the next RS3. The concept is based on the S3 sedan, but swaps out its 2.0-liter turbo four for a retuned version of Audi's sweet 2.5-liter turbocharged inline-five, retuned to produce a massive 525 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque.

Ward's reveals annual 10 Best Engines list for 2013

Ward's Auto has released its annual 10 Best Engines award winners. The 2013 list covers the full width and breadth of the internal combustion spectrum, from a spate of efficient four-cylinders to the most powerful production V8 on the planet. As always, the entries must be available in a production vehicle in the first quarter of 2013 with an MSRP of less than $55,000. The supercharged 3.0-liter V6 from the Audi S5 held on for the fourth consecutive year, and BMW earned two spots on the list with its turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder and turbo 3.0-liter inline-six.
Ford pulled in two awards for its 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder and and the supercharged 5.8-liter V8 from the Shelby GT500. Honda matched BMW and Ford with two wins of its own. Wards awarded the 2.4-liter four-cylinder from the Honda Accord Sport as well as the 3.5-liter V6 from the Honda Accord. Chrysler, General Motors and Subaru each garnered a spot on the list as well for the 3.6-liter V6 in the Ram 1500, the turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the Cadillac ATS and the 2.0-liter four-cylinder the Subaru BRZ, respectively. You can read the full press release below for more information.