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Hyundai tops VW and Buick in China, survey says

You may be aware of the long-time competition in China between Volkswagen and Buick, but another brand apparently should be in that conversation too: Hyundai. In a recently published annual consumer survey, the Korean company actually took the top spot to beat out its German and American rivals in second and third, respectively. The results were part of the China Brand Power Index that interviewed 11,500 people around the nation and was paid for by the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. While Hyundai proved popular with voters, its sales haven't necessarily shown that yet. According to Bloomberg, the brand had falling numbers in China for the first quarter of the year. Even Ford outsold the South Korean automaker in the same period, despite scoring lower on the survey. Meanwhile, Audi ranked as the populace's favorite luxury brand, which is hardly a surprise given the Four Rings' strong sales in China. In January alone the automaker saw a 15-percent boost in volume there. Parent company VW's strong performance was somewhat more surprising, though. State media severely criticized the German automaker in March, and customers protested last year for the allegedly poor handling of a recall.

XCAR shows how Audi engineers let loose with A1 Quattro

In its ultimate mortal guise, the Audi A1 Black Edition - the littlelest little guy Audi makes - costs 22,340 pounds ($33,705 US) in the UK and comes with a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder that outputs, at most, 182 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. The Audi A1 Quattro - still employing the body of the littlelest little guy Audi makes - costs more than 41,020 pounds ($61,888 US) gets a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder from the Audi TTS with 252 hp and 258 lb-ft. And quattro. And 17-inch, center-locking, white wheels.
The crew at XCAR gets the A1 Quattro on video, to both question how the A1 Quattro happened and then to praise it even if they never found the answer. The hosannas come too late for anyone in the UK who was waffling about buying one, however, since all 19 meant for the 'sceptered isle are sold out. You can see what we missed out on in the video below.

2013 Audi S3

Coming Soon To Our Shores With Two More Doors And A Trunk
The Audi S3 is not exactly a sales juggernaut, despite it being a bit of a legend for passionate fans of the small German premium genre. In most markets outside of Europe, people may consider such setups as the S3 three-door tested here, look at the price, and then think maybe they should just get a nice A4 sedan with greater practicality for similar cash. That certainly has been one reason Audi has never officially brought the S3 hatchback to the United States. And the 335-horsepower RS3 Sportback? Forget about it nearly everywhere but in Germanic regions, Switzerland and the UK.
All of which automatically turns the new S3 hatchback into an unattainable object of desire for many fans of the four-ringed brand. The good news, of course, for many markets not on the three-door or S3's dance card is that most of us will get a shot at buying the new S3 sedan that will be powered by the same drivetrain tested here. We reported heavily on the sedan version from the recent New York Auto Show and are convinced that there is much for North American shoppers to like.