2012 Audi Q5 Premium Plus Sport Utility 4-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

European RS6 Avant ad features diesel-hybrid R18 racecar

We'd be just as happy to casually walk back to an RS6 Avant as anybody, but Audi's commercial for its fastest ass-hauling wagon takes casual to another level. The RS6 isn't even seen until more than two-thirds of the way through the 46-second German commercial, but Audi seduces us long before that with the R18 E-tron Quattro diesel-hybrid endurance racer juxtaposed into scenes of everyday life. Since when can you be picked up at the airport or drive peacefully to a riverbed in a racecar?
The German automaker cashed in on childhood dreams its nearly flawless endurance-racing pedigree big time for the advertisement - and it works, even though we realize the RS6 drinks gasoline and isn't a hybrid. It does have Quattro four-wheel drive, however. But the commercial makes us want the beautifully pragmatic long-roof with 550 horsepower all the more, especially since Audi currently has no plans to bring it to the US. Please say it ain't so!
Even if the US doesn't get an RS6 Avant, we're happy to indulge in commercials like this. Be sure to watch it below.

Honda China struggling with high-end Accord because Chinese covet German cars, too

It's not particularly unusual to see cheap cars in China, or those with designs stolen from foreign competitors, but increasingly the best-selling vehicles there would be very recognizable to just about any auto enthusiast. There appears to be one fact of life whether looking at car buyers in Sacramento, Stuttgart or Shanghai: People who can afford to buy premium cars often look first at the Germans.
Honda recently thought that it could challenge this perceived wisdom by including a premium Accord in the ninth-generation sedan's Chinese launch last year. The market-exclusive version was priced against the Audi A4. The venture failed, miserably.
According to Automotive News China, sales for the new Accord in China are down 37 percent through May of this year. Honda's overall sales are actually up by about 11 percent there on the strength of smaller, less profitable models. However, the company is still off its forecast 19-percent rise.

Audi exec suspended over diesel scandal

So far, just one lower-level employee has plead guilty in the ongoing VW diesel scandal. Up high, the VW CEO when the scandal broke, Martin Winterkorn, resigned right after the news came out. Other executives have also quit or been suspended as well. Today, we learn that one more executive is feeling the heat a year into the scandal. Stefan Knirsch, the head of technical development at Audi and Audi board member, is going to be suspended from his position this week because of his ties to the technology that VW Group used to cheat emissions tests. The German newspaper Bild Am Sonntag reports that Knirsch not only knew that the cheating software existed but also lied about it under oath. Knirsch previously worked at Porsche and then Audi's electrification division. He left Audi's EV efforts behind in early 2015. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo Government/Legal Green Audi Volkswagen Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal audi diesel diesel scandal