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Audi says fixing diesel emission problem is simple

Audi reportedly has a simple repair nearly ready to fix the emissions problem on 85,000 vehicles with the 3.0-liter TDI V6 in the US. "Swift, straightforward and customer-friendly solutions are in discussion," company exec Rupert Stadler told workers in Germany, according to Reuters. In late November, Audi announced that the 3.0 TDI had three previously undisclosed auxiliary emission control devices, including one that was potentially considered a defeat device under US law. At the time, the German automaker claimed it could repair the problem with just a software update. Stadler's statement indicates that just such a simple fix might be on the way. Even before Audi's disclosure of the emission control devices, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a notice of violation against the 3.0-liter TDI for allegedly having software to defeat emissions tests, and the agency later expanded the scope to any vehicle with the engine from 2009 through 2016. The affected models include the Audi A6, A7, A8, Q5, Q7, Volkswagen Touareg, and Porsche Cayenne. New diesel versions of these vehicles have a stop-sale. Audi offered owners of affected vehicles the same $1,000 Goodwill Package that parent company VW offered to its affected diesel owners. The money is split up into a $500 gift card and $500 to spend at the Audi dealer. The package also comes with extended roadside assistance. Audi needs to find a solution quickly because it's under a 45-day deadline from the California Air Resources Board to submit a recall plan for the 15,000 vehicles with the 3.0 TDI in the state. The automaker also must include a report on any effects to fuel economy and performance from the proposed repair. Related Video:

For Audi, Quattro name means something for hydrogen cars, too

Forget Dueling Banjos. Audi is proposing "Dueling Motors" for its Audi A7 Sportback H-Tron Quattro concept vehicle. All in the name of appropriate pickup, of course. The German automaker, which showed off the concept sedan at the Los Angeles Auto Show last month, is pairing a plug-in electric motor with a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain. Each motor powers two wheels, maintaining the Quattro's all-wheel-drive pedigree. The car's 8.8-kWh lithium-ion battery can drive the car as far as 31 miles on battery-power alone. After that, the water-vapor-spewing fuel-cell engine kicks in. Audi executive Ulrich Hackenberg told Automotive News Europe that the unusual set-up is necessary because the hydrogen fuel cell powertrain alone would only power two wheels while providing an insufficient 136 horsepower. Not exactly sport-sedan material, especially for a car that weighs about 4,300 pounds, even if it is a zero-emission ride. Combined, the two engines give the sedan 231 horsepower as well as a combined single-charge/full-tank range of almost 350 miles. What it all means is that the A7 can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than eight seconds and has a top speed of about 112 miles per hour, and can still dash through the snow.

Audi Airomorph is a sleek shape-shifting senior thesis

Eric Kim just graduated from the from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, at the end of the spring 2014 semester, and for his senior thesis project he came up with this futuristic Audi endurance racer called the Airomorph. He even got some input Audi designer Kris Vancoppenolle.
The Airomorph imagines a future Audi racer for Le Mans that features adjusting fabric panels to fine-tune the car's aerodynamics as it laps the course - a technology inspired by catamaran racing. "I started from scratch and had the freedom to deliver and execute a white space design for the future," said Kim to Autoblog via email. It's also somewhat similar to the idea behind BMW Gina concept, although Kim says that wasn't an inspiration for his design. The body here is made from a single piece of a silver, expansion-resistant material stretched over a frame underneath. The fabric anchors at the wheels, front and rear section with movable cables, and hydraulic actuators pull the wires to shift the aero as needed.
The actual shape echoes Audi endurance racers from the past and present. In profile, you can easily see the current R18 with its arcing cockpit and fin down the rear. Of course, that's interpreted through a little bit of Blade Runner with the covered wheels sticking out from the body. The front shows the rectangular shapes from the earlier R15. There doesn't appear to be any way to actually see out of the vehicle, though.