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Audi will offer A3 TDI owners same goodwill package

Audi will offer a Goodwill Package, similar to the one Volkswagen has offered owners, for the German brand's emissions-cheating diesel four-cylinder engine. Participating customers will receive a $500 prepaid Visa, a $500 gift card for Audi dealers, and three years of 24-hour roadside assistance. "We are offering this Audi A3 TDI Goodwill Package as a sincere token of our appreciation for your patience," the company wrote on its customer website. This offer will only extend to the A3 TDI. A second EPA violation covers an estimated 85,000 vehicles in the US with VW's Group's 3.0-liter TDI V6 like the 2016 A6, A7, A8 and Q5, and the models are also under a stop sale. However, these owners aren't eligible for the Goodwill Package at this time. "Audi is currently investigating the allegations" against the six-cylinder engines, according to the explanation on the site's FAQ. Owners need to register their VIN on the company's website to apply for the Goodwill Package. They'll receive the items in the mail around four weeks later, but will then need to take the affected vehicle and the package to the dealer to activate the cards. Like the VW program, people have until April 30, 2016, to apply for the offer. VW Group of America CEO Michael Horn said last week around 120,000 people already registered for the brand's Goodwill Package. Related Video:

2015 Rolex 24 at Daytona pre-race notes

Reigning Indy 500 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay summarized our feelings on every year's Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona when he said, "The 24 kind of kicks off the year and has become part of my calendar... It definitely helps you get in race shape after a long layoff." Speaking of IndyCar drivers, 14 of the 33 pilots who started last year's Indy 500 are driving in Daytona this year, and an IndyCar driver has been part of the overall winning team for the last four years. The race starts at 2:10 pm Eastern Standard Time, here's where you can watch it: 2-4 pm: Fox Sports Network 4-8 pm: Fox Sports 2 8-10 pm: Fox Sports 1 10 pm-7 am: IMSA TV on IMSA.com - commentary available here for the full 24 hours 7 am – 2:30 pm (Sunday) – Fox Sports 1 Timing and Scoring Andy Blackmore's typically awesome Spotter's Guide Video primer on the four classes: Prototype (16 in this year's race), Prototype Challenge (8), GT Le Mans (10), GTD (19), and how to identify them. Daytona International Speedway: tri-oval with an infield road course, 3.56 miles long, 12 turns Entry list Qualifying results We've tagged along with Audi for the 53rd running of the race, which marks the first event in the Tudor United SportsCar Car Championship. After a difficult first year of teething – IMSA president and COO Scott Atherton said, "Everybody on our staff and everybody that raced with us last year would tell you it was the most challenging season on record" – some things are smoother this year, some things aren't, starting with the field: 53 cars are expected to line up, 14 fewer than last year, the smallest field since 48 cars lined up in 2011. The Prototype class shed three teams from 2014 and the GT Daytona class lost ten, so there's a 19-car field in that class (nine Porsche 911 GT Americas, three Ferrari 458 Italias, two each of the Aston-Martin V12 Vantage, Dodge Viper SRT, Audi R8 LMS, and one BMW Z4). Truth be told, last year's number was probably inflated by having the previous American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Championship combined to make the USCC; the field in 2013 was 57 cars, in 2012 it was 59 cars. Another factor in this year's race is that the GT class adopts FIA GT3 rules from next year. Brad Kettler, manager of Audi's customer motorsport program, said they'd sold five R8 LMS cars last year but zero for this year – there are undoubtedly teams waiting on the sidelines for the rules unification before spending the money.

VW makes $23K on every Porsche sold, more than Bentley or Lamborghini

It's a good time to be in the luxury car business. In Volkswagen Group's financial report for the 2013 fiscal year, it is revealed that that Porsche enjoyed an operating margin of 18 percent. That means the Stuttgart brand made on average about $23,200 per car sold, according to BusinessWeek. Bentley wasn't far behind, and Audi (which was combined with Lamborghini) posted a 10.1 percent margin. This compares to only around 2.9 percent for the Volkswagen brand.
"Luxury brands are on fire," said Dave Sullivan, an industry analyst at AutoPacific. He said that the average profit margin is between six and eight percent. Brands like Porsche and Bentley have the benefit of competing in rarefied markets. Buyers looking at one their vehicles have fewer models to shop against and don't care as much about price. They can also charge more for options, which further boosts income, according to BusinessWeek.
In a way, we should be more impressed by the continued success from Audi. Its models generally have direct competitors in every segment from the other premium automakers. Plus, their buyers aren't the captains of industry who are shopping for a Bentley. Still, the Four Rings is leading rivals in sales so far this year.