2002 Audi A4 Quattro 1.8t Clear Florida Title 4 Cylinder Automatic Tiptronic on 2040-cars

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J.D. Power customer survey of dealers counts Cadillac, Buick as big winners

Cadillac and Buick have taken the trophies in J.D. Power's latest Customer Service Index Study examining satisfaction with dealer service. Surveying more than 90,000 owners and lessees of 2009-2013 model-year cars, the study found that those with pre-paid maintenance packages were ten percent more likely to buy their next car from the same brand.
Dealer satisfaction scores have improved overall, Cadillac nabbed the luxury segment ahead of Audi and Lexus, taking the crown that Lexus held last year. Buick keeps the mass-market dealer satisfaction win in the family, finishing ahead of Volkswagen and last year's winner GMC. The study also found that service department use of tablets increased customer satisfaction, as did "best practices" like "providing helpful advice." Who knew?
You can find details on those and more findings in the press release below.

Audi updates the RS3 hatch to sedan specs, but we still aren't getting it

As great as the upcoming Audi RS3 sedan looks and sounds, we're still a bit jealous of the Europeans and others who get the five-door Sportback version. And now even more so, because for 2018 the RS3 Sportback is being updated to match the specs of the RS3 sedan that debuted last fall at the Paris Motor Show. We'll see the revised extra-hot hatch next month in Geneva. Even though we haven't had a chance to get behind the wheel of either model, the raw numbers alone get us excited. An updated Quattro all-wheel-drive system, a 400-horsepower turbocharged inline five-cylinder engine (up from 362), and a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission will send the 2018 RS3 hatch from 0 to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds. That puts it in Porsche 911 and Chevrolet Corvette territory. Other improvements include a wider track to fit wider rubber, a lowered and stiffened suspension, and a larger set of brakes. Carbon-ceramic front rotors will again be available, like they are on the sedan. Inside, the RS3 comes with a boost pressure indicator, an oil thermometer, and a lap timer. Audi's Virtual Cockpit fully digital instrument panel is available as an option, and one we highly recommend. Aside from all of the performance and tech upgrades, the RS3 has a number of changes to the interior and exterior design. Black Nappa leather sport seats are standard, with special contoured RS sport seats available as an option. Lighting elements have been updated to match those of the restyled A3 and S3, the front fascia has been sharpened, with larger intakes on the bottom corners of the bumpers, a slightly more aggressive front splitter, and the Quattro logo emblazoned on the bottom of the grill. Out back, the car gets two large exhaust tips compared to the S3's four outlets. The overall design is typical Audi: handsome, but conservative. The RS3 sedan goes on sale in Europe in April with the Sportback following soon after. We'll have to make do with the sedan version, which is expected to arrive here next year. The only Sportback model Audi offers here from the A3 family is the plug-in e-tron model, and we don't expect that to change any time soon. But we can dream. Related Video:

Audi prepping a flex-fuel A3 for Latin America

Volkswagen's Audi division hasn't fared well from its parent company's diesel-emissions scandal, especially in the US and Europe. In South America, though, Audi is set to unveil its first vehicle of the flex-fuel variety, according to Nseavoice. Perhaps the German automaker can earn some good karma down in the Southern Hemisphere. The model is the 2016 Audi A3, which is made in Audi's Brazil factory. The engine is a 1.4-liter variety, and it will be able to run on either conventional gasoline or ethanol, or a blend of both. The decision makes sense because ethanol is plentiful in Brazil since the government has long pushed for it and there's plenty of sugar-cane feedstock to produce the stuff. Audi can use all of the positive news it can get, especially in the wake of VW's diesel-emissions scandal. As many as 11 million VW and Audi diesels may have been fitted with software that cheats emissions-testing systems. One result from the scandal's proverbial shrapnel is that the Audi A3 TDI diesel was stripped of its 2010 Green Car of the Year Award by Green Car Journal. The decision marks the first time in the award's history that a winner was stripped of the honor. VW has a long history offering flex-fuel vehicles in Brazil. In 2003, the German automaker was the first to debut a flex-fuel engine, and within two years, VW's Brazil factories were making 300,000 flex-fuel vehicles annually. Other companies have since jumped into Brazil's flex-fuel fray, including Nissan and Honda.