2003 Audi A4 Cabriolet Convertible 2-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mercedes could make EV batteries with Audi, BMW

It's not a big leap from digital maps to batteries, it turns out.The head of Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler said recently that he envisions his company working together with German automotive competitors BMW and Volkswagen to further accelerate electric-vehicle battery technology. The three automakers recently worked together to enhance their in-car maps systems. Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche talked about "commonalities" between automakers, not the least of which is the need for all of them to achieve increasingly stringent fuel-economy requirements in the European Union, at the Frankfurt Auto Show last week, according to Reuters. While these companies have made their own inroads as far as plug-in vehicles go, they are all behind the Renault-Nissan Alliance when it comes to public deployment of electric vehicles. This summer, Daimler, Audi and BMW hooked up to acquire the Nokia Here digital-mapping service for about $2.8 billion. The triad of automakers beat out companies such as Apple and Uber to buy the entity, which was founded in 1986 as Navteq. Nokia bought the company in 2007. The acquisition makes sense as the automakers work on improving their products with features like cloud-based data to warn drivers of icy roads and traffic jams. The technology will likely also eventually be used in autonomous vehicles. Automakers working together for a common goal of improved technology is nothing new, of course. General Motors and Honda agreed in 2013 to work together to accelerate hydrogen fuel-cell drivetrain development. Earlier that same year, Daimler said it would work with Ford and Nissan in a separate collaboration to speed up the development of hydrogen fuel-cell technology. Related Video:

Watch two Audi RS4 Avants play Death Race with paintball

Nothing to see here, folks, except a 2013 Audi RS4 Avant weaponized with a high-caliber paintball canon. No, make that two of them, one black and one white, playing paintball in an abandoned aircraft hangar. At this point, there's probably not more to add than "Watch the video below" while we get on the horn to find out how to get this as a factory option. And the wagon itself, since that's not coming here, either...
But what's cooler than two high-powered Audi wagons with paintball guns and push-button firing in a video set to cheesy music from a bad eighties rip-off of Top Gun? One car can dump paint out of spigots under the rear bumper, the other has paintball grenades. And now we've really said enough. So watch the video, and the two behind-the-scenes vids, below.

2014 Audi RS Q3 breaks out ahead of Geneva reveal

Ahead of its big reveal next month at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, Audi has released a handful of images and plenty of details for the all-new RS Q3. As the first-ever crossover from the marque with RS branding, this will be the fourth RS model to go on sale this year after the RS5 Cabriolet, RS6 Avant and the RS7, and while UK and Germany sales have been confirmed, there is no word as to whether we can expect this high-performance CUV to be available in the North America.
Sharing its 2.5-liter turbocharged and direct-injected five-cylinder engine with models like the TT RS and the RS3 Sportback, the 2014 Audi RS Q3 should deliver on performance, as it pumps out 310 horsepower and 309 pound-feet of torque (peak torque starting at just 1,500 rpm and running up through 5,200 rpm). This potent engine is paired to Audi's seven-speed S tronic transmission and Quattro all-wheel drive. Despite its small stature, the RS Q3 still tips the scales at just over 3,800 pounds. Even so, performance figures are still impressive with a limited top of 155 miles per hour and a stated 0-62 mph time of 5.5 seconds. The RS Q3 also gets a sport suspension that has been lowered by 25 millimeters, launch control and weight-saving front rotors with a wave-cut and cross-drilled design gripped by massive eight-piston calipers.
Looking almost identical to what we saw last year in concept form in China, the 2014 RS Q3 looks just as sporty as its spec sheet suggests that it is. Up front, the fascia gets massive air intakes with silver vertical accents and, like other recent RS models, the Quattro emblem is written across the lower air intake. The silver accent motif also continues on the grille surround, mirror caps, roof rails and rear diffuser trim, and the oval exhaust outlet is also an identifying feature of Audi's RS cars.