2003 Audi A4 Convertible Clean Pre-owned on 2040-cars

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After Le Mans exit, Audi adds World Rallycross to Formula E and DTM efforts

Back in October, Dieselgate claimed another victim: Audi's FIA World Endurance Championship program. Audi left at the height of its Le Mans racing prowess, having won 13 times overall in 18 years at the famous French race. We didn't expect Audi Sport to confine itself solely to the Formula E and Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series, and so today Audi announced that the company would officially back an existing FIA World Rallycross Championship (World RX) team, EKS, in 2017. EKS was formed by Mattias Ekstrom, who is also a factory Audi DTM driver with a couple of championships under his belt in that series. He's been competing in various rally and touring car series for years, and even snagged a ride in a NASCAR Sprint Cup race back in 2010 at Infineon Raceway. The EKS team came together in 2014, with Ekstrom fielding an Audi S1 EKS RX Quattro. And the team hasn't done too badly for itself; in 2016, it took the driver's and team championships. There's only so much Ekstrom's team as privateers can do to protect its championship from factory-backed teams, so that explains why Audi Sport was happy to step in with full support – including vehicle development supported by the actual motorsport department at Audi. Ekstrom will also continue on as a factory Audi DTM driver. Related Video: Motorsports Audi Racing Vehicles fia audi s1

Junkyard Gem: 1987 Audi 5000 S

U.S.-market Audi sales climbed steadily in the 1980s, and the third-generation Audi 5000 (known as the Audi 100 outside of the United States) was a big part of that success. Then, in 1986, "60 Minutes" aired the infamous "Out of Control" report about the 5000's alleged propensity to put itself into gear and crash into stuff at full throttle. U.S. Audi sales went into the crapper straight away, and they stayed there for years. Here's one of the '87s that did sell in the aftermath of the unintended acceleration debacle, spotted in a California wrecking yard. The 5000 was big, comfortable, futuristic-looking (sporting flush glass long before most of Audi's competitors), and lent an air of European sophistication to its American drivers. Sure, 5000s broke down frequently, but daily-driving cutting-edge technology comes at a price. Just 82,699 miles, and the interior is in excellent condition. Perhaps this car was driven sparingly and religiously maintained, or maybe something expensive broke 20 years ago and it sat in a garage until now. I am assuming that there was a heart in this sticker, not a skull-and-crossbones or other non-love-related symbol. Audi recalled all the automatic-equipped 5000s extant in the aftermath of the unintended acceleration drama, installing these stickers on the gearshift consoles. Sure, the problem was more likely to have been caused by drivers mixing up the pedals than by mechanical failure (unlike, for example, the all-too-real "park-to-reverse" defect in 23 million vehicles that Ford didn't have to fix, a few years earlier), but Audi's fixes may have saved some lives. Here's an Audi PR film about the issue, released about the time today's Junkyard Gem was rolling off the showroom floor. Audi dumped the 5000 name for the 1989 model year, calling these cars 100s and 200s. There's a lot of interesting automotive history in your local U-Wrench-It yard! Related Video:

Audi partners with AT&T for 4G LTE, will offer Mobile Share data plan

Audi has made a big splash at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, joining the Open Automotive Alliance with Google, Honda, Hyundai, General Motors and NVIDIA, debuting a next-generation cockpit that's destined for the third-generation Audi TT and promising to offer laser headlights in a production car. But much like Apple during the Steve Jobs days, it has "just one more thing."
The German luxury brand has announced that it will, like Chevrolet, be teaming with AT&T to offer 4G LTE connectivity in its vehicles. The first model to benefit will be the 2015 Audi A3.
"With the introduction of the new A3 family Audi is putting the most advanced technology into the compact luxury segment," said Scott Keogh, President, Audi of America in a press release. "Offering drivers a 4G LTE connection will provide the fastest in-vehicle connection available and significantly enhance the infotainment experience."