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Automakers paying Chinese dealers for lower-than-expected sales

The Chinese dealers vs. foreign manufacturers story won't quit. It began with a story on the struggles faced by FAW-Toyota joint venture dealers, with supposedly 95 percent of the showrooms losing money, and 10 percent of them doing so poorly that they'd have to exit the business. The problem is mandated sales targets, most set when the country's economy was racing. Now that things have slowed, China's dealers are swimming in unsold cars and the costs to keep them. In the case of FAW-Toyota, dealers asked Toyota to hand over 2.2 billion yuan ($355 million) to help address the situation. That was followed by a report noting the issues that Honda, BMW, and Nissan dealers are having with the same issue, revealing that the Chinese Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) had taken the highly unusual step of writing to the Chinese government to complain. Now Reuters reports that CADA is not only pressing its case even harder, it's being open about it: it announced that BMW agreed to pay dealers 5.1 billion yuan ($820 million) to alleviate poor profits last year. Unnamed sources said Audi has thrown 2 billion yuan into the kitty for subsidies, and Daimler has contributed "about 1 billion yuan" to its dealers. The battle isn't just about 2014, but how business will be run in 2015 as well: Chinese Porsche dealers have requested the automaker lower its 2015 target of 64,000 cars, which would be a 40-percent increase on its 2014 sales of 46,931 vehicles. One analyst called it "shocking" that the CADA has taken its fight public, while CADA comments continue to imply that dealers have been railroaded to the cliff's edge without recourse. "Due to the difference in status," it's deputy secretary said, "individual dealers are not willing to, or don't dare to, talk frankly with the carmakers...." Both parties need one another, so they'll figure out a way to make it work – but that could mean acknowledging the Chinese market is behaving more like a mature one, not an emerging one. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images Earnings/Financials Audi BMW Porsche Toyota Car Dealers Luxury

This Audi R8 V10 sounds great with a Capristo exhaust

No matter how rainy or grey your Monday morning is, it only takes a video of an Audi R8 V10 Plus with an aftermarket exhaust to brighten it up a little. This black 2016 example has been modified with an exhaust built by the German specialist Capristo, and the results are impressive. The piping makes the R8 crackle and scream in a wonderful way at a recent Gumball event, with cars lining up on the track tarmac to perform a few neat launches despite the drizzly weather. The Capristo exhaust takes advantage of the R8 V10's existing valve system in the stock exhaust setup, and improves upon that with programmable valve control offering different modes. By pressing buttons on the keyfob, the driver can go from "Cruise" mode to "Sports" or "Open", all differing in loudness. Stock the V10 plus produces 610 horsepower, and the Capristo setup is sure to throw in a few extra ones. Related Video: News Source: GumbalImage Credit: Capristo Exhaust Aftermarket Audi Supercars Videos

2013 Audi RS5 Cabriolet

The Audi RS5 is a bit of an odd duck in the brand's US lineup. At the moment it is one of only two RS models - the other being the TT RS - atop a pyramid of A and higher-performing S models. It is not, however, the brand's flagship performance model - not even close - that space being occupied by variants of the R8 supercar, specifically the V10 and GT models, and upcoming 560-horsepower RS7.
The RS5 does, however, owe its beating heart to those ten-cylinder R8s, its own 4.2-liter V8 almost identical to those engines save for two fewer cylinders. Outside of the R8, then, the RS5 is the lone bastion of naturally aspirated V8 power in a brand that once happily shoved 4.2-liter V8s under any hood that they would fit. Today, not even the giant Q7 SUV offers a V8. Lastly, the RS5 is not new, except to us, having been on sale in Europe in coupe form the last couple of years.
While Europeans were able to enjoy the hardtop two-door without us, the RS5 Cabriolet is reaching both peoples around the same time: now. We reviewed the RS5 coupe just recently, and having spent some time with the tin-top model myself as well, here is my take on the droptop version of what I consider one of Audi's most interesting models.