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Munich prosecutors arrest Audi employee in emissions probe

Munich prosecutors arrested an Audi employee on suspicion of fraud and false advertising in connection with the carmaker's emissions scandal, the first arrest in Germany related to Volkswagen's diesel scandal. The Audi employee was arrested on Monday, at the behest of Munich prosecutors, a spokeswoman for the Munich prosecutors office said on Friday. When asked if the arrest was at the request of US authorities, the spokeswoman said it was not. She did not give the name of the person. Munich prosecutors declined to comment on whether the arrested person is a current or former Audi employee. Audi and parent Volkswagen both declined to comment. On Thursday, the US Justice Department said it charged former manager Giovanni Pamio with directing Audi employees to design software to cheat US emissions tests in thousands of Audi diesel cars. Audi is a division of Volkswagen Group. The Munich prosecutor's office said the Audi employee was brought before a judge on Tuesday and was now being held in custody. The spokeswoman declined to discuss the possibility of the detained person being extradited to another country or comment on whether Munich prosecutors were in touch with US authorities. The German arrest was part of a wider probe into fraud and false advertising and is a consequence of "findings following searches," the spokeswoman said. In March, Munich prosecutors searched the offices of Jones Day, the lawfirm Volkswagen had hired to lead an internal investigation into its emissions scandal and Audi's headquarters. Volkswagen condemned the searches at the time, and never published the full findings of its internal investigation which was being conducted by Jones Day. The raids by Munich prosecutors in March sought to shed light on who was involved in the designing and using illicit software used in 80,000 VW, Audi and Porsche cars with bigger 3.0-liter engines. No members of the Audi management board are being personally investigated as part of that probe, the spokeswoman said on Friday. In the criminal complaint released by US authorities on Thursday, US prosecutors charged that Pamio ignored or suppressed warnings by certain Audi engineers that the pollution control systems being used on the brand's diesel engines violated US clean air rules. US prosecutors said Pamio had ordered subordinates to send false information to American regulators stating that Audi's "clean diesels" did not use technology designed to cheat federal pollution tests.

Audi looks at the future of transportation for Ender's Game film

The forthcoming science-fiction movie Ender's Game, starring Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley, takes place in a high-tech world. So if movie-watchers are to be fully immersed in the story, every detail counts. That's why the computer-generated special-effects company assigned to the movie, Digital Domain, enlisted the help of Audi to design a future car that would fit seamlessly in the film's world - part of its $17.2-million investment in the movie.
Audi went all out, with Head of Audi Exterior Studio 1 Frank Rimili and designer Björn Wehrli assigned to the Audi Fleet Shuttle Quattro's design, which is so thorough and cohesive that we wouldn't be surprised to see cars like it on the road three-quarters of a century down the line. Rimili doubts that, but is "absolutely sure" Audi will still be around in 2088.
Watch the making-of video below to see all of the work that went into designing a car that will never see the light of day - in the real world, that is. If you're a fan of science fiction or the novel on which the movie is based, head on over to a theater to watch Ender's Game, which opens on Friday.

Audi RS3 and Volkswagen Golf R face off in Evo test

Typically when an automotive publication pits two rivals against each other, they come from different companies. After all, why would one automaker – even one parent company – develop two distinct models to compete against each other? Well, the Volkswagen Group isn't like most. It pits Porsches against Lamborghinis, Audis against Bentleys, Seats against Skodas... all under the same roof. In the high-powered hot hatch market, it offers both the VW Golf R and the Audi RS3. The question is, which is the better drive? Evo put them both on track for a quick bout of sibling rivalry to find out. On paper it would seem like an unfair fight. Sure, both are based on the same platform and channel their power to the tarmac through all four wheels. But the Audi's five-cylinder engine packs considerably more muscle than the Golf's four: 362 horsepower and 343 pound-feet of torque trump 296 hp and 280 lb-ft. There's just no way around that – at least until the Golf R 400 comes along. The Audi, as you might have guessed, also costs substantially more than the Volkswagen. But that's not Evo's concern here. This is a cost-no-object, bare-knuckle throw-down. Watch the ten-minute video above to find out if the cheaper, less powerful Golf R can keep pace with its more upscale and brawnier brother. Related Video: News Source: Evo via YouTube Audi Volkswagen Hatchback Performance Videos vw golf r evo