2003 Audi A6 Quattro Base Sedan 4-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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Genesis cars win accolades, offer value — so why are sales so bad?

My high-school buddy Brent Cormier was so smitten with the Genesis G80 when he saw it at an event I hosted at SXSW in 2016 he bought a used 2013 Hyundai Genesis a short time later and fell in love with the car. "It surpasses my every expectation," said Cormier, a self-described "renaissance man" who owns and runs a real estate agency with his wife Laura, is a food service executive chef and part owner of Austin-based Thin the Herd Guitars. "I was locked into Mercedes and Audi for 10 years," he added. "And felt trapped in an endless pit of maintenance costs." After owning the Genesis over the past two years — including using it as an Uber and Lyft driver to earn extra cash — Cormier learned what some frugal luxury sedan buyers and a handful of car reviewers have discovered: Genesis offers great bang for the buck compared to other premium brands and can compete with the best in terms of performance, features and comfort. Hyundai's luxury brand also earned a prominent third-party endorsement last week when for the first time Genesis topped J.D. Power's 2018 APEAL study, surpassing German luxury-performance icon Porsche. The APEAL study (which stands for Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout) "measures owners' emotional attachment and level of excitement across 77 attributes," ranging from performance to comfort, and asks nearly 68,000 owners of new 2018 models to score vehicles on a 1,000-point scale. In its second year ranked as a stand-alone brand, Genesis earned an APEAL score that bumped it up 15 points to 884 and helped push it past Porsche — and past BMW, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volvo, Cadillac, Land Rover and Lexus, in order of ranking. Last month, Genesis also topped J.D. Power's Initial Quality Survey (IQS) for the first time this year. And both its models were awarded Top Safety Pick Plus ratings by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, among 11 Plus ratings in all for Korean vehicles. Despite high J.D. Power rankings and great reviews, Genesis U.S. sales were off 50 percent for the first six months of 2018 compared to 2017, and in June Genesis sold only 796 vehicles — the first time U.S. numbers dropped below 1,000 in a month. Part of Genesis's APEAL and IQS success can be attributed to its small product lineup: just two models, the G80 and G90 sedans, with a third, the 2019 G70, launching later this year. And while those numbers may help in J.D.

Driving the Audi E-Tron and training like an F1 driver | Autoblog Podcast #597

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and Senior Producer Chris McGraw. First, they talk about what they love and don't love about living with the Polestar-tuned Volvo XC90 T6. Then, they talk about how much they've enjoyed driving the all-electric Audi E-Tron. McGraw lets us know what it's like to eat and train like a Formula One driver for a month, and then we tell him which Toyota or Lexus SUV he should buy. Autoblog Podcast #597 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown 2020 Volvo XC90 T6 AWD R-Design 2019 Audi E-Tron Training like an Formula One driver Spend McGraw's Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:      

2014 Audi A4 next car to go on big diet while adding features

The Audi A4 is expected to receive a major redesign over the next couple of years, and with the smaller A3 now gaining a sedan model, it is being reported that the A4 might be getting a little breathing room for a more advanced design and improved technology and features. According to AutoBild, this would include a drop of more than 200 pounds in curb weight, updated cabin tech and a wider variety of drivetrain options.
AutoBild states that Audi is looking to upgrade just about every detail - inside and out - when it comes to the 2014 Audi A4, and this includes a next-generation MMI system that uses two digital displays. Extensive use of magnesium, aluminum and plastics will help shave an estimated 220 pounds from the A4's curb weight, and in terms of engines, it sounds like the usual array of forced-induction, small-displacement gas and diesel engines will be on tap, but a bigger V6 TDI and a plug-in hybrid powertrain are also mentioned.