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The Audi R8 e-tron is dead with less than 100 built

According to a report from Car and Driver, the Audi R8 e-tron is dead (again!) after fewer than 100 examples of the all-electric model were built. This is an anticlimactic end to what could be termed an e-saga, with enough twists and turns to make a Hollywood scriptwriter sit up and start pecking out a screenplay. But here's the important number to keep in mind: 100. That's the production number the R8 e-tron failed to reach. The final tally is less than that, an Audi rep told Car and Driver. And what few were built were sold furtively, and only in Europe, in a strange back-channel in which dealers referred potential buyers right to Audi HQ, says the report. All of these transactions happened without the benefit of an online configurator or any published materials, we understand. That doesn't sound like a recipe for wild success – and neither did the $1,000,000+ pricetag. And this is just the latest stumbling block for the R8 e-tron, which was cancelled the first time back in 2012 when it was still based on the sinister, classic shape of the first-generation R8. If you recall, there was some confusion about the limited run of those first-generation cars, which were initially tipped to be sold to the public. In a strange move, Audi walked that back and held onto the cars for "internal purposes." So it was, until 2015, when we saw the second-generation R8 e-tron in Geneva. Audi promised it'd go on sale in 2015 "upon customer request," which was some foreshadowing to the unusual dealership referral sales model we discussed above. Nonetheless, it seemed like it would be a supremely interesting electric sportscar, with 456 horsepower, 679 pound-feet of torque, a 0-62 mph time of 3.9 seconds, and a range of up to 280 miles. Alas, except for the fewer than 100 European owners who managed to take delivery before Audi yanked the cord, the R8 e-tron's emissionless charms will go unappreciated. We're hoping to get more specific confirmation from Audi about the nature of the cancellation and the exact number produced; until then, stay tuned. Related Video:

VW CEO lost his job over buggy software that delayed new models

It says a lot about the state of the auto industry and where it's going that software problems have cost the CEO of a carmaker his job. Volkswagen ousted Herbert Diess as chief executive officer after severe software-development delays set back the scheduled launch of new Porsches, Audis and Bentleys. This was untenable considering buggy software postponed the debut of VW’s initial rollout of ID models, and customers are still having to drop off their cars at the dealer for updates the company has struggled to make over the air. Sure, Diess also didnÂ’t do enough to make allies and became increasingly isolated due to his hard-nosed leadership style. In his push to transform the company into an electric-vehicle leader, he repeatedly clashed with labor leaders by warning VW was losing out to Tesla and needed to cut thousands of jobs. But failures at the carmakerÂ’s software unit Cariad ultimately eroded DiessÂ’s support from the powerful Porsche and Piech family that calls the shots. Back in December, VW overhauled its management board, stripping Diess of some responsibilities while tasking him to turn around Cariad. While thereÂ’s been a lot of re-arranging since then, Diess didnÂ’t manage to make the issues go away. Discord at Cariad has pushed back the rollout of important new models including the electric Porsche Macan, a high-volume sport utility vehicle for the division thatÂ’s planning an initial public offering in the fourth quarter. AudiÂ’s new line of Artemis EVs has been delayed by around two years to 2027. And VWÂ’s ultra-luxury brand Bentley may not be able to go all-electric by the end of this decade as planned because of the software issues, Automobilwoche reported earlier this month. “Taking over the ship at Cariad seems to have been DiessÂ’s downfall,” said Matthias Schmidt, an independent auto analyst based in Berlin. VWÂ’s solutions to challenges tend to reflect its status as an industrial behemoth: itÂ’s able to throw lots of money and people at its problems. But modernizing the company for the digital age is going to take bringing in talent and building skillsets outside its traditional zones of expertise. Drivers increasingly demand intuitive user interfaces and services that could create new revenue streams, if done correctly. “Software is the key to the future,” TeslaÂ’s Elon Musk tweeted when one of his followers asked about VW switching CEOs. Diess certainly didnÂ’t lack ambition.

Audi releases quartet of A3 commercials, likely headed for Super Bowl

With the announcement from Audi that it's new A3 would be the star of this year's Super Bowl advertising efforts still relatively fresh, it comes as a bit of a shock that what may be game-bound ads for the new small car are already starting to show up.
A3forums found four ads for the new A3, all of which are currently unlisted on YouTube, that play on the idea of young drivers saving themselves for the right luxury car. The spots are amusing, although we'll admit that we've seen better from Audi. Each spot plays like a clip from a documentary, with owners of cars from BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus talking about their regrets when it came to buying a luxury car, rather than waiting for the A3.
We've got all four videos below, so take a look now, as we're betting they'll be pulled before too long.