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'Worldwide, every third Audi will be an SUV by 2020'

Automotive News Europe reports the new Audi manufacturing facility in San Jose Chiapa, Mexico will increase the automaker's production capacity for the Q5 SUV by 150,000 units per year. While the plant will supply every market with the exception of China, most of the production is slated to head to the US.
While speaking with ANE, Audi CEO Rupert Stradler said, "Worldwide, every third Audi will be an SUV by 2020." So far this year, 40 percent of Audi vehicles sold in the US have been light trucks, with the company's sales in that segment jumping by 53 percent. By comparison, Audi passenger car sales have increased by just one percent.
The first Q5 vehicles from the San Hose Chiapa plant will show up on dealer lots in 2016. Audi of America recently received a larger 9,000-unit allocation of Q5 models after seeing sales increase 36 percent through April compared to the same period in 2012.

Best and worst car brands of 2022 according to Consumer Reports

It's that time again, Consumer Reports this morning lifting the curtain on its 2022 Annual Car Brand rankings and its 10 Top Picks in the car, crossover, and truck category. Drumroll, please: This year, Subaru climbs two spots to claim the winner's circle, having come third the last two years. Last year, Mazda climbed three spots from 2020 to take the crown. This year, Mazda slipped to second, BMW taking the last spot on the podium, also a one-spot drop from 2021. Six automakers in the top 10 hailed from Japan, which is one more than last year, and five luxury makers occupied the top 10, which is two more than last year. And South Korean representation didn't crack the top this year, after Hyundai managed tenth last year. The seven makes after BMW are: Honda, Lexus, Audi, Porsche, Mini, Toyota, and Infiniti.  The magazine and testing concern says its Brand Report Card "[reveals] which automakers are producing the most well-performing, safe, and reliable vehicles based on CR’s independent testing and member surveys," and that "Brands that rise to the top tend to have the most consistent performance across their model lineups." The domestics also took steps back among the 32 OEMs ranked on the 2022 card. Chrysler and Buick were the domestic carmakers who made last year's top 10 in eighth and ninth, respectively. This year, Buick dropped to eleventh, Chrysler to thirteenth. Dodge went from fourteenth to sixteenth. CR continues to ding Tesla's yoke steerer, the not-exactly-natural handhold responsible for the electric carmaker going from sixteenth last year to twenty-third this year.

Audi RS Q3 Performance pours sugar on the forbidden fruit

Don't let anybody tell you that Europeans don't like powerful SUVs any less than Americans do. They just like theirs a bit smaller. Case in point: the new Audi RS Q3 Performance. The latest in the ne plus ultra from Quattro GmbH joins the RS6 Avant Performance and RS7 Sportback Performance in dialing up the power even further. So while the 2.5-liter turbocharged inline-five carries over from the existing RS Q3, its output swells to 367 horsepower (27 more than before) and 343 pound-feet of torque. As a result, this tall take on the hot hatch blasts to 62 in just 4.4 seconds before topping out on the open Autobahn at nearly 168 miles per hour. Along with the power boost, the RS Q3 Performance benefits from a retuned seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, which works in tandem with the hydraulically actuated, electronically controlled all-wheel-drive system to get the power down to the road. The suspension is lowered, with available adaptive dampers fitted to 20-inch alloys. There are subtle details inside and out to distinguish it from "lesser" RS Q3 models. Unfortunately while Audi does offer the Q3 in base form here in America, it doesn't offer the RS variant altogether, let alone this new enhanced version. In fact the RS7 is the only model in the line we get here, so we'll just add this one to our growing list of forbidden fruit that we'd like to taste. Our compatriots in Germany, however, can pick one up right away for 61,000 euros, before it even makes its debut at the Geneva Motor Show next month. Related Video: 02/04/16 | Ingolstadt Pure power: the Audi RS Q3 performance - New top model with more power and exclusive equipment - Award-winning five-cylinder with 270 kW (367 hp) - Now accepting orders for the Audi RS Q3 performance Audi ignites the next stage of performance in the compact, high-performance SUV segment: The Audi RS Q3 performance* impresses with an output of 270 kW (367 hp) and 465 Nm (343.0 lb ft) of torque. This incredible power catapults the new top-of-the-line model from 0 to 100 km/h (62.1 mph) in just 4.4 seconds. Standard top speed is 270 km/h (167.8 mph). The premium brand is honing its sporty profile with new RS performance models. The "performance" in the name stands for both a significant power boost and exclusive equipment that clearly elevates the respective model above the rest of the portfolio. This also applies to the new RS Q3 performance, whose pulse is driven by the legendary Audi five-cylinder engine.