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2014 Audi RS5 Cabriolet [w/video]

Brash Bruiser Loses Top, Gains Weight, Still Makes Friends
Everything we said after driving the RS5 coupe still rings true, even after Audi has gone and ripped off its metal roof, replaced it with a big cloth version, and tossed us the keys. The 2014 Audi RS5 Cabriolet is another bold, big-boned airmobile to make open-top lovers swoon. There is absolutely nothing revolutionary to speak of here versus its hardtop counterpart, frankly, but tear-assing through the southern French hills as the brilliant sun warmed us is plenty good reason to talk a lot about it anyway. And hey, it beats frigid January in Detroit, where the RS5 Convertible is shortly to receive its US introduction.
One issue that could corrupt things a bit is the convertible's added weight factor. It's one thing when an Audi TT removes its top and gains 176 pounds, or when a Porsche Cayman morphs into a Boxster and gains 66 pounds; the effect on dynamics will still be acceptable. But when it comes to a huge-roof coupe like the RS5, that gain in mass becomes 400-plus pounds in cabrio form, for a grand curb weight of 4,461 pounds. As a number attached to this size of a car that's also branded with an RS badge promising raciness, we admittedly fretted. Then we drove the Audi RS5 Cabriolet to cheer up.

2017 Audi R8 starts at $164,150 [w/video]

The new 2017 Audi R8, which offers 540-horsepower and 398-pound-foot of torque from its V10 engine alongside Quattro all-wheel drive and a seven-speed S-Tronic dual-clutch transmission, will start at $164,150 (including destination). That's about $47,000 more than the previous entry-level R8, but since that car was down two cylinders, 110 horsepower, and 82 pound-feet of torque, it's kind of an apples-and-oranges comparison. There's a much fairer comparison if we look at Audi's newest supercar in relation to the 2015 R8 V10. On the one hand, the loss of the $155,150 manual transmission model kicks the starting price up noticeably, but perhaps in recognition of that, Audi hasn't adjusted the two-pedal R8 V10 at all. It's the same price as the 2015 model while adding 15 more horsepower, seven more pound-feet of torque, and a tenth of a second to the 0-60 time, which is now estimated at 3.5 seconds. Don't worry – the 2017 R8 adds four miles an hour to its predecessor's 195-mph top speed. While under-the-skin changes for the standard R8 V10 may look modest at first glance, the updates Audi added to the V10 Plus are significant, and the automaker has raised the price to reflect that fact. On the one hand, the new range-topper was kicked up by $7,400, to $191,150. On the other hand, power is up by 60 ponies to 610 hp, and torque has jumped from 398 lb-ft to 413. The 0-60 time has been trimmed by a tenth of a second, and owners will also be able to hit 205 mph, up from the old V10 Plus' 198-mph max. To reflect the new pricing announcement, Audi prepped an entertaining video featuring Radio Le Mans announcer John Hindhaugh to "hand the baton" from the original R8 to its second-gen successor. Check out the video below, alongside the official press blast. Audi of America announces pricing for the all-new 2017 R8, the fastest and most powerful Audi production model ever January 20, 2016 | HERNDON, Virginia More powerful and more dynamic than its predecessor, the R8 V10 plus generates 610 hp and 413 lb-ft of torque reaching a top track speed of 205 mph The all-new Audi R8 and R8 LMS racecar were co-developed and share approximately 50 percent of the same parts, including the V10 engine Track-tested around the world, the R8 LMS will make its US racing debut at the ROLEX 24 at Daytona on January 30, 2016 Faster, more efficient, and more capable both on and off the racetrack, the all-new 2017 R8 is the most powerful Audi production model ever.

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.