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Is Audi getting complacent and suffering from brain drain?

The argument is made in a Reuters article: Audi is falling behind other luxury brands, such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW, due to a lack of research-and-development spending and "brain drain," or the migration of top executives and R&D chiefs to other parts of the Volkswagen Group. Reuters notes that Audi's current R&D chief is the third in 16 months.
Audi, which contributed to 40 percent of VW Group's $11.6 billion in profit the first nine months of the year, is delivering cars at a record pace: 1.31 million were delivered from January to October 2013 versus BMW's 1.35 million. Yet Audi, Reuters reports, doesn't have a halo car akin to BMW's new electrified i3 and i8 or an answer to Mercedes' plug-in-hybrid S-Class, and the R&D spending at Audi is less than BMW and Mercedes by a fair margin. It's noted in the article, however, that Audi benefits from other R&D spending within VW Group.
Reuters mentions that BMW "trumpets its new 'i' series" and the new Mercedes CLA and GLA ranges are winning "rave reviews" as part of its argument that Audi's recent lack of technological innovation could hurt future sales. Those cars do pack tons of new technology, some of which are firsts for mainstream production cars. But last time we checked, the i3 could be causing BMW's stock to slide, the CLA isn't receiving the rave reviews that Reuters would have you believe and the GLA hasn't been reviewed yet.

Lewis Hamilton blasts to pole position for British Grand Prix

SILVERSTONE, England - Lewis Hamilton took pole position for his home British Grand Prix for the third year in a row on Saturday with a sensational lap that left him one step away from Michael Schumacher's Formula One record. Hamilton's championship-leading Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel, who has a 20-point advantage after nine of 20 races, qualified third. The Mercedes driver was half a second quicker than Ferrari's second placed Kimi Raikkonen and his time of one minute 26.600 seconds was so outrageously quick there were gasps before the crowd erupted. "I always try to leave the best to last," the Briton told retired champion Jenson Button in post-qualifying interviews on the grid. "I had to make sure I got that lap in. I couldn't do it last weekend (in Austria) so I made sure I could here." Hamilton still faced a nervous wait after race stewards announced they were investigating an incident involving French driver Romain Grosjean, who complained he had been blocked earlier in the session. They swiftly decided to take no further action. The Briton's mastery of a damp but drying track lit up an overcast afternoon and the pole was the 67th of his career, sixth of the season, and gave him every chance of equalling Schumacher's record 68 before the August break. The triple world champion has won the last three British Grands Prix and can equal the late Jim Clark's feat of four home wins in a row, and five in total, on Sunday. Saturday ensured he has already matched Clark's 50-year-old record of five British Grand Prix pole positions. "I feel amazing in front of a great crowd like this. I hope you liked the lap," Hamilton told the grandstands full of cheering fans. "I generally like it to be dry, but I like it when the conditions are tricky." Hamilton's Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas, winner in Austria, was fourth fastest but has a five-place penalty following a gearbox change. That promoted Red Bull's Dutch teenager Max Verstappen, who has suffered five retirements in the last seven races, to the second row. Renault's Nico Hulkenberg and his former Force India team mate Sergio Perez filled the third row. There was good news for beleaguered McLaren, who raised a cheer when Fernando Alonso made the most of improving conditions to set the fastest time in the first phase of qualifying, with Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne qualifying ninth.

Mercedes to add 10 new plug-ins by 2017

The range of plug-in hybrid models available from Mercedes-Benz is about to see a massive expansion thanks to the German luxury brand's announcement to add 10 of them in the lineup by 2017. At the same time the company is rebranding its PHEV range to carry the simple letter "e." For example, the C-Class model previously known as the C350 Plug-in Hybrid is now renamed he C350e. Some of the models in Mercedes' PHEV range are already known, like the aforementioned C350e, and the luxury brand is hinting at two more. The GLE is confirmed to be the brand's first plug-in crossover at some point after the non-coupe version debuts. The company also seems to suggest the Concept V-ision E might see production. Shown in Geneva, the van is based on the V-Class, which is related to upcoming Metris in the US. Mercedes' lineup of diesel and gasoline-fueled hybrids has helped the brand reduce its fleet emissions in Europe by over 40 percent in the last two model generations. Not all of these new PHEVs might make it to the US, though. Mercedes spokesperson Michael Minielly tells Autoblog the company's confirmed plug-ins are the 2016 S550e and C350e that launches this fall. "We have no further announcements regarding what else will be coming to the US market at this time," he said. The rest of the electrified lineup here includes the E400 Hybrid, plus the B-Class Electric Drive and Smart Fortwo Electric Drive EVs. Strategic hybrid initiative from Mercedes-Benz: Ten new plug-in hybrids by 2017 Stuttgart/San Francisco. Extra impetus for the Mercedes-Benz strategic hybrid initiative: In the run-up to 2017 the company is bringing out a total of ten plug-in hybrid models, i.e. one new model with high-tech hybrid drive every four months on average. Following the successful launch of the S 500 PLUG-IN HYBRID, this month will see the C 350 e, the second model to feature the progressive drive concept, find its way to dealerships. And what might happen next with the strategic hybrid initiative has just been demonstrated by the Concept V-ision e study at the Geneva Motor Show. Under the new Mercedes-Benz nomenclature, an "e" replaces the words PLUG-IN HYBRID. "Plug-in hybrids are a key technology on the road to the local emission-free future of the automobile," emphasises Prof Dr Thomas Weber, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development.