Monday, December 15, 2014

Winter Driving Tips | Imports by Day



Severe weather can be both frightening and dangerous for automobile travel. Motorists should know the safety rules for dealing with winter road emergencies. We want to remind motorists to be cautious while driving in adverse weather. 

We recommend the following winter driving tips:
  • Avoid driving while you’re fatigued. Getting the proper amount of rest before taking on winter weather tasks reduces driving risks.
  • Never warm up a vehicle in an enclosed area, such as a garage.
  • Make certain your tires are properly inflated.
  • Never mix radial tires with other tire types.
  • Keep your gas tank at least half full to avoid gas line freeze-up.
  • If possible, avoid using your parking brake in cold, rainy and snowy weather.
  • Do not use cruise control when driving on any slippery surface (wet, ice, sand).
  • Always look and steer where you want to go.
  • Use your seat belt every time you get into your vehicle.
Tips for long-distance winter trips:
  • Watch weather reports prior to a long-distance drive or before driving in isolated areas. Delay trips when especially bad weather is expected. If you must leave, let others know your route, destination and estimated time of arrival.
  • Always make sure your vehicle is in peak operating condition.
  • Keep at least half a tank of gasoline in your vehicle at all times.
  • Pack a cellular telephone plus blankets, gloves, hats, food, water and any needed medication in your vehicle.
  • If you become snow-bound, stay with your vehicle. It provides temporary shelter and makes it easier for rescuers to locate you. Don’t try to walk in a severe storm. It’s easy to lose sight of your vehicle in blowing snow and become lost.
  • Don’t over exert yourself if you try to push or dig your vehicle out of the snow.
  • Tie a brightly colored cloth to the antenna or place a cloth at the top of a rolled up window to signal distress. At night, keep the dome light on if possible. It only uses a small amount of electricity and will make it easier for rescuers to find you.
  • Make sure the exhaust pipe isn’t clogged with snow, ice or mud. A blocked exhaust could cause deadly carbon monoxide gas to leak into the passenger compartment with the engine running.
  • Use whatever is available to insulate your body from the cold. This could include floor mats, newspapers or paper maps.
  • If possible run the engine and heater just long enough to remove the chill and to conserve gasoline.
Tips for driving in the snow:
  • Accelerate and decelerate slowly. Applying the gas slowly to accelerate is the best method for regaining traction and avoiding skids. Don’t try to get moving in a hurry. And take time to slow down for a stoplight. Remember: It takes longer to slow down on icy roads.
  • Drive slowly. Everything takes longer on snow-covered roads. Accelerating, stopping, turning – nothing happens as quickly as on dry pavement. Give yourself time to maneuver by driving slowly.
  • The normal dry pavement following distance of three to four seconds should be increased to eight to ten seconds. This increased margin of safety will provide the longer distance needed if you have to stop.
  • Know your brakes. Whether you have antilock brakes or not, the best way to stop is threshold breaking. Keep the heel of your foot on the floor and use the ball of your foot to apply firm, steady pressure on the brake pedal.
  • Don’t stop if you can avoid it. There’s a big difference in the amount of inertia it takes to start moving from a full stop versus how much it takes to get moving while still rolling. If you can slow down enough to keep rolling until a traffic light changes, do it.
  • Don’t power up hills. Applying extra gas on snow-covered roads just starts your wheels spinning. Try to get a little inertia going before you reach the hill and let that inertia carry you to the top. As you reach the crest of the hill, reduce your speed and proceed downhill as slowly as possible.
  • Don’t stop going up a hill. There’s nothing worse than trying to get moving up a hill on an icy road. Get some inertia going on a flat roadway before you take on the hill.
  • Stay home. If you really don’t have to go out, don’t. Even if you can drive well in the snow, not everyone else can. Don’t tempt fate: If you don’t have somewhere you have to be, watch the snow from indoors.
Original post can be viewed here.


Friday, December 5, 2014

Audi RS Q3 gets snarlier, hits 62 mph in 4.8 seconds [w/video] | Imports by Day


Well, that was quick. A mere 20 months after its debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, Audi has issued a fairly significant update to its RS Q3 crossover. A light exterior refresh – the most noticeable change is that the grille surround and headlights are now joined – belies more significant changes under the compact crossover's hood.

Power from the 2.5-liter, turbocharged five-cylinder has been boosted nicely from 310 horsepower to 340, while torque has jumped from 309 pound-feet to 332 lb-ft. The result of this extra thrust is that the tiny CUV can now scamper to 62 miles per hour in a seriously quick 4.8 seconds, rather than the original RS Q3's 5.5-second sprint. A new fifth-generation multi-plate clutch is fitted to the seven-speed S-tronic dual-clutch transmission, which Audi claims will now deliver even quicker shifts.

Lighter brake rotors with ridiculous eight-piston calipers in the front provide what we imagine is a lot of stopping power, while Audi continues to offer an optional adaptive damper system. 19-inch wheels are standard while 20s are optional.


Monday, November 24, 2014


The Subaru WRX, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and just about every other all-wheel-drive performance car owes something to the legendary Audi Quattro, a model that was far more successful on the motorsports scene than it was in the showroom. Despite its modest sales, the UrQuattro still looms large in automotive lore, and indeed, in Audi's own sense of self. Considering the brand's semi-regular flirtation with the idea of a reborn Quattro, MotorWeek must have figured it'd be a good idea to revisit the original by digging up this archival review.

While time has the ability to cover up the warts of iconic automobiles, it should be noted that Motor Weekhost John Davis had more than a few critiques for the all-wheel-drive, turbocharged coupe.
Davis calls the Quattro's slalom handling "a disappointment," citing the overpowered engine and slow steering, and he had some unkind words for the brakes, as well. For our part, we're kind of wowed by the amount of ship-like body motion during testing, yet that sort of bobbing was certainly par for the course back in the early '80s.

But that's enough from us. Sit back, relax, and take a look in the rearview mirror at MotorWeek's review of the 1983 Audi Quattro.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

2015 Volkswagen Golf: Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy 2015 | Imports by Day



The 2015 Volkswagen Golf range--that our editors chose as the winner this year. It's also the car our readers' poll selected as well.

The 2015 Golf range is our recommendation as Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy (and the first European brand winner since the award started five years ago).

The compact five-door Golf, now in its seventh generation, is both lighter and more spacious inside.

It It comes with expanded features and electronic safety systems, while retaining the Golf's fun-to-drive quotient.

It's the wide selection of powertrains that gives the Golf the gold this year.

From a pair of turbocharged gasoline engines to an all-new TDI turbodiesel (also found in the A3, but at a higher Audi sticker price), the combustion-engined Golfs get better fuel-efficiency ratings than the outgoing models

Then there's the Volkswagen e-Golf, VW's first-ever all-electric car and zero-emission vehicle.

So far, we haven't spent long enough in the e-Golf to test its real-world range or efficiency.

But for the diesel, the Golf TDI is rated at 36 mpg combined--and like many diesels, it overachieved on its EPA rating, giving us a genuine 48 mpg in a week of real-world use.

That's largely equivalent to real-world Toyota Prius results, with the added bonus of driving pleasure that the Prius just can't provide.

Whichever Golf you choose, you'll get fuel efficiency and fun in equal measure--and that applies as well to the Volkswagen e-Golf.

It's simply the most "normal" electric car we've ever driven.

Friday, October 31, 2014

Volkswagen rolls out sporty Street Up!





When Volkswagen unveiled the production Up! hatchback at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, it showcased a series of concept versions alongside it. At the Geneva Motor Show the following year, it returned withanother quartet of whimsical Up! concepts. There were more before and there will be more after. But few of them ever reached production. We have the three- and five-door models, the electric e-Up! and soft-roadingCross Up!, as well as Skoda and Seat versions, but aside from the cool convertible concepts, the one we really wanted was the GT Up!, and that never made the cut. But Wolfsburg seems to be out to at least partially right that wrong with the release of the new Street Up!

This sportier take on the German city car features a sport suspension, 16-inch alloys, racing stripes running up the hood and roof and along the doors and side panels and an interior decked out with contrast stitching, black headliner, unique shift knob and steering wheel. It even comes bundled with premium stereo and climate control. Unfortunately the same engine choices apply, so the most punch available is 75 horsepower. But appearance aside, the sport suspension ought to improve the vehicle's nimble handling around city streets. A mini GTI it may not be, but a sportier hatchback is never a bad thing.

Source: autoblog.com


2015 Audi R8 Competition ready to rock LA

The heyday of the first-generation Audi R8 is winding down, and the Four Rings already has a bespoke factory to start building the next model soon. In the meantime, the German brand is sending its supercar off with a bang at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show in the form of this limited-edition 2015 R8 Competition – the most powerful production vehicle ever made by the company.

Audi is earmarking just 60 examples of the Competition for the US, and this is more than just a trim package to say farewell. Power for the supercar comes from the usual 5.2-liter V10 that's massaged to develop 570 horsepower, an extra 20 hp over the already quite potent V10 Plus, and the only available transmission is the seven-speed, dual clutch S Tronic gearbox. The tweaks let this limited R8 rocket to 60 miles per hour in 3.2 seconds and achieve a maximum velocity of 199 mph. To haul that speed to a stop, it also gets ceramic brake disks with red calipers.

Of course, having such a rare supercar means showing off a little. Audi takes inspiration from the R8 LMS Ultra racecar for the Competition and tries to bring some of its details to the street. The model wears matte carbon fiber pieces replacing the rear spoiler, mirror housings, side blades, front spoiler and rear diffuser. For an extra mean-looking touch, it also has high-gloss black paint covering the wheels and exhaust pipes.

The 60 US cars are going through Audi Exclusive so buyers can specify their own specific interior and exterior colors from a long list. In addition, all of them also carbon fiber trim over the center console and illuminated doorsills.

Orders for the R8 Competition begin in November, and deliveries should start in early 2015.

Source: autoblog.com

Thursday, August 28, 2014

2015 Audi S3 configurator goes live with all the black and silver paint you've hoped for

It has already been nearly a year since we completed our First Drive of the premium pocket rocket Audi S3, with official pricing for the car detailed earlier this summer. Those are facts, but facts won't help you while away your lunchtime in blissful, car-dreaming reverie, will they?

No, for help with imagining just exactly the kind of Audi S3 that you'd like to put in your garage, the freshly launched configurator is just the thing.

Every 2015 Audi S3 will come with 2.0T power under the hood – to the tune of 292 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. The most basic Premium Plus trim (an interesting renaming of "entry level" we'll grant you) starts at $41,100 before destination, while the higher-content Prestige asks $47,000. The extra six grand buys you full LED lighting, tri-zone climate control, S model appearance upgrades like quad exhaust tips and a more advanced infotainment suite with Bang & Olufsen sound.

Nine paint options are available at launch, though only one, Brilliant Black, comes without an additional upcharge. Most of the other hues will run you an extra $550, though if you're sweet on the looks of the Panther Black Crystal (seen above), you'll have to shell out $1,075 for the look. Your choice of three interior colorways are all cost-free options, however.

There are really only two options packages beyond the trim level differences: a technology pack for $1,400 and a performance pack for $1,500. The performance upgrades include 19-inch five spoke wheels (an inch larger than the standard rolling stock, with the same 225-section tires), and Audi's magnetic ride control. The tech pack brings lane assist and adaptive cruise to help you crush those long road trips, along with an emergency city braking system for low-speed stops and a front camera with distance sensor for tight parking spots.

Finally, if you intend on putting folks (young or old) in the small rear seating area, we'd recommend dropping the $350 extra for rear side airbags. Always hoon responsibly.

Source: autoblog.com

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Audi mechanic takes owner's S4 home for the weekend

When you bring your car to a dealer, you expect a technician to take it out for a spin, just to make sure there aren't any noises, rattles or other behavior that you may have missed. Maybe they run a few miles along a predetermined test route or take a quick run down the highway. You do not, however, expect a tech to abscond with you vehicle for a full weekend

That is just what happened to Chris Jackson, though, an Audi S4 owner in Calgary. His car was taken to Glenmore Audi – as mandated in his lease agreement – due to an issue with the navigation system. After realizing he'd left something in the car, he swung by the dealer on Saturday to pick it up, only to discover the car wasn't on the dealer's lot.

Naturally, he approached the dealer about the missing sedan.

"And the dealer's response was, 'It's okay, just go home, your car's fine, it's probably just somewhere on the lot. We can't find it.'"

According to Jackson, who spoke to the CBC, he lapped the dealership lot three times looking for the Ibis White S4. After two-and-a-half hours of fighting with the dealership and a call to the Mounties, the dealer finally started reaching out to its mechanics.

"The only way that they had actually even decided that they were going to call these guys was that I'd called the police and said, 'My car's missing, the dealer doesn't know where it is. I don't know where it is, that's a stolen car,'" Jackson said.

According to the owner of Glenmore Audi, the tech took the car to test the nav system over an extended period, but that still isn't sitting well with Jackson.

"The police officer we spoke with said I've never heard of anything like this before, it's clearly ethically wrong," Jackson said. Jackson and his wife, Angela, told the CBC that the tech put about 500 kilometers on the car (about 310 miles) over the weekend.

What do you think? Is this just a big misunderstanding? Would you be okay with an unknown tech taking your supercharged sports sedan home for a weekend of unsupervised use?

Source: autoblog.com