By Brandon TurkusRSS feedGoogle+

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.

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.

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

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

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

VW Tiguan to get three-row version?

The Volkswagen Tiguan is starting to get a little long in the tooth, and the German automaker is reportedly already deep in development on the second-generation model. If rumors prove true, Volkswagen may be keeping a big secret when it comes to the new compact crossover. Company insiders speaking to Autocarclaim that there are both five- and seven-passenger versions of the next Tiguan in the works. It raises an interesting question about the future of the larger Crossblue concept, though.

According to the sources, the five-passenger, second-gen Tiguan is about a year away from its debut at the2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. The new CUV rides on VW's MQB platform, and its size is roughly the same as the current model. The even bigger news from the insiders hits a few months later when a longer-wheelbase, seven-passenger Tiguan with three rows of seats is unveiled at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show.

Here's where it gets confusing: VW CEO Martin Winterkorn announced at the 2014 Detroit show that the Crossblue was coming to the US in 2016. In concept form, it also used the MQB platform and seats seven. It seems rather odd for an automaker to introduce a pair of three-row CUVs on the same chassis in the same year in the US. Although, it's possible that this could just be a name change for the production Crossblue, it doesn't seem likely. It could also be that Tiguan's third row will be a much smaller, occasional-use only sort of proposition, in much the same way that Nissan now offers its Rogue compact CUV with three rows, yet it also markets the much larger Pathfinder (though admittedly they aren't on the same chassis). 

Source: autoblog.com