Category: Auto Industry

Official: Audi Sport Quattro Concept to race into Frankfurt

Filed under: Concept Cars, Frankfurt Motor Show, Coupe, Hybrid, Performance, Audi, Design/Style

Audi has pulled the official wraps off its new Sport Quattro Concept, which will be debuted at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. The automaker is understandably keen to draw inspiration from its classic Quattro line of automobiles, specifically the original Ur-Quattro from 1980 and the short-wheelbase Sport Quattro that took part in rally racing and set a record at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb in 1987. A massive dose of modernity comes courtesy of its 700-horsepower plug-in hybrid powertrain.

There is a clear link in the styling of the Sport Quattro Concept to Quattro coupes of the past, from the large flat surfaces that make up its C pillars to the blisters over the fenders and the basic headlamp shape (equipped as they are with Audi’s Matrix LED technology). Pay special attention to the car’s grille, which introduces a slightly new design language that is expected to be seen in the next generation of Audi’s mainstream production models.

The interior of the Sport Quattro Concept is a refreshing departure from Audi’s admittedly attractive and useable design, with sharp lines and lots of visible carbon fiber. There are seats for four occupants inside, along with a comparatively generous cargo area measuring 10.59 cubic feet.

Underhood sits a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine mated to an eight-speed Tiptronic transmission to all four wheels with assistance from a disk-shaped electric motor and liquid-cooled, 14.1 kWh lithium ion battery pack. Power comes in at 700 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, and, of course, it’s sent to all four wheels. According to Audi, the Sport Quattro Concept can travel over 30 miles on electricity alone, and it can accelerate to 62 miles per hour in 3.7 seconds on its way to a top speed of 190 mph.

Check out the Audi Sport Quattro Concept in our high-res gallery above, and read all about it in the press release below.

Continue reading Audi Sport Quattro Concept to race into Frankfurt

Audi Sport Quattro Concept to race into Frankfurt originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Sep 2013 18:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: Audi Sport Quattro Concept to race into Frankfurt

Filed under: Concept Cars, Frankfurt Motor Show, Coupe, Hybrid, Performance, Audi, Design/Style

Audi has pulled the official wraps off its new Sport Quattro Concept, which will be debuted at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. The automaker is understandably keen to draw inspiration from its classic Quattro line of automobiles, specifically the original Ur-Quattro from 1980 and the short-wheelbase Sport Quattro that took part in rally racing and set a record at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb in 1987. A massive dose of modernity comes courtesy of its 700-horsepower plug-in hybrid powertrain.

There is a clear link in the styling of the Sport Quattro Concept to Quattro coupes of the past, from the large flat surfaces that make up its C pillars to the blisters over the fenders and the basic headlamp shape (equipped as they are with Audi’s Matrix LED technology). Pay special attention to the car’s grille, which introduces a slightly new design language that is expected to be seen in the next generation of Audi’s mainstream production models.

The interior of the Sport Quattro Concept is a refreshing departure from Audi’s admittedly attractive and useable design, with sharp lines and lots of visible carbon fiber. There are seats for four occupants inside, along with a comparatively generous cargo area measuring 10.59 cubic feet.

Underhood sits a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine mated to an eight-speed Tiptronic transmission to all four wheels with assistance from a disk-shaped electric motor and liquid-cooled, 14.1 kWh lithium ion battery pack. Power comes in at 700 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, and, of course, it’s sent to all four wheels. According to Audi, the Sport Quattro Concept can travel over 30 miles on electricity alone, and it can accelerate to 62 miles per hour in 3.7 seconds on its way to a top speed of 190 mph.

Check out the Audi Sport Quattro Concept in our high-res gallery above, and read all about it in the press release below.

Continue reading Audi Sport Quattro Concept to race into Frankfurt

Audi Sport Quattro Concept to race into Frankfurt originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Sep 2013 18:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: Porsche Panamera gets new diesel in time for Frankfurt

Filed under: Frankfurt Motor Show, Sedan, Europe, Porsche, Diesel

Porsche Panamera Diesel

Diesel may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Porsche, but in the European market – that vital one which Porsche calls home – diesels are indispensable. Particularly when you’re trying to extend beyond niche sports cars and into the mainstream luxury sedan market as Zuffenhausen has with the Panamera. In fact, diesels account for 15 percent of Panamera sales worldwide (even though they’re not offered Stateside), so to keep oil-burning customers happy, Porsche has announced a series of upgrades.

Set to be unveiled in the flesh at the fast-approaching Frankfurt Motor Show, the new Panamera Diesel packs 300 horsepower. That’s 50 hp (or 20 percent) more than the model it replaces, significantly dropping the 0-62 sprint from 6.8 seconds to 6 flat, and raising top speed from 152 miles per Autobahn-crunching hour to 161. While they were at it, Porsche’s engineers also fitted the rear differential with torque vectoring (previously reserved for gasoline-burning models) and retuned the transmission and suspension.

You can delve into the press release below for all the details – including the new model’s improved towing capacity! – but the reality, for better or worse, is that the Panamera Diesel isn’t offered here. So if you’ve been celebrating Labor Day (or even Labour Day, for our friends to the north) like we have, don’t go looking for it at your local dealer, who will have only a Cayenne Diesel to show you instead.

Continue reading Porsche Panamera gets new diesel in time for Frankfurt

Porsche Panamera gets new diesel in time for Frankfurt originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Sep 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: Porsche Panamera gets new diesel in time for Frankfurt

Filed under: Frankfurt Motor Show, Sedan, Europe, Porsche, Diesel

Porsche Panamera Diesel

Diesel may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Porsche, but in the European market – that vital one which Porsche calls home – diesels are indispensable. Particularly when you’re trying to extend beyond niche sports cars and into the mainstream luxury sedan market as Zuffenhausen has with the Panamera. In fact, diesels account for 15 percent of Panamera sales worldwide (even though they’re not offered Stateside), so to keep oil-burning customers happy, Porsche has announced a series of upgrades.

Set to be unveiled in the flesh at the fast-approaching Frankfurt Motor Show, the new Panamera Diesel packs 300 horsepower. That’s 50 hp (or 20 percent) more than the model it replaces, significantly dropping the 0-62 sprint from 6.8 seconds to 6 flat, and raising top speed from 152 miles per Autobahn-crunching hour to 161. While they were at it, Porsche’s engineers also fitted the rear differential with torque vectoring (previously reserved for gasoline-burning models) and retuned the transmission and suspension.

You can delve into the press release below for all the details – including the new model’s improved towing capacity! – but the reality, for better or worse, is that the Panamera Diesel isn’t offered here. So if you’ve been celebrating Labor Day (or even Labour Day, for our friends to the north) like we have, don’t go looking for it at your local dealer, who will have only a Cayenne Diesel to show you instead.

Continue reading Porsche Panamera gets new diesel in time for Frankfurt

Porsche Panamera gets new diesel in time for Frankfurt originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Sep 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: VW, UAW hold high-level talks on organizing Chattanooga

Filed under: Government/Legal, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Plants/Manufacturing, Volkswagen, UAW/Unions

UAW New President

Volkswagen and the United Auto Workers union are now one step closer to achieving a deal that would see VW’s plant in Chattanooga, TN become unionized. If it happens, it would be the first major victory in recent years for the UAW at a plant in the United States run by a foreign automaker. The UAW had formerly represented workers at VW’s Westmoreland plant in Pennsylvania, which first opened in 1978 and is now closed. At present, the only non-Domestic facility in the States that is unionized is the Mitsubishi plant in Normal, IL.

While neither side is officially commenting, Automotive News Europe, citing a story in German newspaper Handelsblatt, reports that a meeting was held last Friday between plant officials and Bob King, president of the UAW. Negotiations are reportedly underway that would see a so-called German-style works council formed. This council would allow both blue-collar and white-collar employees to elect representatives that would have a say in any significant plant discussion.

VW’s Chattanooga plant is the only facility the automaker operates in the whole world that isn’t represented by a union of some sort, and US labor law apparently requires that an outside body, such as the UAW, be involved in any such negotiations. Horst Neumann, the board member for human resources at VW, said in March that “The UAW would be a natural partner,” but that any deal would “depend on negotiations.” It would seem those negotiations are now underway in earnest.

VW, UAW hold high-level talks on organizing Chattanooga originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Sep 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: VW, UAW hold high-level talks on organizing Chattanooga

Filed under: Government/Legal, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Plants/Manufacturing, Volkswagen, UAW/Unions

UAW New President

Volkswagen and the United Auto Workers union are now one step closer to achieving a deal that would see VW’s plant in Chattanooga, TN become unionized. If it happens, it would be the first major victory in recent years for the UAW at a plant in the United States run by a foreign automaker. The UAW had formerly represented workers at VW’s Westmoreland plant in Pennsylvania, which first opened in 1978 and is now closed. At present, the only non-Domestic facility in the States that is unionized is the Mitsubishi plant in Normal, IL.

While neither side is officially commenting, Automotive News Europe, citing a story in German newspaper Handelsblatt, reports that a meeting was held last Friday between plant officials and Bob King, president of the UAW. Negotiations are reportedly underway that would see a so-called German-style works council formed. This council would allow both blue-collar and white-collar employees to elect representatives that would have a say in any significant plant discussion.

VW’s Chattanooga plant is the only facility the automaker operates in the whole world that isn’t represented by a union of some sort, and US labor law apparently requires that an outside body, such as the UAW, be involved in any such negotiations. Horst Neumann, the board member for human resources at VW, said in March that “The UAW would be a natural partner,” but that any deal would “depend on negotiations.” It would seem those negotiations are now underway in earnest.

VW, UAW hold high-level talks on organizing Chattanooga originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Sep 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Europe considering 70-mph speed limiters on all cars? [UPDATE]

Filed under: Europe, Government/Legal, Safety

DEU HB Verkehr Tempolimit

If George Orwell were alive today and had read this story from The Daily Telegraph, he’d be standing in the middle of the Rue de la Loi, shouting “I told you so!” at the top of his lungs. In a bid to decrease the 30,000 deaths on European roads each year, the European Commission is seeking to require speed-limiting devices on all vehicles.

It’s unclear how the commission would go about this, although according to The Daily Telegraph. The leading candidates involve vehicle-mounted cameras that read speed-limit signs, or satellites beaming speed information into cars so that motorists can be warned whenever they are at risk of exceeding the limit. Another, more invasive scenario could actually see a vehicle’s brakes applied any time the driver exceeds the maximum allowable speed, in this case, 70 mph. This proposed legislation isn’t sitting well with the United Kingdom, though.

Britain’s Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, has flatly opposed the notion, telling the paper, “This has Big Brother written all over it.” Besides infringing on the freedom of drivers, the Ministry of Transport also argues that the UK’s road safety record – only 1,754 people dying on the island nation’s roads in 2012 – proves that Britain can get by without the the mandate.

Us? We don’t see this attempt getting very far. Aside from the inevitable invasion of privacy concerns, there’s a big financial one, as well – most countries, states and municipalities in Europe have some level of dependency on revenue collection from speed violations, be they administered automatically via speed camera or the good old fashioned way, by getting pulled over.

What do you think of all this? Have your say in Comments.

UPDATE: The EU has issued a rather scathing formal statement denying this report, saying it is “quite simply not true.” Read the full statement here at the official EU blog.

Europe considering 70-mph speed limiters on all cars? [UPDATE] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Sep 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Europe considering 70-mph speed limiters on all cars? [UPDATE]

Filed under: Europe, Government/Legal, Safety

DEU HB Verkehr Tempolimit

If George Orwell were alive today and had read this story from The Daily Telegraph, he’d be standing in the middle of the Rue de la Loi, shouting “I told you so!” at the top of his lungs. In a bid to decrease the 30,000 deaths on European roads each year, the European Commission is seeking to require speed-limiting devices on all vehicles.

It’s unclear how the commission would go about this, although according to The Daily Telegraph. The leading candidates involve vehicle-mounted cameras that read speed-limit signs, or satellites beaming speed information into cars so that motorists can be warned whenever they are at risk of exceeding the limit. Another, more invasive scenario could actually see a vehicle’s brakes applied any time the driver exceeds the maximum allowable speed, in this case, 70 mph. This proposed legislation isn’t sitting well with the United Kingdom, though.

Britain’s Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, has flatly opposed the notion, telling the paper, “This has Big Brother written all over it.” Besides infringing on the freedom of drivers, the Ministry of Transport also argues that the UK’s road safety record – only 1,754 people dying on the island nation’s roads in 2012 – proves that Britain can get by without the the mandate.

Us? We don’t see this attempt getting very far. Aside from the inevitable invasion of privacy concerns, there’s a big financial one, as well – most countries, states and municipalities in Europe have some level of dependency on revenue collection from speed violations, be they administered automatically via speed camera or the good old fashioned way, by getting pulled over.

What do you think of all this? Have your say in Comments.

UPDATE: The EU has issued a rather scathing formal statement denying this report, saying it is “quite simply not true.” Read the full statement here at the official EU blog.

Europe considering 70-mph speed limiters on all cars? [UPDATE] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Sep 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #348 LIVE!

Filed under: Etc.

Autoblog podcast graphic

We’re set to record Autoblog Podcast #348 tonight, and joining us will be Official Policy Wonk Juan Barnett (aka DCAutoGeek) to give us a better understanding of how regulations and policy impacts our everyday interaction with cars and driving. Check out the topics below and you can also drop us your questions and comments via our Q&A module. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven’t already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.

Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #348

  • Jaguar C-X17
  • 70 mph speed limiters in Europe?
  • Ignition interlocks back under consideration
  • Your text to a driver may make you responsible if an accident occurs

[RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator

Can’t see the EventBox? Click Here.

Voices Heard Media

Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #348 LIVE! originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Sep 2013 17:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #348 LIVE!

Filed under: Etc.

Autoblog podcast graphic

We’re set to record Autoblog Podcast #348 tonight, and joining us will be Official Policy Wonk Juan Barnett (aka DCAutoGeek) to give us a better understanding of how regulations and policy impacts our everyday interaction with cars and driving. Check out the topics below and you can also drop us your questions and comments via our Q&A module. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven’t already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.

Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #348

  • Jaguar C-X17
  • 70 mph speed limiters in Europe?
  • Ignition interlocks back under consideration
  • Your text to a driver may make you responsible if an accident occurs

[RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator

Can’t see the EventBox? Click Here.

Voices Heard Media

Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #348 LIVE! originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Sep 2013 17:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading “Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #348 LIVE!”