| Volkswagen AG: Interim Report January-September 2006 | | Posted Wednesday, November 01, 2006 6:48:02 PM by Blog57 Team | | Despite the difficult economic environment, the most important automotive markets proved to be robust in the first nine months of 2006 and recorded slight year-on-year growth. Although oil prices have recently fallen, we are not expecting any sustained easing of the situation in the energy and commodity markets. In combination with the troubled situation in the Middle East, this will continue to dampen growth. We therefore believe that growth in demand for passenger cars in the USA, Western Europe and Germany will only be moderate in 2006. We will continue our product rollout in the fourth quarter, thus stabilizing this year's improved market position in Western Europe and Germany. The success of the new models in the US market will be maintained and will bolster our market position there.... | |
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| | | Inside Line: Audi TT RS Will Be Built (TT S as well) | | Posted Monday, October 09, 2006 2:46:08 PM by Blog57 Team | | The rumors of Audi building a high performance TT variant have been flying around for a while. Several weeks ago it was reported that the TT RS has been cancelled. Now, Inside Line reports that the TT RS will be built, in two years. First will come the Audi TT S, with a modified version of the 2.0 TFSI seen on the newly released S3, it will get lighter pistons and increased turbo boost to pump out close to 300 horsepower. The TT RS is reported to have a five cylinder 2.5 liter engine (could be described as one half Lamborghini Gallardo engine with FSI direct injection and Audi S8 heads.) It is said to develop 365 horsepower. This is a possibility, as by the time the TT RS arrives the R8 should come with a more powerful V10. Read Article .... | |
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| | | Rent a Bug: Get a Veyron, No Money Down | | Posted Saturday, September 16, 2006 10:46:41 AM by Blog57 Team | | There's a lot to figure when you're planning a 60-month lease of an $14,000 car: up-front capitalization, estimated resale value when the lease is up and buy-out price. Now, add two zeros. According to Automobile, that's what's in store if you want to lease the Bugatti Veyron from Putnam Leasing: a $400,000 down payment and $23,595 per month. Of course, then there's a limit of 2,500 miles per year. Add it up, and you're nearly a half-mil in the hole compared with buying it outright. In other news, Ben Franklin's corpse just exploded. Lease a Bugatti Veyron for $24K a month [AutoBlog] Related: The Bug, Squashed? Bugatti Could Be Laid Low by New US Airbag Requirements [internal] .... | |
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| | | 2007 Audi S6 and S8 Pricing Announced | | Posted Monday, September 11, 2006 12:45:48 AM by Blog57 Team | | Have you ever wanted to drive a car with a Lamborghini engine, but didn't want to be seen in something as garish as a Lamborghini? Then Audi has your number, as both the 2007 S6 and S8 have versions of the same 5.2-liter V-10 that rests in the Lamborghini Gallardo. Luckily neither comes with the Lambo's $175,000 price tag, but they're still not what we would call cheap. The S6 will start at an even $72,000, while the S8 will start at $92,000. Both have an additional $710 destination charge and gas-guzzler charges of $1,300 and $1,700, respectively. Wondering why both models have the same engine yet cost vastly different sums? The S6's version of the V-10 produces 435 hp and gets to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds. The larger S8 gets a boost to 450 hp and manages the 60 mph run in 4.9 seconds.... | |
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| | | 2007 Audi S8 | | Posted Thursday, August 17, 2006 12:45:57 AM by Blog57 Team | | The Audi S8, a V-10 powered version of the German marque's largest sedan, will join the S4--Audi's only current S model--next year. Its V-10 is based on the unit found in the Lamborghini Gallardo, but features Audi's FSI direct injection (borrowed from the R8 race car). Despite a lower redline the Lambo's, the engine produces 450 hp and 398 lb-ft of torque and a 0-to-62-mph time of 5.1 seconds. Call us jaded, this seems like a half-hearted attempt to keep stride with Mercedes-Benz's AMG and BMW's M divisions, given that both of them offer 500-hp engines. Perhaps Audi buyers are less overt in their sporting intentions. .... | |
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| | | Audi says S3 won't be sold in U.S., yet | | Posted Tuesday, August 15, 2006 2:45:59 PM by Blog57 Team | | Bob Gritzinger | | AutoWeek / August 1, 2006 - 9:21 am The official word from Ingolstadt is that the Audi S3 won't be sold in the United States anytime soon. It is, after all, a three-door hatchback, and Americans still aren't keen on three-door hatchbacks.But the S3, Audi's sport version of the A3 five-door already sold in the United States, is just too good to leave the U.S. market out of the plans. Audi has shown a tendency to deny the United States its best hardware initially, but then eventually comes through with the goods. See S4, S6, S8, and most recently, the RS4, for evidence. The S3 is equipped with a turbocharged 2.0-liter 265-hp, 258-lb-ft four-cylinder engine, driving all four wheels via quattro and a six-speed manual gearbox. A lowered sport suspension, 18-inch aluminum wheels and bigger brakes, along with "S" exterior and interior trim modifications, complete the package.S3 goes on sale later this year in Europe, starting at 35,150 euros.... | |
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| | | 2006 Audi A8 4.2 Road Test | | Posted Tuesday, July 25, 2006 12:45:43 AM by Blog57 Team | | Top Gear, the automotive related car show, featured a segment a while back where the hosts were given the opportunity to test-drive some of their most favourite cars. James May reminisced about the early 80s and the fact that, when he was a mere lad, he absolutely adored the Lamborghini Countach. He was given the opportunity to drive the object of his desires only to find out that the car was absolute rubbish. As a car enthusiast, I, like most, have a list of personal favourite cars. In my case, there are 4 or 5 in each category and one of those is the premium luxury sedan segment. Back in the day, this list included the likes of the Mercedes-Benz 560 SEL and the Aston Martin Lagonda. In 1994, the European-market only Audi A8 was introduced and promptly found its way in my dreams. In 1997, I was able to lay eyes on one for the first time and it did not disappoint; it was gorgeous, sleek and sexy.... | |
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| | | Does the Audi A8L have the most sumptuous interior this side of a Maybach? | | Posted Sunday, July 23, 2006 2:46:16 PM by Blog57 Team | | With Audi leading the industry in terms of interior design, it would only be fitting for its flagship A8L to be the epitome of this design philosophy.Audi has created a new exclusive interior package causing one editor from Automobile Magazine to say that it was the sexiest interior that he has ever seen in the recent comparison between the A8L, 750Li and S550.Most importantly, what can we expect with the Audi A8's interior with the re-design coming in 2009? .... | |
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| | | Audi Reveals 2007 Model Year Change Points | | Posted Sunday, July 02, 2006 4:45:55 AM by Blog57 Team | | Audi of America, Inc. announced its change points for the 2007 model year today. The 2007 model year will have a strong focus on performance with six new models, all with an emphasis on sportiness. These new models include the Audi Q7 performance SUV, the high-revving RS 4 sedan, A4 and S4 Cabriolets, and the V10-powered S6 and S8 sedans. Below is a rundown of the changes made to existing models for the 2007 model year: A3 Model Line: The A3 2.0T will now have an S line Package which replaces the Sport Package from 2006. Equipment content is the same, but the new S line package also receives more aggressive front and rear fascias, and S line badging on the exterior. The A3 also has a new Technology Package. The Sound Package has been renamed the Audio Package.... | |
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| | | Audi Update: TT Coming to US in '08, A3 S-Line in '07 | | Posted Saturday, July 01, 2006 2:46:15 AM by Blog57 Team | | In between the 2006 model year, when the current-generation Audi TT was pulled from states where it didn't meet new emissions requirements (e.g., New York, California, Massachusetts) and the 2008 model year, when Audi will introduce the new TT, will be the year without TTs. Audi officials say there won't be a 2007-model TT, but the company will debut an A3 S-line (not an S3, mind you; just an A3 with S design elements and badging) and the new V10-powered S8. Nonetheless, like the Ferrari 599 GTB, the TT will ride on a bed of electrons, with Delphi's automatically adjustable "magnetorheological" suspension to handle road-smoothing duties. Coming Soon: New Audi TT Will Debut in U.S. as 2008 Model [Edmunds] Related: More on the Audi TT [internal] .... | |
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