2015 Audi A3 Sedan - All-New Starts at $29,900

The 2015 A3 sedan, with leather seating, a panorama glass sunroof and bi-xenon headlights as standard, with the 1.8 TFSI® engine will start at $29,900 and with the 2.0 TFSI® powertrain will start at $32,900, both mated to the standard 6-speed S tronic® transmission. The premium plus package for an additional $2,900 will include exclusive 18" 10-spoke-design Audi wheels, an aluminum interior package, and keyless entry while the prestige package, for an additional $8,800, will include everything that is offered in premium plus, as well as a sportier S Line® exterior kit, Driver Assistance, a Bang & Olufsen Sound System, Audi MMI navigation plus, Audi Connect, Convenience package and full LED headlights for $8,800.

The A3 sedan will be joined later this year by the Audi A3 Cabriolet, A3 TDI clean diesel, high-performance S3 sedan and in early 2015, the A3 Sportback e-tron® gasoline electric hybrid (PHEV).

Audi allroad shooting brake Crossover concept car

The Audi allroad shooting brake Crossover concept car achieves 408 horsepower from a 288 horsepower 2.0 TFSI transverse mounted two-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine and e-tron-quattro technology that produces 300 kW of power from plug-in hybrid drive with two electric motors connected to a six-speed e-S tronic dual clutch transmission. The car is 163.8 inches long and at 123.8 mpg has a total driving range of more than 509 miles.

There is the EV mode for all-electric driving where the rear axle electric motor can accelerate the two-door car to a top speed of 80.78 mph. In Hybrid mode,  the electric motor in front acts as a generator driven by the engine, charging the battery to extend the car’s effective electric driving range. In Sport mode, the electric motor at the rear axle works together with the 2.0 TFSI in a boost mode.

California Regulations Include Clean Diesel

Ever since the Green Car Journal selected the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Clean Diesel and Audi A3 TDI Clean Diesel as their Green Car of the Year back-to-back in 2009 and 2010 respectively, and having driven a Volvo XC60 D5 AWD diesel (pictured above) in Sweden for a week in 2010 with amazing fuel economy, I've become a big advocate of the new clean diesel powered vehicles, especially for those highway commuters who don't really benefit from the electric hybrids.

Clean Diesel engines, which are 20 to 40 percent more fuel efficient than comparable gasoline engines, will play a big part in the California Air Resources Board new tailpipe and greenhouse gas emissions standards for new passenger vehicles. The California ARB's new Low-Emission Vehicle (LEV III) regulations, the most stringent in the world, will get phased in during model years 2017-2025. In that time, all vehicles sold in California will have to meet Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV) tailpipe standards. The new ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel has reduced sulfur emissions by 97 percent.

Recent Diesel Award Winners:

• The all new 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI clean diesel was voted the winner of the 2012 Earth, Wind and Power Car of the Year of the Most Earth Friendly Vehicles at the recent North American International Auto Show in Detroit;
• The 2012 Volkswagen Touareg TDI Clean Diesel was named Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year;
• In 2010 Audi Q7 TDI Clean Diesel was voted the 2010 Earth, Wind and Power Truck of the Year and the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Clean Diesel was voted the 2009 Earth, Wind and Power Car of the Year.

New Clean Diesels Coming To The U.S.

• Chrysler Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel in 2013 or 2014, and possibly other Jeep diesels later;
• General Motors Cadillac ATS diesel in the near future;
• Audi A8 TDI diesel in 2013;
• Porsche Cayenne diesel in 2012;
• GM Chevrolet Cruze diesel in 2013;
• Mazda SKYACTIV-D 2.2-liter clean diesel engine;
• Mercedes-Benz S-Class S350 BlueTEC diesel in 2012 after a 17-year absence;
• Volkswagen Passat, which was recently named the Motor Trend 2012 Car of the Year, began production of the Passat diesel in its new Chattanooga, TN plant in the summer of 2011.

Source: The Diesel Technology Forum, a non-profit national organization, dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of diesel engines, fuel and technology. For more information visit www.dieselforum.org.

Audi Beverly Hills Dealership Officially Opens

2011 Audi A8 NWB Introduced This Week, On Sale In The Fall

The all-new 2011 Audi A8, Audi's fourth generation flagship sedan with aluminum space frame, MMI user interface, quattro all-wheel-drive and adaptive air suspension, will hit showrooms this Fall. The A8 is powered by a 372 hosepower 4.2 FSI direct injection V8 engine with Valvelift System variable intake valve lift delivering 328 lb-ft torque and mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission.

The biggest issue with the new high tech luxury sedans is the navigation, entertainment interface which manufacturers painstakingly research with focus groups to make user-friendly. A difficult to use control system can be a customer's key vehicle dissatisfier so I spent an hour with Dr. Werner Hamberger assigned to making the next-generation MMI 3G+ Multi Media Interface with ‘MMI touch’. MMI touch is essentially like a laptop mousepad that recognizes handwriting for entering letters and numbers for Navigation destinations, and is backlit to allow it to change to a pointer for map functions, a number pad for radio functions (see lower left of photo) and can be used to scroll lists in the MMI.

The A8 NWB (Normal Wheelbase) was shown in Detroit and the LWB (Long Wheelbase) A8 will be revealed in 2010. The A8 competes with the Mercedes-Benz S Class, BMW 7 Series, Lexus LS and Jaguar XJ. The A8 introduced this week in Detroit and coming to market in the Fall is a vehicle of beauty, technology and performance with an intuitively  easy-to-use control system. We'll get the price for the new A8 closer to sales date.