2009 Audi A5 2dr Cpe Auto Navigation Sunroof 19' Alloys Leather Mp3 Bluetooth on 2040-cars

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Audi rules out R8 PHEV, will build E-Tron to order

The question of whether Audi will morph the next-gen R8 (pictured above, in testing) into a plug-in-hybrid challenger for the BMW i8 may have been answered. CarAdvice, in Australia, is claiming that any plans for a PHV 2016 R8 have been shelved, and that Audi will go ahead with gas-powered or all-electric models, only.
Even then, the electric R8 E-tron (if it ends up being called that) would be built-to-order, and in much smaller quantities than the gas-powered model.
"In the next generation we will have an electric car on behalf of customers' needs, which is only available [upon special order]," Audi product manager Marie Suzanne Ernst told CA. "So it's not a make of series production, but if a customer wants to have it, he can order it."

Audi scores first CA autonomous car permit

Audi apparently knows how to get to the front of a line when it comes to driverless vehicles. The German automaker had the honor of being the very first company to receive one of California's new autonomous vehicle driving permits. It was a perfect followup to it being among the earliest ones to get a similar permit in Nevada a few years ago.
Getting the California permit is a big deal for the automaker because the state is also home to Audi's Electronics Research Lab. Among its current projects, Audi is working on the human-machine interface to communicate whether the person or vehicle is actually controlling the driving. All of this hard work is building toward offering autonomous motoring in freeway conditions in the next five years, Audi claims.
Obviously, autonomous vehicles from companies like Google have been testing in California for a while, but the new permits are meant to safeguard public safety when testing the driverless cars in public. The new rules include things like always having a person able to take control and more stringent standards like registering each autonomous car and the eligible drivers with the state. Any models testing on public roads also have to carry at least $5 million in insurance in case of injury, death or property damage.

Audi launches 2014 TDI models with hilarious spot

Audi has unveiled a set of new television spots that seek to continue the company's proselytizing of diesel-fueled luxury cars to the American pubic. With TDI versions of the A6, A7, A8, Q5 and Q7 available for its 2014 model year range, this is a subject that's obviously near and dear to the hearts of Audi marketers.
The first commercial, The Station, makes a play on the fact that many car buyers in the US don't associate luxury cars (in this case an A8) with those green-handled pumps at the "gas" station. The second commercial, Range, is a lot more informative (albeit less fraught with screaming and slowmo), discussing just how easy it should be to find a diesel fueling station in your long-range TDI before you need to fill up.
Continue on below for a look at both new commercials, or to have Audi explain them to you in great detail, via its press release.