audi

Filed under: Performance, Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Hatchback, Audi, Luxury

Audi apparently couldn't wait until the Super Bowl to show off the ad it will run during the Big Game. The German automaker has released its spot, and sure enough, the quick clip has cashed in on the current vampire craze. The commercial features a clutch of gen x/y/millennial 20-something vamps out for an impromptu fireside party. When their hero arrives in an Audi S7 with an extra cooler of O Negative, disaster ensues. At least the company chose an excellent soundtrack. The whole drama plays out under the silky tones of Echo & The Bunnymen's "Killing Moon." Audi unveiled the spot mere days after teasing its Super Bowl ad after Facebook fans beat the company's Race The Light game on the social network. We have to say, we're a little underwhelmed by the spot. Audi is on an undeniable roll right now with products like the TT-RS and A7 littering showrooms across the country, so it's a bit sad that this was the best feature they could muster to highlight in a Super Bowl commercial. Hit the jump to see the spot for yourself.

Continue reading Audi lights up vampire-laden S7 commercial ahead of Super Bowl

Audi lights up vampire-laden S7 commercial ahead of Super Bowl originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Audi

We've entered a new age of advertising, friends. One where manufacturers gleefully shill for their own ads instead of actual products. We've seen it with the teaser as for the Volkswagen Super Bowl spot, and now Audi has jumped into the game. It's Inception gone marketing - an ad within an ad. In order to get us all fired up for the commercial to come, Audi has unveiled a teaser that features some of the best moments from the company's Super Bowl marketing past as well as a quick glimpse of what we can expect from this year's high-budget number. From the looks of things, the commercial will feature everyone's favorite creature of the night: vampires. We're not sure how we can possibly contain our anticipation. Or something. Hit the jump to check out the commercial for a commercial for yourself.

Continue reading Audi teases next Super Bowl spot

Audi teases next Super Bowl spot originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Budget, Europe, Hatchback, Audi, First Drives, Luxury

Do We Really Want Audi To Think This Small In America? Perhaps... It is perhaps with all the speed of a mighty iceberg, but increasingly, more and more North American buyers appear willing to think smaller when pondering their next auto purchase. The other shoe, which still has largely yet to drop, is for automakers to convince consumers of the merits of a luxury subcompact, paying a price premium for a longer list of creature comforts, options and badge appeal. However small, this trend in the States is best represented by BMW and its Mini range, followed (with a few stumbles out of the gate) by the Fiat 500. In Europe, however, there is already a well-defined tradition of premium minicars on which buyers happily lavish extra dollars, and there is no model quite so indulgent for the masses as the Audi A1. Through its first complete year of sales in 2011, the Bavarians built at their factory in Brussels, Belgium - and sold - nearly 120,000 A1 three-doors. Now we've finally gotten the chance to drive an Audi A1 Sportback with five doors, a model first shown publicly at last October's Tokyo Motor Show. The five-door model carries on with the basic A1 recipe of offering big things in small packages, and rather unusually, we think the model with more doors might actually look better this time. That may not seem altogether based on reason at first glance, since both the three- and five-door A1 designs have a length of 155.7 inches and a wheelbase of 97.2 inches. (Only the Fiat 500, Jeep Wrangler, Scion iQ, Smart ForTwo and various two-door Mini models take up less parking space.)

Continue reading 2012 Audi A1 Sportback [w/video]

2012 Audi A1 Sportback [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Sedan, Videos, Audi, Specialty

Some vehicles are made to be stretched. Others, less so. A Lincoln Town Car, for example, is a good platform for a limo. A Mercedes-Benz S-Class, sure. A Rolls-Royce Phantom. We could even see the attraction behind a Cadillac Escalade limo, if we had to. But not an exotic supercar. The folks over at Carbonyte would beg to differ, though. The British coachbuilder made its reputation, such as it is, by helping Mercedes-Benz and McLaren develop the chassis for the SLR. But after that, things took a drastic turn for the worse. Following the SLR project, Carbonyte turned its attention to unusual stretch jobs that usually involve supercars we'd rather not see chopped up and lengthened. Among its first projects was a stretched Ferrari 360 Modena that did not please the people in Maranello. Then the firm turned a Smart ForTwo into a giant rolling Red Bull can, before setting its sights on the Bugatti Veyron and Koenigsegg CCX. We're glad we never saw those projects come to fruition, but the company is now reportedly preparing to do the same with an Audi R8. Whereas the Ferrari job incorporated two giant gullwing doors to give access to all the rear buckets at once, the R8 project - commissioned by the same company that owns the Ferrari limo - appears to feature individual gullwing doors for each of the passenger seats. The vehicle is reportedly tipped to be completed by this coming summer, and will retain the donor car's 5.2-liter V10 - but we'd guess not its all-wheel drive system, and none of its handling dynamics. Check out the renderings in the image gallery above and the ludicrously dramatic video after the jump.

Continue reading British limo company eager to show its chops with stretched Audi R8 [w/video]

British limo company eager to show its chops with stretched Audi R8 [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thanks for RT's! @audidriver4ever, @Onefastaudi, @MomentumAudiHou & @TailMineRocker #Audi

@VagScene Thanks! They're actually testers for me to review for our blog. I had the 2012 A6 turbocharged :)

Oh, yes, #wantanR8 in white :) http://t.co/0qGamw2B

Gloomy day in San Diego, but bright & cheery in @AudiSanDiego. Checking out their new showroom. http://t.co/rS2utq2D

Nice! RT @50to70: @audiblog Here's our review of the new Audi A1 Sportback - http://t.co/lw8ntOyY

@CircleAudi It has leather with suede seats too :) Miss the wifi, though :)

So sad to say goodbye to the A6, but Hello! to the shiny red S4 :) #Audi #cars http://t.co/1jIOgjRP

Mine was the VW van :) @MotorTrend: What’s Your Favorite Childhood Vacation Vehicle? #ThreadOfTheDay http://t.co/cY3QBFVs

RT @automobilemag: #Audi #R8 Limo Will Get You to the Prom Really, Really Quickly http://t.co/0hGo3hMv

New post: Review: 2011 Audi Q5 3.2 Quattro Tiptronic http://t.co/ZrTe9txF #Audi

2011 was a great year, and the Q5 made for an even better year for the Audi brand. In December 2011 the company had sold 24,908 units year-to-date (YTD), compared to 23, 518 units YTD in December 2010, which was a 5.9% increase. These numbers may impress you, but as for me, I had to experience the Q5 for myself to believe the hype. When the Q5 arrived for the week visit, I have to admit that I wasn’t expected to be wowed. After all, this is the little brother (or sister) to the illustrious Q7, which blew me away when I first drove it. How much better could a mini SUV be, anyways? I still sometimes succumb to the “Bigger is Better” mentality, so you can understand where my thinking comes from. However, one week with the Q5 was enough to change that mindset. The Interior To say that the cabin is "plush" is an understatement. I’ll offer you fair warning. Once you go with a Prestige and Luxury package in any Audi, you’ll never go back to just a regular interior. The Bang and Olufsen sound system, thermo cupholder, leather instrument panel top and door arm rests, premium Milano ventilated front seats, parking system plus with rearview camera, Audi side assist that lights up when there‘s a car in your blind spot, and Audi adaptive light is enough to convert you into a “car snob”. If you can shell out the extra $9,500 for these upgrades, we'll let you slide a little if you want to be snooty. If that's not enough, let's add on a little more comfort and convenience, shall we? The heatable, 12-way power front seats allows you to get that seat just right. Add on the memory driver seating so you don't have to manually adjust the seat every time you get in the car. Then when you're ready to start the engine, all you have to do is press a button. The advanced key just has to be anywhere inside the car for it to start. With all these little luxuries, a 5-hour drive to Vegas is much better than riding first class in any jet plane - even if the trip is much longer. The Q5 is a great little road warrior for the front seat passengers, but doesn’t leave too much leg room for back seat riders unless they’re little kids or if any of the front passengers has long legs (as my fiance does). And if you are riding with children in the back seat on long road trips, you can have them look up in the sky via the panoramic sun roof and play “I Spy”. As for the bells and whistles, the Multi-Media Interface (MMI) in the Q5 is a familiar sight for Audi enthusiasts. Navigation, music (including SIRIUS satellite radio with 3 month complimentary subscription), and driver settings can be accessed with a knob right below the gear shift. With bluetooth you do have other options for music, including streaming of Pandora from a smart phone or synching an iPod. Then there’s a CD/DVD player and slots for SD cards. The Exterior Another wow factor that adds pizazz to the Audi Q5 is the S-line package. Our tester was equipped with 20-inch wheels and 255/45 summer performance tires. You also get the xenon plus headlamps with LED daytime running lights, which isn’t available in the Premium or Premium Plus versions. As far as outer appearances go, who is going to argue the fact that this car looks good? The distinctive grille; the curvy, sporty stature; and the little details like the honeycomb-designed inlays plus chrome accents all combine together to create one fine-looking vehicle that demands a double take. I could go on and on about how the car looks good on the outside, but we’ll let these pictures speak for themselves… The Drive The Q5 3.2 is equipped with a 6-speed automatic transmission and the standard quattro permanent all-wheel drive. The Audi drive select, which is a $2,950 option, puts you in charge of how you want to conquer the road. Drive select gives you the choice of "comfort", "auto", or "dynamic" which configures the engine, transmission, steering, shock absorbers and the sport differential depending on which option you choose. I spent most of the time in "auto", but at times switched to the sporty "dynamic" when navigating through windy roads and hills. When trying to come up with an adjective to describe how I feel when driving the Q5, the only word that repeats in my mind is "steadfast". The Q5 hugs the road, making it easy to weave through highway traffic. With 270 horsepower, you have enough to give you a little boost when stepping on the gas pedal. At 18 city MPG and 23 highway MPG, the Q5 gets pretty decent gas mileage. I averaged about 21 mpg in my week with the Q5, which included a combination of city and highway, but mostly highway - and the air conditioning on about half the time. Pricing The base price for the 2011 Audi Q5 3.2 is $42,500. Tag on all the luxuries we mentioned in this review and you're looking at a total price of $59,900.00 Click here for more pictures of the Audi Q5 posted on our Facebook page.

Filed under: Crossover, Audi, Luxury

Good things come in small packages. Or smaller packages, anyway, as Audi has been discovering with its SUV range. What started with the mammoth Q7 has since grown - or shrank - to include the smaller Q5 and the even smaller Q3, which was just confirmed for the North American market. Keen to capitalize on a positive trend, Audi has been rumored to be considering adding a Q1 to its line-up, details of which are now emerging. The last time we checked, Audi wasn't sure if it would base a potential Q1 off the A1, upcoming A2 or next-generation A3 platform. According to reports, the decision has been made to use the A1's platform, which itself was recently expanded to include a five-door variant and even all-wheel drive. Along the same tangent, though, we're told not to expect an A1 convertible. We're not to expect the Q1 to arrive all that soon, either. While previous reports indicated that Audi could rush its tiniest crossover onto the market within a year or two from now, the latest word is that it could take considerably longer than that. One way or another, we wouldn't expect this baby premium crossover to find its way across the Atlantic anytime soon.

Audi to spin new Q1 crossover off A1 platform originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Coupe, Audi, Luxury

Facebook has rapidly emerged as one of the most visited websites on the internet. So it only makes sense that automakers would launch their new cars there, right? Audi evidently thinks so. And so it has launched a new special edition U.S. model of its sexy S5 coupe on the popular social media site. The model is characterized by a unique shade of dark silver, special five-spoke wheels, a two-tone white and black leather interior, and of course, special badging. Only 125 examples will be offered, though specific pricing parameters have not been immediately revealed.

Audi releases special edition S5 on Facebook originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Marketing/Advertising, Hatchback, Audi, Luxury

Among other things, Audi is known for the brash and bold styling elements of its front fascias. From the giant chiseled trapezoid grille to its highly stylized LED headlamps, there's no mistaking the face of an Audi for anything else on the road. Audi's LED lighting will be on full display during the upcoming Super Bowl as the German automaker has purchased a 60-second plot of airtime during the first quarter, marking the fifth year in a row that Audi has advertised during the big game. If those eyes truly are the windows to the soul, the 420-horsepower 4.0-liter TFSI V8 nestled behind the peepers of the 2013 Audi S7 is one soul we're eagerly looking forward to seeing stirred during SB XLVI on February 5th. In the meantime, we'll just have to live with the press release after the break and the image above, which you can enlarge with a click of the mouse.

Continue reading Audi Super Bowl ad will star S7 and LED lighting

Audi Super Bowl ad will star S7 and LED lighting originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Jan 2012 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Love this closeup pic of the #Audi rings http://t.co/1eVQuxN5

Filed under: Sedan, Videos, Audi, Russia, Design/Style

Though we still can't explain the technology, we're becoming big fans of projection mapping, as can also be seen in this video that has also been featured on these pages. From what we can gather, a Russian marketing team called Radugadesign was behind this production, and we can only assume that a lot of hard work and some sinister numbers crunching from a swath of powerful computers and graphics cards went into its making. As to why this presentation existed in the first place, we have no idea... other than some vague notion that it was produced for Marlboro. Yes, we're assuming it's the cigarette company. What Marlboro has to do with an Audi sedan, we won't even attempt to explain. In any case, we suggest you see the results for yourself in the video after the break.

Continue reading Watch this Audi transform into a moving picture show

Watch this Audi transform into a moving picture show originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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