Audi

Audi A5 and R8 lead January sales

Even though the economy is sputtering, Audi's January new car sales weren't too bad. Overall though, their car sales were down from their record sales in January of last year. In January of this year, they sold 4,722 vehicles.

Audi's two successful models? The A5 and R8. Consider this...their A5 and R8 models experienced a sales increase of more than 75%.

The Audi A5 posted a 76.3% increase over last January with 603 units sold in January 2009. The Audi R8 broke its January sales record with over 107 units sold, an increase of 75.4% over January’s sales a year ago.

Audi expects their overall market share in 2009 to increase.

"The softening economy creates challenges to our industry, but the Audi position in the market continues its upward trend. We are confident this momentum will leave Audi in a better position when the economy turns around," said Johan de Nysschen, President, Audi of America. "As demonstrated in our successful efforts surrounding the recent presidential inauguration and our Super Bowl presence, Audi intends to remain a top-of-mind choice for U.S. luxury car buyers."

Audi must be doing something right. How is it that some car makers still sell cars, even in a down economy? Sure, Audi is a luxury brand. But even wealthy buyers are having second thoughts about making purchases right now.

Can it be that Audi "gets it"? Somehow, they've figured out what buyers want. And I say that with tongue-in-cheek. Of course they get it! They deliver cars that are beautiful. Arguably with a certain German bauhaus styling, but, nonetheless, cars you want to own. Not to mention cars you want to sit in. Let's face it. You don't drive a car from the outside. The interior matters, with quality materials and workmanship making the inside of a car a nice place to be. Not to mention, a place to be during an hour long commute.

Anyone else care to chime in? Has Audi cornered the market on classic design and quality workmanship? What other car maker do you feel trumps Audi's styling?

This weekends "Petit Le Mans" debuts the "Green Challenge"
The American Le Mans Series heads to Road Atlanta this weekend, with the Audi R10 TDI looking to score its third consecutive victory.

The 1000-mile "Little Le Mans" was introduced in 1998, with Audi making its first appearance at Road Atlanta in 2000. Audi has won the race every year since, with six Audi R8 wins, followed by wins the last two years in the R10 TDI.

Audi has recorded 20 wins with the R10 TDI, 16 of them in the American Le Mans Series.

"I was immediately impressed when I drove the car for the first time," remembers Lucas Luhr, who won the Drivers’ Championship with Marco Werner with two races remaining in the 2008 ALMS LMP1 class.

"It’s absolutely fascinating just how the TDI engine pushes."

Included in this weekends race, competitors will be taking part for the first time in the "Green Challenge", a special classification that takes into consideration fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

TDI launches for America
In addition, Audi has announced the launch of their TDI technology for the American market with the availability of the 2009 Q7 3.0 TDI.

In October, the Audi Q7 3.0 TDI will take part in the Audi Mileage Marathon, a two week trek across the United States to showcase their efficient diesel technology.

The Mileage Marathon will be made up of 13 stages, starting in New York and finishing up in Los Angeles. The 4,800 mile trek starts October 5 and concludes on the 20th, with 184 drivers representing North America, Europe and Asia.

This is an excellent example of proven racing technology making its way into the every day car. Will this help American car buyers accept diesel more readily? Only time will tell. Diesel hasn't exactly taken off here as it has in the rest of the world.

Steve Haas has an excellent article on the Mota Blog regarding diesels, its unexpected competition, the hybrid, and its chances of being accepted now after past failures. It's a good read and makes you think, just how green do I want to be?

As the choices in green technology seem to be growing, driving enthusiasts and the technology they crave seem to be placed on the back burner, as least here in America.

As we noted recently in "The death of the manual", Pontiac has nixed the idea of putting a six-speed manual in their G8 GT, holding it out for the GXP model only. Now Audi has announced their new 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, only to say that it won't be available in cars sold in America.

Now, we're huge fans of Audi here at Ridestory who arguably have one of the best vehicle lineups by any manufacturer. And this new dual-clutch transmission is just another technological leap for them. Called the S tronic, this new dual-clutch gear box will be able to manage more torque at higher RPMs, up to 9,000 rpm and 550 Nm or 405.66 lb-ft to be exact. Consequently, Audi buyers interested in future S and RS car purchases, such as the S4, RS4 and RS5, will have this new gearbox available to them.

But this is where Audi's plans hit the skids for us. The plan is that this new S tronic will only be available on European models. Apparently, Audi is worried Americans will complain about the gear boxes shift quality, which has a harder edge to it.

Are American performance car buyers that much different than their European counterparts? If you're buying a performance-minded car, don't you expect it to behave differently than a "normal" car? As we noted in our article about the G8, we're traditionalists who prefer a good six-speed manual, so opting for Audi's manual in a choice S5 or R8 would be a no brainer. But Audi should offer their latest gear boxes in cars the performance buyer knows about.

For more about transmissions and your choices when used car shopping, check out my blog post, Transmissions: What suits you? over at Mota.net.

It's no secret to anyone who follows auto news with us that we love the R8, as we followed most recently with the kick-off of Audi's new advertising blitz during the Superbowl. And Car Magazine's interpretation of what the R8 Spider may look like is incredible. No, this is not a production-ready convertible R8 but likely very close.

Now, is this better looking than other exotic convertibles? Ferrari's, both past and present, are always considered beautiful. Porsche's cabriolet, maybe not so much. Lamborghini's Gallardo Spyder also looks pretty good, but better than this R8?

Let us know what you think. Any exotic drop-top that you just love and couldn't live without? Do you own a convertible exotic? Let us know what you think.