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Audi Superstore Opens in Houston Texas
The largest Audi dealership has opened in Houston. A unit of Sonic Automotive Inc. has opened the largest Audi dealership in the United States — a glitzy 142,000-square-foot store.
Audi Central Houston’s seven-story facility is more than eight-times the size of a conventional dealership, and roughly four times that of a typical Audi dealership built in the last five years, an Audi spokesman said.
The store’s ground-level 10-car showroom and sales area takes up roughly 16,000 square feet, Sonic President Scott Smith said in an e-mail to Automotive News.
There is “an additional 10,000 square-feet on the second level for support space,” Smith wrote.
Mark Del Rosso, COO of Audi of America, said in a statement Thursday the new dealership speaks volumes to customer and ownership experience.
“This new dealership exemplifies the growing investment of our dealer body,” Rosso said.
Audi has new synthetic e-fuel technology in the works
From electric to ethanol and even hydrogen fuel cells, we’ve seen a lot of advancements in the automotive world when it comes to alternative fuel solutions. But Audi has a new technology up its sleeves in the form of synthetic e-fuel.
Synthetically engineered e-fuel can replace gas and diesel, and so far Audi claims to be making significant strides in its performance and viability. The German automaker recently completed a series of tests, confirming that its e-fuels burn more efficiently in internal combustion engines than traditional fossil fuels, resulting in far fewer emissions.
E-fuel production takes the energy from the sun and nonpotable water and converts it into liquid fuel using a photosynthetic process involving microorganisms. But rather than the photosynthesis producing more cells, the microorganisms produce fuel. Audi claims there’s no need for fresh water or agriculture of any kind in the process.
Ford redesigns Ram 1500 with better fuel economy
The 2014 diesel-powered Ram 1500 pickup gets 28 mpg on the highway, the top rating for any pickup in the United States. The mileage ratings were announced today on the EPA’s www.fueleconomy.gov Web site. The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel is rated at 20 mpg in the city and 23 mpg combined city and highway.
The rating gives the Ram pickup the two highest fuel economy ratings among full-sized pickups. The Ram 1500 HFE with a 3.6-liter V6 gasoline engine is rated at 18 city/25 highway/21 combined.
In the fall, Ford will counterpunch in the pickup mileage fight with the redesigned 2015 F-150, which has a weight-saving aluminum body.
Hot Rods Going Green – Can It Be?
What an awesome car and it is fantastic to see it going green! At 455 horsepower, the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is not only set to out-perform the maker’s original expectations but to deliver more muscle than any “base” ‘Vette since the two-seat sports car was first introduced 60 years ago.
That news came the same day that Aston Martin unveiled its fastest model ever, the 200 mph V12 Vantage S. In fact, for those who like performance, there are plenty of options – like the nearly 1,000 horsepower LaFerrari that will get you from 0 to 60 in fewer than 3 seconds.
While the media spotlight may be on green machines – from the $20,000 Chevrolet Spark EV to Tesla’s Model S, topping out at over $100,000 – muscle still matters to those paying.
Tesla Planning Expansion of Superchargers
This is great news for Telsa owners and bodes well for the electric car industry as a whole! Battery-car start-up Tesla Motors hopes to put a quick-charging “supercharger” within reach of all U.S. motorists – and most of those in Canada – over the next several years, something that could eliminate the so-called “range anxiety” that has so far been a factor in the limited sales of plug-based” vehicles like Tesla’s Model S.
The roll-out of the Tesla supercharger network will now come twice as fast as originally planned, with about twice as many of them being put in place, according to the maker’s founder, CEO Elon Musk. The fast-charging system will also be upgraded to reduce charging times by nearly half, compared to the first chargers now in place, Musk said.
“It does mean quite a lot to mainstream customers, being able to drive your (battery) car wherever you want to go … at a moment’s notice,” Musk said. “So (this is) very important to accessing a broader audience” for battery-electric vehicles like the Tesla Model-S sedan that went on sale last summer.
Chrysler Fights Recall Request
You don’t see this happen very often, it will be interesting to watch for the outcome. In a highly unusual move for an automaker, Chrysler is fighting a request from the federal government to recall 2.7 million Jeep vehicles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) asked Chrysler to recall the Jeep models in question because of concerns the fuel tank may leak and contribute to deadly fires if the vehicles are hit in a rear-impact crash.
Chrysler is still formulating a formal response for the federal government, but already started disputing the need for a recall in a press release Tuesday.
2015 Mercedes Benz C-Class – Looking Awesome
The 2015 looks even better than the amazing 2014! While we’re gushing over the dramatic coupe styling of the 2014 CLA, this cramped, front-wheel-drive entry-level model isn’t going to lead Mercedes-Benz sedan sales. That job, as it’s been since the original 190E, belongs to the more conventional C-Class.
But for 2015, Mercedes is following some of the more radical design of its fresh CLA, especially with its sportier interior fitted with the same air vents that debuted on the SLS supercar a few years earlier and now are migrating to all Mercedes models.
New 2015 Genesis Sedan Ready for Preview
This looks like a great car! Hyundai has one mission with the next Genesis sedan: Shed the generic design and get luxury buyers to actually consider buying one.
Hyundai’s South Korean headquarters has released renderings of the 2015 model, set to go on sale in the U.S. sometime next spring. The new car, if the renderings are at all close to production, takes cues from the HCD-14 Genesis Concept that debuted in January at the North American.
Honda Set to Show Off 2 Seat Roadster
What a great looking little sports car! We’ve been without Honda’s high-revving S2000 roadster for five years now. That’s five years without any Honda sports car in the lineup, and while there’s no word if this mini white 2-seater will come to our shores, it will be on display at next month’s Tokyo Motor Show.
Word around the blogosphere is that the S660 designation means it has a 660-cc engine, which is the displacement limit for kei cars, a class of micro vehicles that enjoy tax breaks and are allowed to park in Tokyo without the owner providing proof of a dedicated parking space.
Hyundai Genesis Recall
This is going to cost them a ton of money! Days after the federal government opened an investigation into the 2009 Hyundai Genesis for failing brakes, Hyundai has decided to recall about 27,500 of the luxury sedans from the 2009-2012 model year, according to Hyundai.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had received at least 23 complaints from owners that their brakes had become weak and the brake pedal had gone soft, which caused one owner to rear-end a car and another to apply the parking brake as an emergency measure.