Audi

Audi roadside app puts help at your fingertips

Audi released its Roadside Assistance app, which lets car owners send requests to Audi's 24-7 vehicle assistance electronic service.

The new app is available for iPhone, Android, and some BlackBerry smartphones, and should speed service requests when drivers need it the most. The app saves time by automatically sending the stored vehicle identification number and personal contact data, and also passes along the phone's GPS location to the assistance operator. Although the application doesn't appear to send any diagnostic data, drivers can submit a request for help with general services, such as a lock-out or a flat … Read more

Car Tech Live 214: Google Earth in the new Audi A7 (podcast)

New York taxis move into the automotive future...Google street view is coming to VW dashboards...we take a look at the best low-tech car tech...and we roll in the amazing Audi A7 Sportback.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 214 SHOW NOTES

• CNET drives the 2012 Audi A7 3.0T

• Google Street View coming to VW dashboards soon

• New Sirius XM channel lineup

• What Satellite Radio 2.0 will look like

• Slideshow: CNET's picks for low-tech car tech

• CNET's LOLcars gallery!

Audi A7 scores as most connected car

We heard Audi was using Google Earth for the navigation systems in its cars, but it was a completely different experience driving down the road, seeing satellite imagery of our surroundings flow by on the 2012 A7's LCD. Through the streets of San Francisco, we suddenly became aware of what the rooftops of buildings we had passed a million times looked like. Parked by the bay, we weren't just looking at a cartoony representation of the coastline, but photos of actual boats in a marina.

And the maps were just the beginning. The T-Mobile data pipe into the … Read more

Audi integrates Google Street View, navigation

Last Friday, Volkswagen opened up its Electronic Research Laboratory (ERL) to journalists, showing off new areas of high-tech automotive research. But one of the most interesting projects, and not too far out from production, involves making Google Street View part of the navigation system.

Here at CNET, we were most recently blown away by the navigation system in the 2012 Audi A7, which integrates Google Earth. While driving the A7, the navigation system showed satellite imagery, with the car moving through a photographic landscape. Audi incorporates a data connection through T-Mobile in the A7 to download the imagery from Google. … Read more

Nissan Leaf named World Car of 2011

As a herald of an electric-car future, jurors for the World Car Awards named the Nissan Leaf as the 2011 World Car. The New York auto show is the yearly venue for the announcement, which also includes awards for performance, design, and environmentalism.

That latter category, the World Green Car, went to the Chevy Volt this year. The Nissan Leaf was a runner-up for the Green award.

The top three competitors for the World Car Award were the Nissan Leaf, Audi A8, and BMW 5-series. The jurors commented that "The Leaf is the gateway to a brave new electric … Read more

German luxury brands plan key debuts

The German automakers' battle to dominate China's luxury market is about to spread to a new product segment: small cars and crossovers.

Mercedes-Benz and Audi have chosen the Shanghai auto show for the world debut of two models: a small hatchback dubbed the Mercedes Concept A-Class and the Audi Q3 crossover.

The four-seat Concept A-Class, which is positioned as a sporty rival to the BMW 1-series and Audi A3, is powered by a turbocharged, direct-injection 2-liter gasoline engine that generates 210 horsepower.

The front-wheel-drive car's four-cylinder engine is mated to a dual-clutch transmission.

Other features include a radar-based … Read more

The 2012 Audi A7 ships this month at a price of $60,125

Spending a good chunk of change on a luxury ride usually means sacrificing fuel economy. But the 2012 Audi A7, which starts at $59,250--plus $875 shipping charges--promises to offer top fuel economy for its class.

The A7 rides on an aluminum-hybrid lightweight construction, with aluminum body panels and a steel frame, which allows for a U.S. EPA rating of 18 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway, a combined 22 mpg.

Inside the A7 is an Audi first: a heads-up display with a high-resolution, full-color display, which were also recently introduced in the Audi A8. … Read more

Audi's woody 2-wheelers

The latest models from Audi feature two wheels instead of four, and wood frames. No, this isn't an April Fools' joke; Audi partnered with Renovo, a bicycle designer in Portland, Ore., to offer three bicycles featuring Audi logos and colors.

The really unique thing about Renovo's bicycles is that the frames are made from wood, hardwood, to be specific. The wooden tubes of the frame are hollow, and Audi says that wood offers the smoothest ride of any bicycle frame material due to its ability to absorb shocks. Further, Audi notes that the wood used in the frames … Read more

Audi Connect offers Wi-Fi, souped-up navigation

Audi is about to roll out Audi Connect, an infotainment system that combines an in-vehicle Wi-Fi link with what amounts to a navigation system on steroids.

Audi Connect debuts in the 2012 Audi A7 this spring. It will be available on the 2012 A8 this summer and optional on the 2012 A6 sedan when it goes on sale this fall.

Audi Connect creates a password-protected Wi-Fi link within the vehicle. In tests during the 2012 A6's launch in Sicily, passengers surfed the Web on an iPad and had full use of smartphones.

Audi Connect does not directly enable voice … Read more