HONEST JOHN AWARDS - The most luxurious car for this year goes to Audi and teh A7 Sportback.

Elegant five-door Audi coupé wins Most Popular Luxury Car award for the third year in a row

• Audi A7 Sportback range available to order now, priced from £46,865 OTR
• SE Executive, S line and Black Edition specification available
• Three V6 TDI outputs – 218PS, 272PS and 320PS – and a 3.0 TFSI with 333PS all come fitted with quattro all-wheel-drive as standard
• All-new RS 7 performance, one of the fastest Audis currently on sale, is now available to order with 605PS and up to 750Nm of torque

The Audi A7 Sportback has once again won the favour of Honest John website users, taking the Most Popular Luxury Car crown for the third consecutive year at the annual Honest John Awards presentation, held in London last night.

Judged on the amount of page impressions earned in its respective category, the A7 Sportback has been a consistent favourite on the hugely popular independent motoring review and advice portal, owing in no small part to its ‘styling, comfort and beautifully-finished cabin’.

Commenting on the win, Dan Harrison, Editor, HonestJohn.co.uk said: “When it comes to luxury cars on HonestJohn.co.uk, nothing can match the Audi A7 Sportback for popularity. Powered by the best engines in the Audi range, the A7 Sportback also offers effortless pace and reasonable running costs – something our users appreciate.”

A recent technology update, bringing the option of the Audi smartphone interface and the addition of inductive charging for Qi-compatible handsets via the Audi phone box, has made the Audi A7 Sportback an even more attractive proposition.

As part of the update the distinctive lines of the five-door coupé’s body have also benefited from three new colour options - Matador Red, Gotland Green and Java Brown – and a new 17-inch, five-spoke alloy wheel design has been added for SE Executive models to round out the enhancements.

As standard, the A7 Sportback offers a wealth of sophisticated equipment including all-weather LED headlights, SD-card based MMI navigation, an electrically powered tailgate, four-zone air conditioning and Milano leather-upholstered seats with driver and passenger electric adjustment and heating.

AUDI launches a selection of it's models for the 2017 model year, all with significant improvements.

Detail changes to the executive class Saloon, Avant and five-door Sportback ranges enhance styling, connectivity and comfort 

• New highlights for exterior, interior and equipment
• Even more connectivity and entertainment features
• A6 Saloon 2017 Model Year pricing from £32,995 OTR, Avant from £35,095
• S6 from £57,215 OTR, RS 6 Avant from £79,505 OTR
• A7 Sportback 2017 Model Year pricing from £46,865 OTR
• S7 Sportback from £64,380 OTR, RS 7 Sportback from £85,485 OTR
• UK ordering from May, first deliveries in the summer

In the spirit of ‘never standing still’ which is a key tenet of Vorsprung durch Technik, Audi is making some detail changes to its executive class A6 and A7 Sportback ranges. Carefully considered styling refinements enhance the perennially popular A6 Saloon and Avant lines, while all models benefit  from interior upgrades and new equipment. UK order banks for the latest A6 and A7 Sportback models and their S and RS counterparts will open in May and deliveries will start in the summer.

The basis for the newly updated A6 and A6 Avant ranges is a new SE Executive specification level, which replaces the entry level SE option available up to this point. It ushers in a new, bolder look courtesy of a new front apron incorporating more pronounced air inlets with gloss black horizontal struts, more sculpted side sills and a restyled rear bumper now housing a new diffuser at its lower edge.

The already more sporting stance struck by the S line and top flight Black Edition models has also been subtly enhanced by a new radiator grille with a matt black surround and chrome slats flanked by striking side air inlets also fringed with chrome.

Compatibility with the latest Audi connectivity and entertainment options is the headline news in the updated interiors of the A6 and A7 Sportback models. The Audi smartphone interface is now available for both models in combination with the optional Technology Pack, bringing Apple Car Play and Android Auto to the car.

If an iOS or Android smartphone is connected to the USB port (iOS from 7.1, Android from 5.0 Lollipop), the handset‘s contents such as navigation, phone, music and selected third party apps are offered in a separate MMI menu. They can be accessed conveniently by MMI or voice control. The Audi phone box feature that was already a part of the pack has also taken a step forward – as before it connects smartphones to the on‑board antenna by near-field coupling, but it now also offers the added convenience of inductive charging of compatible handsets (to Qi standard).   

Detail upgrades to the standard equipment lists have also been made across the A6, A7 Sportback, S6 and S7 Sportback and A6 allroad ranges, starting with the addition of LED interior lighting, front seat heating, electric lumbar adjustment and elegant Aluminium Ellipse inlays for A6 SE Executive models over and above the previous SE specification.

At the pinnacle of the range, the 560PS RS 6 and RS 7 Sportback and their even more powerful 605PS RS 6 performance and RS 7 Sportback performance counterparts are now available in an expanded palette of matt effect colours including Sepang Blue, Nardo Grey, Glacier White and Floret Silver.

Equipment highlights for every A6 and A7 Sportback model already include bi-xenon or all-LED headlamps with LED tail lights, acoustic front glazing, full leather upholstery, MMI navigation, deluxe four-zone climate control, the Audi Music Interface channelled through the 180-watt Audi Sound System and various versions of the Audi parking system.

The US Justice Dept has filed a civil suit against Volkswagen AG for allegedly violating the Clean Air Act.

The U.S. Justice Department today filed a civil suit against Volkswagen AG for allegedly violating the Clean Air Act by installing illegal devices to impair emission control systems in 600,000 vehicles.

The allegations in the lawsuit carry penalties that could cost Volkswagen billions of dollars, a senior Justice Department official said.

"The United States will pursue all appropriate remedies against Volkswagen to redress the violations of our nation's clean air laws," said Assistant Attorney General John Cruden, head of the departments environment and natural resources division.

The lawsuit will be filed in the Eastern District of Michigan and then transferred to Northern California, where class-action lawsuits against Volkswagen are pending.

The Justice Department lawsuit accuses Volkswagen of four counts of violating the U.S. Clean Air Act, including tampering with the emissions control system and failing to report violations.

"We're alleging that they knew what they were doing, they intentionally violated the law and that the consequences were significant to health," the senior Justice Department official said. 

The Justice Department has also been investigating criminal fraud allegations against Volkswagen for misleading U.S. consumers and regulators. Criminal charges would require a higher burden of proof than the civil lawsuit.

The civil lawsuit does not preclude the Justice Department from pursuing criminal charges against Volkswagen, said the Justice Department official. 

Material omissions

The suit details VW’s environmental violations and alleges that VW tried to hide them from regulators.

“Volkswagen AG knowingly concealed facts that would have revealed” that about 500,000 2.0-liter diesels contained two emissions calibrations -- one for the road and another for the test lab, the complaint said. The government’s efforts to “learn the truth” about the excess 2.0-liter emissions were “impeded and obstructed by material omissions and misleading information provided by VW entities including at least VWoA and Volkswagen AG.”

The complaint also made similar charges against Volkswagen AG and Audi AG for their roles in the government’s probe into “irregularities” in the 3.0-liter diesel used mainly in SUVs and larger sedans from Audi.

Volkswagen acknowledged the suit in a statement, but stopped short of responding to specific claims, which it noted were included in the EPA and California Air Resources Board violation notices issued last fall.

“Volkswagen will continue to work cooperatively with the EPA on developing remedies to bring the TDI vehicles into full compliance with regulations as soon as possible. In addition, we are working with Kenneth Feinberg to develop an independent, fair and swift process for resolving private consumer claims relating to these issues,” VW said in its statement. “We will continue to cooperate with all government agencies investigating these matters.”

Legal implications

Volkswagen's earlier admissions eliminate almost any possibility that the automaker could defend itself in court, said attorney Daniel Riesel of Sive, Paget & Riesel P.C, who defends companies accused of environmental crimes.

To win the civil case, the government does not need to prove the degree of intentional deception at Volkswagen -- just that the cheating occurred, Riesel said. "I don't think there is any defense in a civil suit," he said.

Instead, the automaker will seek to negotiate a lower penalty by arguing that the maximum would be "crippling to the company and lead to massive layoffs," Riesel said.

Ryan Beene of Automotive News contributed to this report.

REPORT HERE

AUDI is ranked very highly against other motor brands for its movement towards Autonomous driving.

• Audi and three other automakers lead the industry in piloted driving
• Navigant Research looked at companies' strategies and execution
• Audi vehicles already have many advanced driver assistance technologies

Audi ranks as one of the leaders in the industry movement toward autonomous driving in a new study by Navigant Research. Audi, Daimler, BMW and General Motors are leading all other automakers as they move toward the goal of producing self-driven vehicles in the next few years, the study found.

“Our approach looked at the overall strategy and execution to see who’s got the best history in this area as well as who’s got the most on the drawing board now and has made announcements about what is going to be launched in the next year or two,” David Alexander, London-based senior research analyst for the market research and consulting firm based in Boulder, Colorado.

Today’s Audi vehicles already demonstrate many of the advanced driver assistance technologies that form the building blocks of what we call “piloted” driving, including Audi active lane assist, adaptive cruise control, Audi side assist and Audi pre sense rear, which helps drivers change lanes safely.

Among the brand’s accomplishments with more advanced piloted driving, still in development, have been the completion of a test drive by a selected group of journalists in an Audi A7 that drove more than 560 miles, largely hands-free on Interstate highways, from Silicon Valley, California, to the International Consumer Electronics Show in Law Vegas last January. 

Audi has predicted that the company will field a model capable of fully autonomous driving within the next few years.

Navigant ranked each of 18 original-equipment manufacturers according to a number of criteria and then, based on their scores, grouped them into ranked categories.

After the “Leaders” group of four that included Audi, Navigant ranked as “Contenders” Volvo, Ford, Toyota and Honda; as “Challengers” Nissan, Jaguar Land Rover, Tesla and Hyundai/Kia; and in the last group, Fiat Chrysler, Mazda, Renault, PSA Peugeot Citroen and Mitsubishi.

Alexander acknowledged that Google has helped create a lot of media, public and industry interest in self-driving and has done significant development work on the concept. But Navigant didn’t include the tech giant among serious candidates for fielding its own self-driving vehicle in the next few years “because they’re not in danger of putting anything into production in that time,” he said.

AUDI AG tips the 900,000 sales in the first six months, the first time the brand has achieved this feat.

• Cumulative deliveries worldwide up 3.8 percent; up 1.3 percent in June
• Sales chief Luca de Meo: “Continued growth despite upcoming model changes and challenging markets”
• European sales of the new Audi TT climb by 78.1 percent

Compared with the same period last year, AUDI AG’s worldwide sales from January to June increased by 3.8 percent to around 902,400 cars. For the first time in the company’s history, more than 900,000 customers had already chosen the brand with the four rings by mid-year. 

Even though important model changes are imminent in a number of markets, sales climbed further in all world regions – particularly on the American continent (+12.4%). In June, worldwide deliveries of around 157,450 were slightly above the level of the same month last year (+1.3%).

“So far, 2015 has been a year of challenges for us. We are meeting these challenges successfully and remain on track,” says Luca de Meo, Member of the Board of Management for Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG. 

“Many markets have become significantly more difficult, especially in Asia and Eastern Europe. In addition, we are preparing for new generations in key volume models and markets. These make up around 40 percent of our global sales.”

As successor to the top-selling Audi model, the new A4 will first be launched in Europe in the fourth quarter. In the full-size class, the new Q7 arrived at dealers in the first European markets in June before successively premiering in the other regions of the world. 

The model changeover for the updated generation of the A6 is also still underway in some regions. Strong growth in the first half of the year was recorded by the globally available A3 family, up 35 percent to around 195,350 cars delivered. Demand for the Q3 (+7.5% to around 100,950 cars) and Q5 (+3.9% to around 126,200 cars) SUV models also continued to grow.

SUV sales showed particularly strong growth in the United States where the combined models of the Q3, Q5 and Q7 increased by 28.5 percent in the first half of the year. Across the entire lineup, the United States achieved the highest increase in sales among the ten largest Audi sales markets with growth of 11 percent to 93,615 deliveries. 

Significant increases in Canada (+19.6% to 13,463 cars) and Brazil (+39.4% to 8,683 cars) also made the American continent the growth engine for Audi during the first half of the year: up 12.4 percent to around 127,100 customers. Audi’s dynamic pace in the region continued unabated in June with an 8.3 percent increase to 18,262 deliveries in the U.S. market and a 42.9 percent increase in sales in South America to around 2,350 units.

In Europe, the new generations of the A6 (+9.2% to around 52,400 cars) and A7 (+23.9% to around 6,300 cars) provided positive momentum in the first half of the year. The new TT also significantly expanded its customer base

(+78.1% to around 12,300 cars). 

Across the entire range of models, deliveries of the four rings increased in Western Europe by 4.1 percent to around 394,600 since the beginning of the year. In June, sales in the region reached around 67,100 cars delivered to customers, an increase of 4.9 percent. 

Among the major Western European markets, cumulative demand increased notably in Spain (+10.3% to 25,146 cars), Italy (+7.9% to 28,030 cars) and Germany  (+5.5% to 147,763 cars). In contrast, the strong market downturn in Russia continued during the first half of the year (-32.3% to 12,155 cars).

Market developments in the Asia-Pacific region were also mixed in the first half of the year. While South Korea (+9.0% to 14,560 cars) joined the ranks of Audi’s top ten sales markets for the first time, and Australia also reported significant growth (+17.4% to 11,339 cars), the declining overall market in Japan was reflected in Audi’s sales performance: down 1.8 percent to 15,718 cars. 

In China, the brand was able to increase its sales slightly by 1.9 percent to 273,853 cars since January, but the current restraint of Chinese customers in the upper market segments is also clearly felt by the leading premium car company. In June, the sales figures of Audi in China declined by 5.8 percent to 47,831 cars delivered.

Sales for AUDI AG	In June			Cumulative
	2015	2014	Change from 2014	2015	2014	Change from 2014
World	157,450	155,459	+1.3%	902,400	869,357	+3.8%
Europe	71,650	69,233	+3.5%	419,900	410,037	+2.4%
- Germany	24,165	23,502	+2.8%	147,763	140,003	+5.5%
- UK	13,828	13,545	+2.1%	86,376	83,357	+3.6%
- France	5,481	5,263	+4.1%	30,653	30,502	+0.5%
- Italy	4,873	4,845	+0.6%	28,030	25,979	+7.9%
- Spain	4,688	4,168	+12.5%	25,146	22,789	+10.3%
- Russia	2,007	3,000	-33.1%	12,155	17,966	-32.3%
USA	18,262	16,867	+8.3%	93,615	84,349	+11.0%
Mexico	1,235	1,111	+11.2%	6,568	6,205	+5.9%
Brazil	1,525	835	+82.6%	8,683	6,229	+39.4%
China (incl. Hong Kong)	47,831	50,756	-5.8%	273,853	268,666	+1.9%