The Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gave the Top Safety Pick award for 2008 to the Audi Q7, a luxury performance SUV. The luxury performance SUV came out on top as it received a ‘good’ rating in all three crash tests: side impact, offset frontal, and rear impact seat tests.

The Q7 isn’t the only Audi recognized this year for outstanding vehicle safety ratings. The Audi A3, A4 and A6 have also been recognized as Top Safety Picks for 2008, giving Audi the honor of having the most Top Safety Pick designations for any luxury automaker for 2008.

To achieve the Top Safety Pick honors, a vehicle must earn the highest rating of good in the Institute’s front, side and rear tests. The vehicle should also be equipped with electronic stability control. Audi offers this safety feature as standard on every model it rolls out.

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It was a double victory for the Audi R8 sports car. At the 2008 World Car of the Year awards, the mentioned vehicle was able to take home two awards - the World Performance Car award and the World Car Design of the Year award.

The vehicle that is chosen as the recipient of any award from the World Car of the Year set of awards is really a deserving vehicle. All vehicles nominated for an award go through various tests and checkups. Deciding on who takes home the award are 47 jurors who all are experts and come from 24 various countries scattered around the globe.

According to the jurors, the Audi R8 as the 2008 World Performance Car came with “solid credentials on paper thanks to its mid-mounted 420 horsepower V8 engine and aluminum construction. But where it excels is in the exceptional balance, refinement and control that grant the driver the confidence to push to the limit. It has astonishing precision for a car of its size category.”

Kudos Audi!

All roads lead to Paris from Sept. 30 to Oct. 15 as the 2006 Mondial de l’Automobile opens at the Paris Expo, Porte De Versailles. Just like in previous Paris Motor Shows, automakers from all over the globe will turn out in full force to reveal their latest brand new models and concept car designs. This year, the spotlights will be on the latest hybrid and alternative fuel cars competing with high-end luxury cars and exotics for the public’s attention. Companies from Audi to Toyota will unveil their hottest new models and show a glimpse of their future design directions.

European automakers will take the covers off their top new models. The French have a number of major launches up their sleeves including Citroen’s midsize C4 Picasso and futuristic C-Métisse concept car. Meanwhile, Citroen’s mother company Peugeot is hoping that its Epure and 908 RC concept cars will both be a success. Another French automaker, Renault, will show off its new Nepta, a cabriolet concept with motor driven gull wings, 3.5-liter V6 engine, and 420-hp direct-injection gasoline engine.

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The German Car Blog reports that Audi has begun production of the newest version of the Audi TT sports car. Audi has spent almost 230 million euros on new production technologies and equipments to ensure that the new TT is produced with highest quality standards and latest production methods. The production of the TT will be a joint effort between two Audi plants, the main plant in Ingolstadt, Germany where the TT’s body will be built and painted and the Audi Hungaria Motor Kft. in Györ, Hungary where final assembly will take place.

The assembly line at both plants have been redesigned and streamlined without any compromise in the quality of the vehicle, Audi says. The automaker is not about to gloss over the finest details. In fact, TT’s are regularly taken out of the production process and tested by laser measurement to ensure that everything is at its right configuration.

The new TT is an improvement on its predecessor especially in the way it is constructed, its overall body weight and weight distribution, longer wheelbase, and roomier interior. The body of the new TT is a mix of both steel and aluminum that weighs in at 3146 lbs, about a hundred pounds lighter than the previous version. The redesigned and freshened 2007 Audi TT is poised to be a fierce challenger in the luxury sports car segment, already populated by the BMW Z4 Coupe, Nissan 350Z, Porsche Cayman S and the Mercedes-Benz SLK. It will be available in North America by April of next year.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Toyota executives are currently in talks to revive the automaker’s sports-car lineup. Mr. Tokuo Fukuichi, a Toyota official based in France said that the new Toyota sports car model “is going to be a global project, not one aimed at one region more than another”. Meanwhile, Shinzo Kobuki, Toyota’s managing OIC of development of hybrid systems said that the automaker is aiming to produce sporty cars to compete with German luxury automakers such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi. Toyota has been criticized for being the last major car maker without a trophy sports car.

Last year, Toyota unveiled a hybrid sports car concept, named the Volta (pictured above) designed together with the legendary Guigiaro of Italdesign. The concept was later renamed as the ‘Priapus’. Despite the rather awkward name, the Volta/Priapus featured a stunning design, a powerful V-6 engine with electric motor providing 408 horespower, 0-60 mph acceleration in 4 seconds, and 30 mpg fuel economy.

Three vehicles from Audi, namely the Q7, A3 and the S8 grabbed the top honors at the 2006 Auto Interior of the Year awards held last June 7, 2006 on the merits of their excellence in quality, fit and finish, style and features.. This achievement further underscores Audi’s excellence in automotive interior design. Audi vehicles are considered as the benchmark in the industry when it comes to interior design and quality. The Audi Q7 earned the news media award for the Premium-priced CUV category. The Audi A3 grabbed the news media award for the Popular-priced car category. These two models are already recognized for their elegant and luxurious interiors. Meanwhile, the news media award for the Best Sound System was given to the Audi S8, owing to its all-new 1000 watt, 14-speaker Bang and Olufsen audio system.

Adaptive Cruise Control is one of the most advanced innovations in automotive technology today, probably a precursor to fully automated travel. A number of luxury vehicles offer ACC. Mercedes Benz was the first to offer ACC, called the Distronic system. Other automakers followed suit, such as Lexus’ with its Dynamic Laser Cruise Control, Acura, Audi, Nissan, Volkswagen, BMW, Infiniti, Cadillac, Toyota and Jaguar.

Adaptive cruise control uses either radar or lasers that signal the car to slow down if it gets too close to another car on the road and accelerate again if the traffic allows it. AAC promises to reduce rear-end collisions in heavy traffic as well as reduce fuel consumption. ACC can also handle twice or thrice today’s traffic.

Among the models with Adaptive Cruise Control, the Acura RL’s has a collision mitigating braking system. Some Infiniti models are equipped with sensors and cameras that read the lane markers and alert the drivers when crossing into another lane. Meanwhile, sensors in the Audi Q7 monitor blind spots.

Five new luxury models will offer autopilot systems that let a car drive itself if it senses any danger of an accident ahead, Fortune Magazine reports. These 5 luxury models include the Audi Q7 SUV which offers twin radar sensors that alert the driver about blind spots and when changing lanes. Audi’s self Drive system costs an extra $500. Meanwhile, the Acura RL will feature collision-mitigation brakes that brakes on its own if the driver fails to respond. The high-tech brakes are expensive however, costing about $3800. The Infiniti M45, FX45 (above photo) and Q45 features a camera that reads lane markings and alerts the driver when lane straying.

Mercedes Benz offers a ‘distonic’ cruise control for $550. The German automaker claims that this new system can reduce rear-end collisions by up to 75%. General Motors Inc. is also developing a similar system. Meanwhile, DOT is planning on putting up ‘smart intersections’ complete with cameras. However, the use of in-car cameras has some legal impediments mainly because it could lead to speeding tickets and snooping. Another unresolved issue is whether the manufacturer will be liable if a crash still occurs despite deployment and use of these systems.

Imagine a car audio system that reads the morning news to you while you drive off for office. It’s not just your ordinary radio news show but updated and personalized news according to your preference or needs, delivered by an automated voice output. This may still sound like its straight out of the Jetsons, but this technology is actually being currently developed by German automaker Audi, a leading innovator in the field of infotainment in automobiles.

Audi has led the industry when it comes to infotainment technologies. In 2004, it introduced Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), a digital radio system offering a wide selection of stations with the audio quality of a music CD. The system is currently available as an option on the Audi A6/S6, A8/S8 and the Audi Q7. DAB is the basis of the personalized newsreader that Audi’s researchers are developing. In this system, the car owner can choose which content he would like to receive, such as world news, weather updates, sports news, stock updates and many more.

The system can be personally configured to avoid redundancy as well as to allow the driver to determine how long he wishes to be informed about certain news. This system is a response to the increasing demand for the latest information that is adapted to their personal preferences.

No, the Audi Q7 won’t star on a new animated car film just like the Volkswagen Beetle did. Instead, the new luxury sport utility vehicle will be the star of an event that Audi called the Streets of Tomorrow.

Audi describes the Streets of Tomorrow as a unique and upscale lifestyle and driving experience. The event will be held on 10 major U.S. cities on different dates, starting in New York and San Diego from April 29 to 30, and on the other major U.S. cities on the following dates:

May 6-7 Chicago

May 6-7 Los Angeles

May 13-14 Philadelphia

May 13-14 San Francisco

May 20-21 Atlanta

May 20-21 Seattle

May 27-28 Miami

June 3-4 Dallas

The main attraction for Audi’s Streets of Tomorrow is the all new 2007 Audi Q7, the very first SUV coming from the German luxury vehicle manufacturer. For the entire duration of the event, select participants would be allowed to test-drive the luxury crossover sport utility vehicle. Other Audi vehicles like the 2007 RS4, A3, A6 and A8 will also be available for consumer testing. With the said driving activities, participants would be given the chance to better understand Audi’s innovation, technology and design.

The Streets of Tomorrow, however, is not just about driving Audi vehicles. Instead, the event aims to offer an all-encompassing lifestyle experience to the participants. Aside from driving new Audi vehicles, guests would also be able to get a first-hand experience of using progressive technologies from Bang and Olufsen, Ducati and other Audi event partners. An exotic travel experience is also in hand courtesy of Abercrombie and Kent. The host cities are also expected to feature sophisticated foods and music unique to their places.

For more information about the Streets of Tomorrow and to register for the said event, you may visit http://www.audistreetsoftomorrow.com.