Second hand Audi passenger cars stand on display at an Audi dealership on May 8, 2018 in Berlin, Germany.Carsten Koall / Getty Images Welcome to our weekly round-up of the biggest breaking stories on Driving.ca from this past week. Get caught up and ready to get on with the weekend, because it’s hard keeping pace in a digital traffic jam.Here’s what you missed while you were away.Audi dealer sues dad after kid draws on new cars with rockThree-year-olds require constant attention. Don’t give it to them and they’ll find some other, less appropriate outlet for their frenetic energy. Like, for example, ten brand new Audis. A father visiting a Chinese Audi dealership was handed a hefty bill after his three-year-old used a rock to doodle on the paint of a bunch of new cars. The vehicles at that point could no longer be sold “new,” pressing the dealership to sue the father for $37,500. He was able to secure a settlement of $13,000. Next time, just bring the iPad, Dad. We hacked into a Chevy to find out everything it knew about usWhat does your car know about you? That’s the question the Washington Post was seeking answers to when it had a forensic engineer rip open a Chevy Volt’s dashboard and hack into its computers. The clever little car can gather up to 25 gigabytes of data per hour through its various sensors and satellite connections, storing much of it in the onboard drives. The Post’s hacker was able to recover a collection of previously visited locations, a log of phone calls from the previous week and an extensive list of contacts including names, addresses, emails and even photos. GM claims it only gathers data pertaining to vehicle location, performance and driver behaviour, all geared toward improving current and future designs and processes. So, in summation, your car knows quite a bit about you. Find out what you can do about it. Watch a Tesla Model X dominate a Ford Raptor in a tug-of-warIt’s the most anticipated tug-of-war of the decade: the Cybertruck vs the Ford F-150. Yes, it already happened during the Tesla truck’s debut, but that was hardly fair as the Ford chosen was a 2WD model. But, while we wait for the two major brands to get their acts together and give us the “apples to apples” rematch we deserve, there are other tug-based experiments to be observed. YouTubers The Zenigas hooked their Model X to a Ford Raptor to see which would pull which. And, well, the results speak for themselves (scrub to the 4:20 mark in the above video for the actual contest). The GM Oshawa plant completes its final truck after 66 yearsThe final vehicle to be built at GM’s long-running Oshawa assembly plant rolled off production lines this week. Restructuring within the brand led to the announcement of the plant’s closing last year. The factory, which has been in operation since 1953, will pivot from assembly to parts production (namely quarter panels, trunks, doors and hoods) and autonomous car research for the brand. Some 2,300 jobs have been cut from the area, with around 300 employees staying on to operate the new facility. Trucks with mismatched hoods serendipitously find each other on FacebookA perfect story 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/9delVKLIiq 𝐿𝒶𝓁𝑜✭ (@TXLalo214) December 10, 2019It was a match made in Facebook heaven. Two truck owners, each with a mismatched hood; one Facebook group dedicated to truck lovers near Denver, Colorado; and just a touch of luck. That’s all it took to complete Üziel Valles white Chevrolet Silverado. After building out a new front end and getting hung up on a yellow hood, Valles decided to go fishing for the right piece on Facebook. That’s how he found his truck’s inverse doppelganger, a yellow truck with a white hood, and completed the most perfect swap the Internet has seen in a while. The moral of the story is this: when seeking a soulmate, consider starting on
Origin: News Roundup: A toddler ruins 10 new Audis, and we hack a Chevy’s brain
Audi’s
Dad sued after toddler draws on dealer’s new Audis with a rock
A security guard stands under an umbrella at an Audi car seller in Shanghai on August 6, 2014.Johannes Eisele / Getty Images A couple in China is being sued by a car dealership after their daughter scratched the paint of more than 10 new vehicles sitting in the showroom.According to 7news Australia, the couple was accompanying their friend who was visiting the dealership, and brought along their three-year-old daughter. It wasnt until after they left that they found out their daughter had taken a stone and drawn into the paint of 10 new cars, including an Audi Q8.The father, referred to in reports only as Mr. Zhao, is being sued for 200,000 Chinese Yuan (CDN$37,500), according to the Lingui Peoples Court.The dealership says the vehicles can no longer be sold as new cars as a result of the damage, and that it may reevaluate the assessment if the vehicles values are found to have depreciated after their respray. If the dealership tried to still sell them as new cars, they could be sued for false advertising, and would have to compensate triple the purchase price if found guilty so it would rather not take that chance. The vehicles, although new, will have to be sold as used. According to the court, Mr. Zhao rejected the 200,000 RMB demand, but ended up reaching a settlement with the dealership of about 70,000 RMB (around CDN$13,000).The silver lining is that somebody out there is going to get a great deal on an Audi with fresh
Origin: Dad sued after toddler draws on dealer’s new Audis with a rock
Audi’s bringing back its rear-wheel-drive R8 V10 for good
Dynamic photo, Colour: Florett Silver Audi is adding a rear-wheel-drive version of its venerable R8 supercar to its permanent lineup, and this time, you wont need to be on a waiting list to see if you get the privilege of owning one.Rear-wheel-drive in Audi R8s has been available only on special edition models up to this point, but now your regular Jolene (assuming theyve a fair chunk of change in their pocket) can own a more hair-raising version of the supercar, too.You still get a V10 with 532 horsepower and 398 lb.-ft. of torque, with the sonorous soundtrack coming frombehind your head; difference is the vehicle is 65 kilograms (143 pounds) lighter thanks to the omission of all the quattro parts. Down 30 horsepower and 15 lb.-ft. from the AWD model, the RWD version matches the special-edition RWS. To tell the RWD from the AWD, all you have to do is look at the distinctive side blades. The AWD versions will be painted all-black, while the RWD version sees blades body-coloured on the bottom with a black upper portion. As well as being distinctive, it also gives the car a much more cohesive look.Both coupe and spyder versions will be available, and since theyre missing the front-wheel-drive parts, theyre both cheaper than the standard R8. Only European pricing has been unveiled, but there it starts at 144,000 for the Coupe; and 157,000 for the Spyder, both representing a 22,000 discount from the AWD
Origin: Audi’s bringing back its rear-wheel-drive R8 V10 for good
Audi’s forthcoming electric range will be built on the backs of these four platforms
MLB evo (e-tron), J1-Performance Plattform (e-tron GT concept), MEB (Q4 e-tron concept), PPE (Designmodell Sportback-Layout).Audi Audi is on a power surge that will see 30 new electrified rides launched by 2025. Ten will be plug-in hybrids like the upcoming Q5, A7 and A8 vehicles. The other 20 new products will be pure electric. This side of the future portfolio is based on four new platforms that will underpin everything from the outrageous e-tron GT to future SUVs like the Q4 e-tron, as well as new sedans, coupes and wagons.The first of the core platforms already sits beneath the Audi e-tron. The modular longitudinal platform or MLB evo will also sit under the e-tron Sportback thats set to be shown at this years Los Angeles Auto Show in November. The 95-kilowatt/hour lithium-ion battery gives the current e-tron a range of 400 kilometers.Moving ahead, the platform will be used for future SUVs and sedans with different outputs and battery capacities there will be two different battery sizes and electric motor outputs offered when the e-tron Sportback lands. The second J1 platform is a joint venture between Audi and Porsche. It was designed specifically for high-performance cars. Currently, it underpins the Porsche Taycan and will sit beneath the e-tron GT when it arrives.The concept car, shown at last years LA Auto Show, clearly points to the production version add door handles and remove the illuminated e-tron badge on the front splitter and you have the production-ready version. It has two electric motors with a combined output of 582 hp and 612 pound-feet of torque from rev one.The instant-on performance delivers a run to 100 kilometres an hour of 3.5 seconds. It also has a battery capacity of more than 90 kW/h. In a different move, the e-tron GT has two cutouts in the battery to make room for the rear seat riders feet. The e-tron GT also uses a new 800-volt system. This allows the charging times to be much faster than with a system with a lower voltage rating think Ohms law. This high-voltage system is going play a big roll in Audis future.Moving forward, derivatives with different electric motor outputs and battery modules with allow the future lineup to expand quickly. The third platform is the modular electrification toolkit, or MEB platform that underpins the upcoming Q4 e-tron. This platform, which comes from VW, represents the future of all Audi compact and mid-size pure electric models. Its a scalable architecture that supports SUV, sedan, coupe and wagon body styles. It will arrive with a rear electric motor, but allows for the addition of a second electric motor at the front. This gives it a quattro extension. As with the J1 platform, its designed to accommodate different electric motors and lithium-ion battery packs.As used in the Q4 e-tron, the MEB platform delivers the exterior dimensions of a Q3, but it has the interior space of a Q5. It will have 301 hp. There was no mention of battery size.The Premium Platform Electric or PPE is another joint Audi-Porsche venture and it will be used for future luxury cars arriving in 2020 and beyond. It is a rear-drive platform, but has the ability to accommodate a front electric motor, which, again, gives it quattro all-wheel-drive. Its a curious decision given Audis current crop of high-end sedans and SUVs arrive with standard quattro. The Audi e-tron GT Concept Audi The PPE platform is fully scalable it supports different wheelbases, track widths and ride heights so it will be used for SUV, sedan, coupe and wagon derivatives. Again, it uses the 800-volt electrical system.The PPEs dimensions and overhangs are shorter than those of the current gas engine models. The real plus is that as electric cars do not need a central tunnel to accommodate the rear driveshaft and exhaust system, theres significantly more interior space. Other features include active torque vectoring when there are two electric motors aboard, air suspension and available four-wheel steering.As envisioned, the sports car based on the PPE platform will be a low-slung speedster with a long wheelbase and an oversized wheel/tire package. While the secret concept shown at the mobility workshop was a pure design exercise, if the production model picks up the key styling cues, the future looks seductively
Origin: Audi’s forthcoming electric range will be built on the backs of these four platforms
Audi’s new S6 and S7 go diesel in Europe, but stick with gas in Canada
Static photo, Colour: Daytona greyAudi Audi has already released the A6 and A7, but now the so-called performance versions are here in the form of the S6 and S7, which are a little different depending which side of the pond you’re on. In Europe, the sole engine option is a diesel-powered 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 with a 48-volt electrical system that powers a supercharger. Some 349 horsepower and 516 lb.-ft. of torque is all you get with the oil-burner, enough to get the huge Audi to 100 km/h in 5.0 seconds in S6 guise; the S7 and S6 Avant get there a little slower at 5.1 seconds. We all know Audi has done well in LeMans with its diesel race car, but nobody on the street cares about that. We want revs and horsepower, and the diesel version just isn’t going to deliver that. Luckily for us in North America, we don’t have to suffer. The diesel will be left off the plate on this side of the pond in favour of a gasoline-powered 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 that makes 450 horsepower and 442 lb.-ft. of torque; a 48-volt electrical system is also on the table, again powering the same supercharger. Audi has not released the full performance figures for the gasoline engine in the S6 or S7, but we don’t expect them to change drastically. On top of the new engine options, the S6 and S7 now feature four-wheel steering to make up for the lack of V8. Inside, a new digital gauge cluster and touchscreen dash showcase the new technology present for 2020. Although the V6 will never make as nice a soundtrack as the V8, the new car is sure to be faster and more
Origin: Audi’s new S6 and S7 go diesel in Europe, but stick with gas in Canada
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