2019 Audi TT RSHandout / Audi Audi will cease making the iconic TT coupe and replace it with a battery-powered model as the luxury brand accelerates an electric shift that may also see the next version of its flagship A8 sedan go emission-free. Audi is also mulling an end to the US$170,000 R8 sports car as Volkswagen’s biggest profit generator focuses resources on the rollout of 20 fully-electric cars by 2025. Sales of electrified vehicles, which include hybrids, are set to account for 40 per cent of deliveries by then, Audi said Thursday at its annual shareholders meeting in Neckarsulm, Germany. “We’re shedding old baggage,” Chief Financial Officer Alexander Seitz said. Because of tighter emissions regulations, “combustion cars are getting more expensive in the medium-term, and electric cars are getting cheaper.” Audi is pushing to regain lost ground to rivals Mercedes-Benz and BMW as it struggles to emerge from the diesel-emissions scandal that shattered the manufacturer nearly four years ago. The brand’s woes culminated in the arrest of former CEO Rupert Stadler last year and a 800 million-euro (US$895 million) fine. Parent VW can ill afford Audi to falter, and the group’s cash cow plans to revive profits with 15 billion euros in savings by 2022. Audi has been making the two-door TT since 1998. At the time, the model’s sloping roof and sleek design signaled a shift away from its reputation for staid sedans. Audi will replace the TT with a new electric car “in a few years,” it said. “There will be lots of things that we won’t do any more in the future, or things that we do less,” Audi Chief Executive Officer Bram Schot said. “We focus maximum resources on our key projects.” Audi unveiled the revamped flagship $84,000 A8 sedan in 2017, with a new-generation model due around
Origin: Audi kills off TT in the name of expanding EV lineup—the R8 may go next
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Cadillac kills the four-cylinder engine option in the CT6
2019 Cadillac CT6 V-SportHandout Cadillac is set to cut the smallest engine from its CT6’s options list, leaving only the less fuel-efficient V6 and V8 engines for buyers of its flagship sedan to choose from. The 2.0-litre turbocharged engine is dead for the 2019 model year, according to Cadillac’s vehicle configurator, which doesn’t have the engine listed as an option for the CT6. With the smallest engine option off the table, the most efficient CT6 buyers can opt for is now the $57,995 3.6-litre V6 Luxury with all-wheel-drive; that’s nearly $10,000 more than the $48,295 CTS in a comparable trim with AWD. Luckily, the pricing makes a little bit more sense when you compare engines within the CT6 model range: a CT6 with the 2.0-litre engine used to cost $62,255 in Canada, and was available with rear-wheel-drive only. In the United States, the 2.0-litre turbo was instead an understandably cheaper option for the large sedan. In Canada, the pricing structure has changed to make the 3.6-litre Luxury AWD trim cost less in 2019 than the 2.0-litre option cost in 2018, dropping from $69,050 down to $57,995. That means this is pretty much good news for everybody, except those who are looking to save on their fuel bill. With the 2.0-litre you were looking at 11.0 L/100 km city, and 7.8 L/100 km on the highway; but the 3.6-litre bumps those numbers up to 13.0 L/100 km city and 8.8 L/100 km highway. The change is fairly significant, but you can use the money you saved on the new lower purchase price to pay for what you’re spending extra at the pumps. The gap between the CT6 and the CTS seems to make room for the upcoming CT5, so hopefully Cadillac prices it
Origin: Cadillac kills the four-cylinder engine option in the CT6
Gas explosion kills one, damages large Porsche collection
The Ingram Collection of PorschesPorsche One person died and more than two dozen were injured when a gas explosion tore apart a building in Durham, North Carolina this week. According to Automotive News, the explosion occurred inside an old Studebaker Dealership. The building was almost totally destroyed, and the explosion damaged a number of vintage Porsches that were stored in a nearby warehouse. The vehicles were part of one of the largest collection of Porsches in the world, over 80 vehicles owned by Bob Ingram. The Ingram Collection was profiled by Porsche itself in a piece about love stories with the brand, and called it “a breathtaking review of automotive design history.” Ingram declined to comment when contacted by local news station Spectrum News, which aired a few minutes of overhead footage of the carnage. THEN/NOW:UPDATES ➡️ https://t.co/Z6BbFkH4lxTRAFFIC ➡️ https://t.co/beCrNjPpbGHISTORY OF THE BUILDING ➡️ https://t.co/Hig1papnILHOW YOU CAN HELP ➡️ https://t.co/Z6BbFkH4lx(Image Courtesy: Google/AP) pic.twitter.com/ucIgnCCaYN Spectrum News RDU (@SpecNewsRDU) April 11, 2019 Information has not been released about what models of cars were damaged, or how many, but from the aerial footage, we can see a 550 Spyder and a few modern Porsches among the wreckage. The Studebaker dealership was built in 1928 but closed in 1930 after just two years. Since then it has gone through many owners and housed an abundance of businesses, including a few auto repair shops, restaurants and office space. The Ingram Collection, which has been praised as one of the largest collections of #vintage Porsches in the world, was being stored in a warehouse connected to the building that exploded in Durham this morning. Aerial footage shows the collection sustained severe damage. #Porsche pic.twitter.com/1gSA0Z0XEh Spectrum News RDU (@SpecNewsRDU) April 10, 2019 A coffee shop called Kaffeinate was located in the building where the explosion happened, and the owner, Kong Lee, was unfortunately killed. All other employees have reported they were not injured. According to Durham Mayor Steve Schewel, the explosion happened on the city’s 150th
Origin: Gas explosion kills one, damages large Porsche collection
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