New 400bhp Audi RS Q3 Sportback hits the road in new shots

Audi’s seventh SUV range addition – the new Q3 Sportback – is due to be revealed late tonight, and our spy photographers have caught the hot RS variant testing. The Range Rover Evoque and BMW X2 rival will be revealed to the world in the first images and details ahead of an expected Frankfurt motor show public debut in September. We’ve seen the standard variants in disguise several times, but the RS Q3 Sportback has now been captured with less camo. Identifiable by its dual oval sports exhaust tips, Audi Sport logos on the brakes, and the air intake, grille and wheel styling, the RS Q3 Sportback is expected to use an all-new 2.5-litre five-cylinder petrol engine that produces up to 400bhp. As with the previous spy pictures, the new shots show the style-focused, coupé-SUV design of the new machine, which is based on the latest-generation Q3. The front-end design shares much with the recently launched Q3, but it has a distinctly lower roofline and a sloping rear windscreen that meets a squarer tailgate. Audi exterior design boss Andreas Mindt previously said the Q3 Sportback was “a bit more than a coupé version of the Q3; to my eyes, a lot more”. He confirmed the designers had finished the styling last year, and that it had one feature in particular to really set it apart from other Audis. The German firm previously confirmed the Q3 Sportback would be produced in 2019 at its plant in Győr, Hungary. It will be part of a growing line-up of style-led SUVs, spearheaded by the electric E-tron and range-topping Q8. The Q3 Sportback will sit on the same MQB underpinnings as the second-generation Q3. It is scheduled to arrive in showrooms towards the end of 2019 at a base price of around £28,000. With the Q3 having grown in size in order to provide space in the range for the Q2, the Sportback looks set to be larger than its closest rivals. Audi insiders have revealed to Autocar that it will be at least 4500mm long – slightly longer than the Q3. Plans for the Q3 Sportback were originally revealed by Audi in the form of the TT Offroad concept, which first appeared at the 2014 Beijing motor show. Inside, the Q3 Sportback is set to benefit from a range of developments already under way at Audi and parent company Volkswagen for inclusion in the next generation of MQB-based models. These include full-HD instrument displays, gesture control functions, a 9.2in touchscreen, wireless smartphone charging and the latest connectivity features. Among the engines earmarked for the Q3 Sportback is a new generation of 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol and diesel units and updated versions of today’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines. The new line-up will also feature a petrol-electric plug-in hybrid Sportback E-tron model with an electric-only range of up to 31 miles, as prescribed by China’s green vehicle
Origin: New 400bhp Audi RS Q3 Sportback hits the road in new shots

New road safety plan includes stricter seatbelt laws and alcolocks

The Department for Transport (DfT) has published a new road safety action plan as it sets out to reduce the number of fatal incidents that occur on Britain’s roads. The document details 74 proposed measures for implementation over the next two years, chief among which is a plan to increase penalties for drivers who fail to wear a seatbelt. Currently, drivers caught not wearing a seatbelt are liable to receive a £100 on-the-spot fine, which could rise to £500 if the case goes to court. The proposed revisions would see rule-breakers hit with penalty points as well, although it is unclear how many. Reinforcing the importance of wearing a seatbelt is viewed as a priority by the DfT. The organisation notes that 27% of road fatalities in 2017 involved drivers and passengers who weren’t belted up: “one in four car deaths could have been prevented”, it said. A planned graduated driver licensing scheme, detailed ahead of the document’s publication, could result in novice drivers being restricted to daytime driving, as part of a move to combat high accident rates occurring within a year of passing a test. Drink- and drug-driving rates could be minimised with the mandatory installation of ‘alcolocks’ to repeat offenders’ vehicles. These devices measure alcohol levels in a driver’s breath and prevent the vehicle from being started. Also detailed in the plan is a strategy to better educate young people with regard to staying safe on the roads. As well as encouraging larger numbers of pupils to cycle to school, the DfT has invested £200,000 in providing augmented reality training resources to primary schools across the UK, which will help pupils develop an awareness of road safety. Better education fot new drivers forms an integral part of the proposals; the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is developing “a behavioural change campaign designed to encourage learners to broaden the range of roads they practice and learn on”. The initiative aims to give learner drivers more experience of driving independently, in the dark, and in rural environments before they take their driving test. Additional measures include funding research into the implications of worsening eyesight in elderly drivers, liaison with commercial vehicle fleet operators to enhance awareness of work-related road safety, a ban on old tyres being fitted to heavy goods vehicles and promoting the importance of helmets for cyclists. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: “The UK has some of the safest roads in the world, but we are not complacent and continue to look at how we can make them safer. “Today’s action plan is a key milestone in our road safety work and sets out the important steps we are taking to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on our
Origin: New road safety plan includes stricter seatbelt laws and alcolocks

From Nazis to hippies: End of the road for Volkswagen Beetle

Volkswagens last Beetle produced is seen during a ceremony to announce the cease of the production of the VW Beetle after 21 years in the market, at Volkswagen Plant on July 10, 2019 in Cuautlancingo, Mexico.Hector Vivas / Getty Volkswagen is halting production of the last version of its Beetle model this week at its plant in Puebla, Mexico. Its the end of the road for a vehicle that has symbolized many things over a history spanning eight decades since 1938.It has been: a part of Germanys darkest hours as a never-realized Nazi prestige project; a symbol of Germanys postwar economic renaissance and rising middle-class prosperity; an example of globalization, sold and recognized all over the world; an emblem of the 1960s counterculture in the United States. Above all, the car remains a landmark in design, as recognizable as the Coca-Cola bottle.The cars original design a rounded silhouette with seating for four or five, nearly vertical windshield and the air-cooled engine in the rear can be traced back to Austrian engineer Ferdinand Porsche, who was hired to fulfill Adolf Hitlers project for a peoples car that would spread auto ownership the way the Ford Model T had in the U.S.Aspects of the car bore similarities to the Tatra T97, made in Czechoslovakia in 1937, and to sketches by Hungarian engineer Bela Barenyi published in 1934. Mass production of what was called the KdF-Wagen, based on the acronym of the Nazi labor organization under whose auspices it was to be sold, was cancelled due to the Second World War.Instead, the massive new plant in what was then countryside east of Hanover turned out military vehicles, using forced laborers from all over Europe under miserable conditions. Volkswagen employees pose with a “Beetle”, the final edition of the iconic car, at a factory in Puebla, Puebla State, Mexico, on July 10, 2019. Juan Carlos Sanchez / Getty Re-launched as a civilian carmaker under supervision of the British occupation authorities, the Volkswagen factory was transferred in 1949 to the Germany government and the state of Lower Saxony, which still owns part of the company. By 1955, the millionth Beetle officially called the Type 1 had rolled off the assembly line in what was now the town of Wolfsburg.The United States became Volkswagens most important foreign market, peaking at 563,522 cars in 1968, or 40 per cent of production. Unconventional, sometimes humorous advertising from agency Doyle Dane Bernbach urged car buyers to Think small. Unlike in West Germany, where its low price, quality and durability stood for a new postwar normality, in the United States the Beetles characteristics lent it a profoundly unconventional air in a car culture dominated by size and showmanship, wrote Bernhard Rieger in his 2013 history The People’s Car.Production at Wolfsburg ended in 1978 as newer front-drive models like the Golf took over. But the Beetle wasnt dead yet. Production went on in Mexico from 1967 until 2003 longer than the car had been made in Germany. Nicknamed the vochito, the car made itself at home as a rugged, Mexican-made carro del pueblo.The New Beetle a completely retro version build on a modified Golf platform resurrected some of the old Beetles cute, unconventional aura in 1998 under CEO Ferdinand Piech, Ferdinand Porsches grandson. In 2012, the Beetles design was made a bit sleeker. Volkswagen’s last Beetle produced is seen during a ceremony to announce the cease of the production of the VW Beetle after 21 years in the market, at Volkswagen Plant on July 10, 2019 in Cuautlancingo, Mexico. Hector Vivas / Getty The end of the Beetle comes at a turning point for Volkswagen as it rebounds from a scandal over cars rigged to cheat on diesel emissions tests. The company is gearing up for mass production of the battery-driven compact ID.3, a car that the company predicts will have an impact like that of the Beetle and the Golf by bringing electric mobility to a mass market.The last of 5,961 Final Edition versions of the Beetle is headed for a museum after ceremonies in Puebla on July 10 to mark the end of
Origin: From Nazis to hippies: End of the road for Volkswagen Beetle

Road Trip: 2019 Mercedes-AMG C 43 Wagon

2019 Mercedes-AMG C 43 WagonPeter Bleakney OVERVIEW AMG “light” wagon a thrilling, functional performer PROSfast, handles, AMG cache, it’s a wagon CONSstiff ride even in Comfort Mode, options add up VALUE FOR MONEYfair WHAT TO CHANGE?Find some more compliance in the underpinnings HOW TO SPEC IT?this is good, love that blue Allow me to let you in on a little secret: wagons are cool. And performance wagons? Even cooler. The Europeans know this, as do many Canadians. Also cool is the fact that Mercedes-Benz is aware that #wethenorth dig our wagons, so consider the 2019 Mercedes-Benz AMG C 43 4Matic Wagon a reward of sorts for our long-roof affections. Danke schon.For 2019, the C 43 Wagon joins its stable mates, the C 43 Sedan, Coupe and Cabriolet, but only here in Canada. The Americans dont get it, because well, the Americans dont get it the part about wagons being cool, that is.The soul of the C 43 4Matic Wagon is a lusty 3.0L twin-turbo V6 that kicks out 385 horsepower (up from 362 last year thanks to bigger turbos) and 384 lb-ft of torque. It routes through a nine-speed AMG Speedshift TCT Sport gearbox to Benzs 4Matic all-wheel-drive here with a sporty 69 percent rear bias. The 100 km/h mark is dispatched in a trim 4.8 seconds.With a starting point of $59,900, the C 43 Wagon is less expensive than the Coupe and Cabriolet, and just $900 above the Sedan. Of course, any German luxury vehicle requires a host of upgrades and packages, and as such, this Brilliant Blue Metallic Pai ($890) specimen comes in at $76,380 after factoring in interior, exterior and tech upgrades. Other changes for the 2019 C43 line up include redesigned LED headlamps and taillamps, a new twin-louver grill, fresh front and rear fascias and round quad exhaust tips. Inside we get a new Nappa-trimmed steering wheel with thumb touch-pads.Having this potent wagon in my possession for a week, I really wanted to do something other than just haul ass. I wanted to haul stuff. Isnt that the whole point of a wagon? So our Golden Retriever jumped in the back for a ride to her favourite forest trails. I went to our local transfer station to load up on free compost. And, perhaps most importantly, good friends/wine enthusiasts/legendary drummers Bob DiSalle and Dave Johannesson joined me for a tour of the Niagara Wine Region.I know what youre thinking. Not one, but two drummers? And wine? What could go wrong? As the designated driver, I was prepared. Bob showed up with a vintage Gretsch bass drum in which to put our spoils. Sure, a cardboard box would do, but wheres the fun in that?So off we set. No complaints were registered from the back seat as headroom and legroom seem competitive for this segment, and while cargo space behind the rear seat is not cavernous, the bass drum and other odds and ends fit with no fuss. Imminently more useful than the C 43 Sedan, and better looking too. First stop was the lovely Angels Gate Winery in Beamsville. The 3.0L biturbo V6 may not be hand built and signed by a single technician in Affalterbach like the mighty AMG V8s, but it does sail to its 6,500 rpm redline in a linear rush, and turbo-lag is a non-issue.The nine-speed auto is a willing ally too, banging off the gears with aggression when Sport or Sport Plus Mode is selected, and giving instant response to shift paddle inputs. A double-click of the left paddle gives multi-gear downshifts. However, I noticed the occasional jerky shift in lower gears when puttering around in Comfort mode.With any C 43 model, I would posit the $2,000 AMG Drivers Package as mandatory as it adds among other doo-dads the AMG Performance Exhaust System that, when activated, spits out some rather spectacular metallic farts on full throttle upshifts. A big part of the AMG experience had always been the aural hijinks, and this bent-six does not disappoint. We were all impressed with the C 43s cabin, beautifully rendered, boldly styled and here upgraded with an AMG Carbon Fibre trim package ($1,500). It doesnt brag Mercedes-Benzs new-gen MBUX infotainment that is starting to show up on some models, but the available 10.25-inch screen and digital instrument cluster will keep it feeling contemporary. If youre feeling racy, theres a G-Force meter and a race timer that shows lap times, average speed, distance covered, current engine torque, and horsepower levels.The true fun to be found in this wagon is when Sport+ is selected and you start unraveling a snaking road. We found one on the way to Hernder Estates Winery and picked up the pace. Its easy to get a nice flow going in the C 43 Wagon its poised, planted and is blessed with an accurate and natural feeling helm. There is a dynamic cohesiveness that comes into play when pressing on, and yes, this long-roof is mighty swift when picking off the gears with those metal shift paddles.The C 43 Wagons only foible and you can say this of all C 43 derivatives is that the ride is stiff and
Origin: Road Trip: 2019 Mercedes-AMG C 43 Wagon

Road Trip: 2019 Mercedes-Benz AMG C 43 4Matic Wagon

Road Trip: Ontario to New Hampshire in a 2019 Nissan Altima

2019 Nissan AltimaDerek McNaughton / Driving Franconia, N.H. Robert Frost, the great American poet who died in 1963, was famous for taking the road less travelled, perhaps even coining the phrase with his line, Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”That difference lured him to Franconia, New Hampshire, where Frost and his family lived full-time from 1915 to 1920, and spending 19 summers at his picturesque farmstead. One look at Frosts view from his farmhouse in Franconia explains why: the green expanse of the White Mountains is as alluring as it is captivating, the mountains beauty a force that pulls as strongly as a rivers current. Its partly why we venture here every year to explore these forests, despite the pathetic U.S. and Canadian Dollar exchange rate. This year, a 2019 Nissan Altima was our horse for the journey.And what a frugal beast she turned out to be. Averaging 6.7 L/100 kilometres at a constant speed of 120 km/h, the Altimas 2.5-litre four cylinder engine consumed roughly $100 in fuel to travel just over 1,400 kilometres. At the U.S. gas station in Littleton where I stopped to fill up, the clerk asked how much I wanted pre-charged to my credit card. Eighty dollars? I ventured. Puzzled, then glancing outside at the Altima, he said the Altima wont take more than $40. Oh right, cheap U.S. gas!Indeed, US$39 later, the Altimas 61-litre tank was full, though the cost per gallon was only US$2.59 (about 90 cents a litre), and having travelled 760 kilometres on one tank, with another 39 to spare. By lowering our average highway speed to 100 km/h, and with some simple hypermiling, 1,000 highway kilometres on one tank should be possible. Who needs a diesel with gasoline fuel economy like this?That economy is especially good, considering all Altimas in Canada are AWD. The system works invisibly at all times, normally sending 100 per cent of power to the front wheels, but able to send 50 per cent to the rears if theres any slip up front. It will even divide the split 70 front, 30 rear when cornering to help with dynamics and feel in a car that tracks quite well around corners. I mostly forgot we had AWD.While the Altimas longer-term average of urban and highway driving showed 7.3 L/100 kilometres on the trip computer, the downside of such frugality, of course, is a paucity of power, the Altimas 185 horsepower and 178 lb.-ft of torque adequate for most normal driving situations but lacking real hustle anytime real speed is required. Passing on two lane highways requires prudence. Engine refinement is good but not stellar, although the continuously variable transmission makes itself endearing by mosty remaining out of sight and sound, beavering away quietly in the background. Perhaps a sport mode would help. In fact, most of the cabin is the same way: noise is well controlled, other than a bit of growl from the engine now and then. The cabin is remarkably simple too, a clean and uncluttered estate with everything easy to find, see and operate, a proper volume knob for the half-decent Bose stereo. An eight-inch touchscreen on the Platinum delivers good graphics with excellent haptic feedback. Instrumentation is equally clear, legible and bright. Its an excellent interior that wont frustrate its users. The zero gravity front seats are indeed supportive and comfortable, but they wont stop all the cramping that comes with old age on a long drive with few stops. Excellent seat heat to the back certainly helps, however.Rear seat legroom is massive about 88 centimetres of legroom and the 60/40 rear folding bench opens to an equally large trunk that happily consumed all our luggage, hiking gear and multitude of coats for the ever-varying weather. For a midsize sedan that starts at $28,000 $35,000 as-tested the trunk is bigger than plenty of more expensive full-size sedans.Nissans ProPilot Assist was interesting on this trip, too. Its supposed to reduce stress through adaptive cruise control and lane centering. But the lane centering wasnt always able to keep up and wanders off line now and then, acting overly busy at other times. The adaptive cruise would sometimes brake a little harshly if the system felt we were getting a little too close too quickly to a car ahead. The two technologies can be used separately or together, but it was simpler to leave the task of driving to myself. What I did appreciate, though, was the Altimas parking and safety aids especially rear intelligent safety braking, which detects objects while backing up and will apply the brakes before hitting it.After a week of hiking the White Mountains with the Altima getting us to and from the trails, we came away with an appreciation for its incredible fuel economy and quiet purpose. The 2019 Altima may not have the spirit or poetry of a more expensive luxury saloon, but it sure gets the job done efficiently and without much fuss a
Origin: Road Trip: Ontario to New Hampshire in a 2019 Nissan Altima

Don’t fear taking your EV for a summer road trip: B.C. Hydro

Tesla Model 3Tesla Michael Stanyer has driven a battery-powered vehicle from his Vancouver home to Tofino and to the Kootenays and he has no fear of being stranded without a charging station. “It’s something you have to plan for,” he said. “It’s totally doable.” He said there are 1,000 charging stations in British Columbia and “it’s rare that you would be more than 100 kilometres away from a charging station.” His 2017 Volkswagen E Golf can go about 200 km on a single charge in city driving, though that changes if he drives into higher elevations, for instance. Stanyer, a program coordinator for Plug In B.C., may be bolder than most at venturing beyond their commute in an EV. A B.C. Hydro survey found “range anxiety” is keeping almost 70 per cent of drivers from buying an electric vehicle, according to an online survey done for the energy agency by Angus Reid and released June 14. But B.C. Hydro said they needn’t worry, as the majority of road trips taken by people in B.C. are within the range that most newer vehicles can travel on a single charge. “Most trips are 300 km one way, so it’s well within the range of a single charge,” said B.C. Hydro spokeswoman Tanya Fish. The survey found respondents were concerned about the availability of charging stations and also worried that having to stop to recharge the battery would significantly add to the length of a trip. Fish said there are about 170 fast-charging stations, 58 belonging to B.C. Hydro, that can top up a battery to within 80 per cent capacity within 30 minutes. There is access to the fast-charging stations along the most-travelled highways in the province, including between Vancouver and Kelowna, Abbotsford and Whistler, Victoria and Tofino, and Revelstoke and Cranbrook, she said. And 96 per cent of BC Hydro’s fast-charging stations are within 300 metres of a major road or highway and 80 per cent are within 50 metres of other services, such as food, washrooms or other shopping, she said. And there are an additional 1,000 “level 2” public charging stations in the province, which take about four to six hours to restore a battery, said Fish. EV sales doubled in B.C. the first three months of this year, compared to the first quarter in 2018, and they make up 15 per cent of new car sales. That’s double the national average. There are about 20,000 EVs in BC. The average EV has a range of about 250 km and that is expected to increase to 440 km by 2022. The majority of out-of-town trips B.C. drivers take are under 300 km, B.C. Hydro
Origin: Don’t fear taking your EV for a summer road trip: B.C. Hydro

Multiple classic cars stolen on Hot Rod Power Tour road trip

The Hot Rod Power Tour is an amazing event put on by Hot Rod Magazine that sees enthusiasts from all over the United States – and even Canada – take part in a seven-day road trip across America, stopping at race tracks and car shows along the way. For the participants, it can be an awesome week of cruising with hundreds of other like-minded modified classic car nuts. But unfortunately, on this year’s Tour, there have been an unlucky few who have had their trips ruined by car thieves. One of the victims, the owner of a modified 1984 Monte Carlo, couldn’t believe that it was actually happening: “I thought it was a joke. Like, I really thought it was a joke,” Garrett Reed told the Charlotte Observer. “I didn’t get to make any memories in my car. Reed has been working on his car for the past nine months, and says he’s put countless hours into it; he also said it’s worth over $50,000. The Monte Carlo was stolen outside of the hotel parking lot in University City where he was staying. Another victim also had his truck stolen from the lot of his hotel, the Drury Inn. Roger and Debbie Bentley drove in from Dayton, Tennessee for the tour in their 1994 Chevy Silverado. “I was going to keep it and use it every year for the Power Tour. It was that nice of a truck and that much of a joy to drive,” Roger Bentley said. “I’m holding out hope that they’ll find it. The vehicles are insured, but that doesn’t reimburse the owners for the blood, sweat and tears that went into these highly customized and personalized builds. A Facebook group has been started for those that have had their vehicle stolen from the Hot Rod Power
Origin: Multiple classic cars stolen on Hot Rod Power Tour road trip

Tarmac uses waste tyres to make rubberised road asphalt

A new rubberised asphalt being trialled by construction materials firm Tarmac could repurpose up to 1200 used tyres per mile. According to the company, the UK exports 120,000 tonnes of rubber waste each year. The newly developed road surfacing material could significantly reduce this figure. The amount of granulated rubber used for each stretch of road would depend on the thickness required, Tarmac states, although the average ratio would be one tyre for each tonne of asphalt. Trials have taken place already in Tarmac’s home city of Coventry, where two 200-metre stretches of public road were paved with the new material. A spokesperson for the council said it was “delighted” with the results and expressed a desire to use “more of the product across the city in the future”. As well as the environmental benefits associated with using rubber in asphalt, Tarmac’s technical director, Brian Kent, told Autocar that the capacity of rubber to absorb movement will reduce the risk of roads cracking. Although more sustainable than existing processes, rubberising asphalt has proven to be more expensive overall. The cost of securing, breaking down and mixing the rubber with the asphalt outweighs any saving made by using the waste material. Tarmac currently recycles a claimed 8.7 million tonnes of waste from other industries each year, including using waste tyres to fuel cement kilns. Rubberised asphalt is already used in the US, where it’s estimated that 12 million tyres are recycled to surface roads annually. Kent said: “In the UK, there’s a lack of the necessary industrial infrastructure required to allow manufacture of this type of material. “Against the backdrop of major investment in the strategic road network, there’s now an opportunity to leverage this technology and unlock the benefits of this circular economic approach.” Talks are underway between Tarmac and Highways England regarding the nature of subsequent
Origin: Tarmac uses waste tyres to make rubberised road asphalt

This road patch makes pothole repairs last longer

Canadian drivers are no strangers to the pothole. We’ve all swerved to avoid one, slowed to crawl through one or had to wait behind a person holding a stop sign on a pole while a crew worked to fill one. No, there’s no such thing as a good experience with a pothole, which is why the best kind is the filled kind, and also why this product that purports to help keep them that way for longer is so intriguing. It’s called the American Road Patch and it’s basically a big bandage with adhesive that bonds to concrete and asphalt surfaces on one side and a road-like texture on the other. As the video explains, pothole repairs fail when the hole isn’t properly sealed and water gets in to the affected area, sometimes as quickly as just a few days after being filled. But when the patch is placed over the filled hole, it provides a superior seal that keeps the moisture out longer. “American Road Patch because it’s placed over the existing pothole and immediately adheres to and actually becomes part of the road,” the host of the video explains. “Where American Road Patch has been used it has provided years of maintenance-free service. Over the long run, (it) saves time and money over conventional methods of pothole repair.” The product, which is has a protective cover that you literally peel off of the sticky side just like a Band Aid, is currently in place on U.S. interstates, on state and county roads and in driveways, and has been tested mostly in the company’s home state of Alabama, far from the frozen highways of the Northern States and Canada. Will it work up here where frost heave regularly upsets the contours of our nation’s roads? There’s a ‘where to buy’ section on the company’s website that includes Canada, so if you get one for that stubborn pothole in your driveway and test it out this year, please let us know.
Origin: This road patch makes pothole repairs last longer