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Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro: The everyday supercar

When we last left our hero, I was putting the kibosh on the track session in the Audi S4 and had just been handed the keys to the Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro, affectionately known as the R8 V-10.

Taking a walk around the R8, I took note of the supercar's low-slung good looks and sporty proportions. Externally, the R8 V-10 can be visibly discerned from the V-8 model in a few ways. The R8's trademark sideblades receive flared intakes to help the larger engine to breathe. The front and rear bumper vents have been enlarged and finished in a glossy piano black. The HID Xenon headlamps have been replaced with the world's first production full-LED arrays. Most obviously, chrome "V10" badges on the front fenders let everyone know how many cylinders you're working with.

Under the rear glass, on display for all to see, is the 5.2-liter direct injected 10-cylinder gasoline engine. Not only does this power plant have two more cylinders and a full extra liter over the V-8, but it also gains a whopping 105 horsepower and 74 pound-feet of torque. The result is a complete transformation of the nature of the vehicle, whether cruising a back road or barreling, flat-out down the back straight of your favorite racetrack.… Read more

Trackside with the 2010 Audi S4

I was recently handed the keys to a fully loaded, brand-new Audi S4 sedan. So, I did what any motorhead would do in this situation and proceeded to put the sporty A4 variant through its paces on the open road, on an autocross cone course, and even on the track at Infineon Raceway at Sears Point.

Our adventure starts with a trip from an uncharacteristically sunny San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge and into Sonoma. While in the stop-and-go bustle of the city, the S-Tronic DSG double-clutch automated manual was so docile and the 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 engine … Read more

Audi Sportscar Experience at Infineon Raceway

Infineon Raceway in beautiful Sonoma, California is a great place take in some rays and watch fast cars speed around its landscape. Within the last week or so, Infineon has played host to Indy Car, drifting and go-kart racing. This coming week, the varied trend continues as the Sonoma track brings back the popular Audi Sportscar Experience this week for another round of fun for amateur driving in the newest Audi cars.

This clip comes from a recent Audi Sportscar Experience extravaganza at Infineon Raceway in June 2009. What's neat about this video is that you get the view … Read more

131: 230, 367, hike! What in hell do these new mpg numbers mean?

Chevy Volt gets 230 miles per gallon (for a day) while Nissan says we can play that game, too. BMW gets hybrid religion (again), and we take you for a ride in an Audi Q5 and point out what we love and what we wish we could.

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We take you for a ride in a Chevy Volt test mule

CNET Review and video of the Audi Q5

BMW has a hybrid x6 and 7 Series on the way

Sneak peek of the new Jaguar XJ

GM still believes in hydrogen fuel cellsRead more

Audi Q5 delivers sports car handling

After a little bit of performance testing with the Audi Q5, we couldn't get enough of this car. Although a small SUV with a ride height far above your average sports car, the Q5 takes corners like a champ, with Audi's Dynamic Steering technology performing strange magic to keep the car in line. Dynamic Steering comes as part of the Drive Select package, which also adjusts the gearbox and suspension to transform the car from cruiser to bruiser. The Q5 also gave us the chance to dive in deep with Audi's new navigation system, featuring rich maps … Read more

129: Cash for Guzzlers: What a mess!

Cash for Guzzlers--what a mess! Texting while driving is probably at the beginning of its end, the first car with handwriting recognition, and a ride in a really cool, affordable car you can't buy here!

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We love us some BMW 123d hatchback

Nissan's new take on CVT gearboxes

Annoyingly safe Volvo XC60

New Audi's to feature handwriting recognition!

Edmunds' Cash for Clunkers calculator

Next-gen Audi MMI could feature handwriting recognition

Audi's next-generation MultiMedia Interface (MMI) could feature handwriting recognition. You read that right, handwriting recognition. Not advanced voice command. Not some science-fiction extrasensory perception interface, but plain old 20th century handwriting recognition. I thought these cabin tech interfaces were supposed to be getting less complex.

According to German car blog Autobild, the new MMI should debut at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt on the new Audi A8. The handwriting-recognition portion, poorly Google translated as "Finger Ready," will feature a character input square where drivers will finger-paint letters on the screen a la first-generation Palm OS Graffiti, … Read more

Audi's clean diesel Q7 TDI makes Road Trip 2009 easy

When I first began talking with Audi about road-testing the company's new Q7 TDI clean diesel SUV on Road Trip 2009, I have to admit that I was more than a little bit suspicious of that term.

"Clean diesel." It sounded a lot like another new term of art, "clean coal," and I think we know pretty well that there really isn't much that's clean about coal. Plus, I think many of us have negative associations with diesel, a technology long known for sooty fumes, loud engines, and a whole lot of pollution. … Read more

Wrapping up Road Trip 2009

After more than five weeks and 5,765 miles of driving through Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and very, very small parts of Arizona and Nevada, Road Trip 2009 is over.

This was the fourth year I've done this project, and I've now covered a fourth major region of the United States. In 2006, it was the Pacific Northwest; in 2007, the Southwest; in 2008, the deep South; and this year, it was the Rocky Mountain region. All told, my CNET Road Trips have taken me through 21 states and have covered 18,618 miles. And while there … Read more

Road Trip hits 5,000 miles in the great wide open

HILAND, Wyo.--I've been in a lot of small towns over the years, but in even the very smallest, I've never seen a city limits line like the one I saw here.

It happened that I hit exactly 5,000 miles of driving on Road Trip 2009 in this one-store-seems-to-be-it town in central Wyoming. As the odometer rolled over to 1000.0--which in the case of the Audi Q7 TDI I'm road-testing equates to 5,000 miles since the odometer resets to 0.0 when you hit 2,000 miles--I was able to pull into a parking … Read more