Audi Latest Automaker to Introduce Gas-Price App

Joining automakers such as GM and Ford, whose respective infotainment systems — Chevrolet MyLink and MyFord Touch — offer drivers the ability to find the nearest station with the cheapest gas, Audi has added an app to its lineup helping folks find where to fill 'er up frugally. The German automaker announced this week that, beginning in May, members of its A3 family of hatchbacks equipped with Audi connect will have access to Refuelling Stop, a new online service that provides information about where to find the cheapest gas.

According to Audi, the service consults an online database of gas stations and prices and matches the list to the driver's current location or destination. The driver can sort search results by price or distance, and simply click on the station and set it as the navigation destination. The system will even consider the type of fuel required by the A3, which can be premium or diesel depending on the engine.

2014 Audi SQ5 Video

The Audi Q5 already runs neck-and-neck with competing small luxury crossovers in popularity, so the added power and quickness of the 2014 SQ5 model may give it the boost it needs to pull ahead. Cars.com reviewer Kelsey Mays says the supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 in the new SQ5, which is debuting this week at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, gets hefty horsepower and torque increases, helping to shave nearly a full second off of the Q5's 6-second zero-to-60 time.

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Performance enhancements aside, the SQ5 could use a little work on the exterior, Mays says. Silver trim along the grille and on mirror caps has a plastic-like appearance, and the 21-inch wheels we saw in Detroit may be a bit much for the SQ5's lowered ride height.

Check out the video below and judge for yourself.

2014 Audi SQ5: Photo Gallery

A new version of Audi's compact crossover is upping the Q5's fun factor. The 2014 SQ5 builds off of the regular version's supercharged 3.0-liter V-6, bumping up horsepower by 82 for a total of 345 hp. Audi claims a zero-to-60 time of 6 seconds.

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The SQ5 also gets a firmer suspension that sits 1.2 inches lower and 20- or 21-inch wheels. Look for it this fall and check out the gallery below.

2014 Audi SQ5 at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show

• Competes with: BMW X3 xDrive35i, Lexus RX 450h, Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8
• Looks like: The Q5 got Audi's "S" treatment
• Drivetrain: 354-hp, supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 with eight-speed automatic transmission; all-wheel drive
• Hits dealerships: Fall

If the 2013 Q5's supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 isn't quick enough for you — it hits 60 mph in 6 seconds — a new 2014 SQ5 cranks out an extra 82 horsepower and 52 pounds-feet of torque from the same-displacement engine for a total of 354 hp and 347 pounds-feet of torque. An eight-speed automatic sends power to the ground via Audi's Quattro all-wheel drive, and Audi expects the SQ5 to hit 60 mph in around 5 seconds — a half-second faster than the rival BMW X3 xDrive35i.

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A gasoline counterpart to Europe's diesel-powered SQ5 TDI, the SQ5 hits U.S. showrooms this fall. Other changes include a firmer suspension that sits 1.2 inches lower and 20- or 21-inch wheels (the Q5 tops out at 20s). An optional Dynamic Steering Package varies ratio as well as assist, and Quattro vectors torque to sharpen handling like similar systems from BMW, Acura and others.

December's Fastest- and Slowest-Selling Cars

Automakers won't report December sales results until later today, but we have data on the month's fastest and slowest sellers. The redesigned Toyota Avalon hit dealerships in the first week of December, and it stormed the fastest-selling list, with regular and hybrid versions averaging just eight days apiece on dealer lots. Shoppers moved toward the Ford F-Series Super Duty pickup truck, too. That’s likely a result of an improved construction market; November housing starts hit their second highest rate since mid-2008.

The redesigned Mercedes-Benz GL-Class, which hit dealerships in September, spent its third month among the fastest sellers; the new-for-2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek also marked its third month on the list. Of the 18 fastest-selling cars, 10 were repeat performers, with such regulars as the redesigned Subaru Impreza and new Scion FR-S. The Kia Soul's severe mileage downgrade doesn't seem to have sapped demand, and neither has the popular hatchback's age. It debuted way back in early 2009, but in December it placed among the fastest sellers for the third month in a row.

Audi to Bring More Diesel Models to the U.S. Market

Diesel variants of Audi's A8, A7, A6 and Q5 models are expected to go on sale for the 2014 model year. With a full lineup of new diesel vehicles joining the recently upgraded Q7 TDI, Audi hopes to continue making an efficient, green footprint in the United States. 

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"Owners of Audi TDI engines have helped save over 4 million gallons of gasoline, or the equivalent of more than 240,000 barrels of foreign oil, since the introduction of Audi TDI to the U.S. in 2009," Scott Keogh, President of Audi of America, said in a statement. 

October's Fastest- and Slowest-Selling Cars

It appears shoppers clamored more aggressively for incoming 2013s last month. Cars for the 2013 model year averaged just 23 days to sell from the day they hit lots while 2012s averaged 121 days. Combined, the group averaged 73 days to turn. That's a wider gap than October 2011 when 2011 and 2012 cars averaged 15 and 93 days to turn, respectively.
 
New or redesigned cars topped the month, with the seventh-generation Nissan Sentra and all-new Subaru XV Crosstrek taking just five days each to move. The redesigned Ford Fusion and Honda Accord plus the all-new Ford C-Max Hybrid made this month's movers, as well.
 
We focused on just 2013 models for October since automakers had a vast majority of 2013 models on sale. October did have one notable redesign in the Loser column: the Chevrolet Malibu Eco, which averaged 92 days on dealer lots. The regular Malibu, meanwhile, took 32 days to sell. That’s better but still below average for 2013s. Is the new Malibu getting lost in the slew of redesigned family cars? Sales fell 6% in October, putting the Malibu behind the Fusion and well in back of the redesigned Accord, Toyota Camry and Nissan Altima.

Here are October's fastest- and slowest-selling cars:

Recall Alert: 2012 Audi Q5

Audi is recalling 13,172 model-year 2012 versions of the Q5 compact SUV because of problems with the sunroof, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The affected vehicles were manufactured from June 21, 2011, through Dec. 9, 2011. (You can check your vehicle’s build date on a sticker on the driver-side doorjamb.) The affected SUVs are equipped with a front sunroof glass panel that may break in extremely cold temperatures. If this happens while driving, it could injure and distract the driver, increasing the risk of an accident.

Audi will notify owners starting Aug. 7, and dealers will replace the sunroof glass for free. Owners can call parent Volkswagen at 800-822-8987 or NHTSA's vehicle safety hotline at 888-327-4236 for more info.

Related
2012 Audi Q5 Review
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2013 Audi Q5: First Look

For the 2013 model year, the Audi Q5 gets a midcycle refresh to address the compact crossover's so-so fuel economy and to tie its styling to Audi's latest design language.

Starting with exterior updates, the headlight, grille and bumper designs get revised. The headlights feature a squared-off LED daytime running light option, and the grille has prominent vertical slats in place of the old model's eggcrate look. The lower air inlets and fog lights have also been updated. The taillights' LED pattern has been altered in a similar fashion as the headlights.

2013 Audi Q5 Hybrid Coming to U.S.

Audi confirmed with us that the 2013 Audi Q5 Hybrid — first shown at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show and already on sale in Europe — will head to our shores soon, according to an Audi spokesperson. The Audi Q5 Hybrid will be the luxury German automaker's first hybrid model for the U.S. market.

The Q5 Hybrid will be powered the same 211-horsepower, turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder that's standard on the 2012 Q5, but the hybrid model will also have a 54-hp electric motor and a heavily modified eight-speed automatic transmission. The transmission gets rid of its torque converter for the purposes of the parallel hybrid system. The electric motor and turbo four-cylinder couple and decouple via a multiplate clutch, with the electric motor primarily used to aid the four-cylinder during initial startup or at slow speeds as most common hybrid systems do.