Lexus, Audi Deliver Driverless Car News at CES

It's shaping up to be something of a landmark day in the history of driverless and semi-driverless cars; this week's 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas brings autonomous-automobile announcements from at least two major automakers.

At a press conference scheduled for 2 p.m. EST today, Lexus will discuss its program exploring the use of autonomous technologies and high-level driver-assistance systems, according to a Toyota press release. Last week, Toyota released a brief video of an occupied but semi-driverless vehicle in action.

The presentation will include a discussion of the automaker's Intelligent Transport Systems program, which includes vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication technologies that could eventually allow cars to "talk" to one another and interact accordingly to reduce accidents, as well as alleviate traffic congestion.

In other autonomous car news, Audi announced today that it has received the first permit and the second license from the state of Nevada to operate autonomous vehicles on public roads to test "piloted" driving. Google, which has been at the forefront of the autonomous-car movement, received the first license. In June 2011, Nevada passed a law calling for rules for operation on state highways of autonomous cars, which use artificial intelligence, sensors and GPS to coordinate themselves without active intervention by human operators; California and Florida have passed similar legislation.

2012 Audi TT RS Video

After a short hiatus, the Audi TT RS is back for the 2012 model year. With it comes a powerful 360-horsepower inline-five-cylinder. Compared with the TT and TTS, this model is a powerhouse, and it’s the only one available with a manual transmission, according to Cars.com Editor Joe Bruzek. Still, the powertrain comes at a steep price.

2011 Audi TT, TTS Get Updated

• Competes with: BMW Z4, Mercedes-Benz SLK, Infiniti G37
• Looks like: Mild exterior changes hide a nice engine upgrade
• Drivetrain: 211-hp, turbocharged four-cylinder or 265-hp, turbocharged four-cylinder; all-wheel drive; dual-clutch automatic transmission
• Hits dealerships: TT in early 2011, TTS in fall 2010

We’re big fans of the underachieving Audi TT. It’s a unique, small, luxury sport coupe and convertible. It’s nimble and light, and the cockpit is a marvel in sports car styling. Its main drawback was the engine choices, with the base turbo being a bit too slow and the 3.2-liter six-cylinder sporting more power but adding weight.

The 3.2 was dropped for 2010, and it doesn't return for 2011. Instead, the base model’s engine gets some serious updating and now produces 211 horsepower and 258 pounds-feet of torque, a major bump from the outgoing model’s 200 hp and 207 pounds-feet of torque. It’s mated to a dual-clutch transmission, which should boost mileage over the outgoing TT’s 21/29 mpg city/highway.
 
These changes should make the base TT noticeably faster. No zero-to-60 times have been determined, but the zero-to-62 mph figure for Europe clocked in at 5.6 seconds, so the zero-to-60 time should be shorter by a few clicks. The 2010 TT recorded a zero-to-60 time of 5.9 seconds.

A magnetic ride suspension will be offered as an option, which will allow for adjustable suspension settings.
 
The TTS’ engine remains unchanged at 265 hp and 258 pounds-feet of torque. Both models only come with all-wheel drive. The TTS also returns mileage figures of 21/29 mpg.
 
The exterior changes are slight but bring the model up to date with the rest of the Audi lineup and streamline the previous generation's bulbous bumpers.
 
No pricing was announced, but the outgoing TT starts at $37,800 for the coupe and $40,800 for the roadster. The 2010 TTS starts at $45,900 and $48,900 for coupe and roadster, respectively.
 
More photos are below.

Cars.com Reviews the 2009 Audi TTS

Latching that “S” onto the end of an Audi model name usually means good things. In this case, the 2009 Audi TTS takes the TT coupe and roadster and adds more performance, including a more powerful four-cylinder turbocharged engine. Cars.com reviewer Mike Hanley looks at the TTS to see how it fares against small sports cars from Porsche and BMW. Does he find Audi’s Achilles heel? Read the full review to find out.

2009 Audi TTS Review

Deal or No Deal: Cars That Impressed at Road America

Last week, Cars.com’s editors took part in a rally at the Road America racetrack in Elkhart Lake, Wis. There were dozens of new cars on hand to take on the track or local roads. More so than in past years, we were surprised by many new models, and not always in good ways. Here’s what resonated most.

2009 Audi TTS Video

What difference can one little letter make? With better gas mileage and more power than the Audi TT, the 2009 Audi TTS proves the answer is, quite a bit. Cars.com’s Joe Bruzek had the chance to take the TTS out for a spin on the back roads of Georgia, and while we won’t give away the entire video review, the words “turbo-fun” do leave his mouth. Watch the full video to find out his other impressions of the TTS.