Audi A8 is 2012 ‘Connected Car of the Year’

Brian Harris Audi the leading Louisiana Audi dealer in Baton Rouge is pleased to announce that Audi A8 recently was honored in the first annual Connected World Connected Car of the Year awards, which spotlights vehicles with technology that strikes the right balance between safety, convenience, and infotainment. Chosen by the editorial team at Connected World magazine, Audi A8 was selected for its unmatched Audi connect™ infotainment system, now widely available on Audi models, and superior safety features. The vehicle is profiled in the March issue of Connected World.

 

The Audi A8 was chosen as the top vehicle in the Ultra-Luxury category. Among the factors considered were active safety features and distraction-free drive; connectivity focusing on comfort and convenience; and infotainment options offered in distraction-free manner, including music, video and Wi-Fi®.

 

“Drivers have reached a point in which they are looking for a vehicle that is safe and reliable, and can keep them connected while on the road, just as they are able to while in the office or in their homes,” says Mike Carrozzo, chief editor, Connected World. “And, as consumers, we also want to be connected in a distraction-free environment. The connected cars named as winners for 2012 are certainly providing these options, and so much more.”

 

With the Audi A8, Audi is the first company worldwide to feature factory-installed wireless internet, enabling the innovative infotainment system called Audi connect. Previously only available in the Audi A6, Audi A7, Audi A8 and Audi Q7, Audi connect is now available on all Audi A4 and Audi A5 models, making it the only brand worldwide to feature this level of integrated connectivity in the B segment.

 

T-Mobile USA, Inc. is the U.S. wireless carrier for Audi connect systems. Audi connect services are enabled with an enhanced, ruggedized T-Mobile® SIM card, which is included with the vehicle, allowing customers to simply sign up for a service plan at the time of vehicle sale or at any time during or after the six-month complimentary trial period. Prices for 3G service range from $25-$30/month. Audi turned to T-Mobile as the wireless provider because of its reliable, nationwide network, leadership in automotive telematics, and strong customer satisfaction record.

 

“Increasingly, we are seeing a dramatic shift in the way consumers interact with their automobiles,” said Stan Simpliciano, senior director of MVNO/M2M at T-Mobile USA, “The ability to connect and access real-time information from nearly anywhere represents an amazing enhancement to everyday experiences. We applaud the industry recognition of the high bar set with the Audi A8 with Audi connect and are proud of the innovation that we’ve achieved in collaboration with Audi.”

 

With Audi connect, the onboard MMI® Navigation system is enhanced with Google Earth™ maps and real-time SiriusXM Traffic information, for a true aerial view of the route. Audi connect also features real-time localized weather, news and live fuel prices; Google Local Search for detailed information about travel destinations, such as restaurant or hotel hours, pricing and customer reviews; the myAudi Destination feature, which allows registered users to log on to Google Maps™ from any location and download up to 50 destinations to the vehicle; and a rolling Wi-Fi hotspot, allowing up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices to simultaneously use the wireless connectivity. Audi connect is a pivotal first step towards a connected car future. Vehicles with Audi connect currently are the only broadband-connected cars in the world.

 

The Audi A8 also features the optional driver assistance package, which includes adaptive cruise control that keeps the A8 at a constant distance from the preceding vehicle, active lane assist, and dynamic steering. Dynamic steering varies the effort as well as the steering ratio, while active lane assist helps the vehicle maintain lane discipline should the driver begin to sway outside of the lane markings without setting the turn signal. The Audi A8 also features Audi Night Vision Assistant with pedestrian detection that can warn the driver of oncoming pedestrians up to 1,000 feet away.

For more information you can visit Brian Harris Audi located in 12326 Airline Highway Baton Rouge, LA 70817 or visit us online to schedule a test drive. 

Audi presents hybrid race car in Munich

The place and date for the world premiere of the new Audi hybrid race car for the Le Mans 24 Hours have been set. The forward-thinking LMP1 vehicle will be presented at the Munich Airport on February 29 before the Audi Annual Press Conference 2012.

Red carpet: The Annual Press Conference on March 1 is one of the most important events in AUDI AG’s fiscal year. And exactly on this occasion Audi Sport will be presenting its major and arguably most ambitious project for the 2012 motorsport season: the new hybrid race car for the Le Mans 24 Hours. The Le Mans prototype will be celebrating its world premiere at the Munich Airport on the eve of the Annual Press Conference. The evening to which about 300 journalists from around the world have been invited is billed as “Looking to the future – tomorrow’s automotive technology.”

Six out of eight: Slightly modified Sporting Regulations are designed to add suspense to the new FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). In the manufacturers’ classification of the top LMP1 category only the best-placed vehicle of one automobile manufacturer will score championship points. In addition, only the results of six of the eight races – including the Le Mans 24 Hours for which the points awarded are doubled – will be counted. In the 2012 WEC Audi is fighting with Toyota for the World Champion’s title.

Lady in the GT3 Audi: Cyndie Allemann is the first woman to contest a racing series in the Audi R8 LMS. The 25-year-old Swiss is competing for the Audi customer team Hitotsuyama Racing in d the GT300 class of the Japanese Super GT Championship. Mikio Hitotsuyama’s squad won the Super Taikuyu Series with the Audi R8 LMS last year and scored the 100th victory of the successful Audi customer sport race car.

Honor for Le Mans: The renowned “National Geographic” magazine has ranked the Le Mans 24 Hours as the world’s greatest sporting event that anyone should have visited at least once in their life. The combination of skill, speed and endurance, it said, made Le Mans the world’s best auto race.

Honor for Audi engineer: Leena Gade, the vehicle engineer for the 2011 Le Mans winning Audi R18 TDI, was invited to the “Motor Sport Hall of Fame 2012” at the Roundhouse in London on Thursday night. The event held by “Motor Sport” magazine is regarded as one of the most important social functions of the British motorsport scene.

Double: Last weekend, Audi “factory” driver Timo Scheider attended two major sporting events. On Saturday evening, the two-time DTM Champion witnessed the World Championship victory of boxer Vitali Klitschko over Dereck Chisora in Munich's Olympic Hall ​. On, Sunday Scheider visited the Ski Flying World Cup in Oberstdorf.

Following in his father’s tracks: Audi “factory” driver André Lotterer contested the historic “Legend Boucles de Spa” rally this weekend. Lotterer has close ties to Belgium. The German spent his youth there and his father Henry Lotterer worked for the Belgian RAS rally team. At the “Legend Bouclés des Spa” rally the Le Mans winner piloted a Porsche 911 SC RS, a car resembling the one his father, who died in 2009, had prepared in the nineteen-eighties.

Finale in India: The place and date for the tenth race of the FIA GT1 World Championship in which the Audi customer team WRT is putting two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars on the grid have been set. The season finale will be held at the Formula 1 circuit near New Dehlhi in India on December 2. The season will open at Nogaro (France) on April 8.

Indoor session: A photo shoot with DTM racer Mike Rockenfeller and the new Audi A1 Sportback for the Audi Sport magazine “Adrenalin” had to be moved indoors to the Audi Forum Ingolstadt at short notice on Wednesday due to a heavy snowstorm. The change in venue gave the 2010 Le Mans winner an immediate opportunity to view the re-designed new car delivery section with his expert eyes.

On the controller: The five-time Le Mans winner Frank Biela has discovered a new passion: slot car racing. With an Audi R8 LMS and a team of his own the former DTM Champion and long-standing Audi factory driver is contesting the legendary rallye racing Carrera Cup this year. The season will open in Hamburg this week.

Visit Brian Harris Audi in Baton Rouge, LA to test drive you favorite Audi or request a service appointment online.

Double award for designers of Audi A6 body

Audi’s designers have been awarded two coveted trophies for the Audi A6’s lightweight-construction body. Franziska Moennig, Chair of the Presiding Committee of the “Automotive Circle International”, congratulated the winning teams at the Audi Forum Neckarsulm on Thursday. The planners and designers had succeeded in significantly reducing the weight of the A6 body through the use of a steel-aluminum composite construction and advanced joining and production techniques.

Audi won first prize in the Doors & Closures Innovation Award for the design and development of the fully pressed aluminum system doors. These doors are more than 20 kilograms lighter than on the previous model. The jury commended how the challenging design brief had been executed with a combination of lightweight-construction materials and with the help of new test methods. By applying simulation tools, rigidity was increased even though less material was used.

Instead of the previously customary steel doors, the new A6 has fully pressed aluminum system doors of double-shell construction. Nowadays, car doors incorporate not just the door lock and the electric window mechanism, but also various infotainment system components.

Second prize in the EuroCarBody Award also went to Audi. This is the most prestigious international award in the body manufacturing sphere. The major achievement of the sedan with the four rings was its weight saving of 15 percent compared with the previous version. Aluminum components account for more than 20 percent of the body. The suspension strut mounts in the forward structure are cast components. Lightweight aluminum profiles were used for the struts in the engine compartment and the cross members behind the bumpers. Materials such as high-end steels play a key role in the new Audi A6. For instance, form-hardened steels acquire their extreme strength as a result of a deliberate abrupt temperature change during the pressing process. These grades are used in the passenger compartment at the transition with the forward structure. All add-on parts of the new Audi A6 such as the engine hood, trunk lid and passenger doors are made from sheet aluminum.

Plant Manager Albrecht Reimold, who collected the awards on behalf of the members of the Planning, Design and Production departments, remarked: “The lightweight body construction concept for the new A6 Sedan demonstrates our powers of innovation and puts us at the very forefront of our field of competitors.” Audi has already won awards for its vehicle bodies on several occasions: The Audi A8 came first in the EuroCarBody Award in 2003 and 2010. The Audi TT received this distinction in 2006, with the Audi Q5 sport utility vehicle following suit in 2008. In 2009 the Audi R8 Spyder was the first ultra-sporty derivative to gain a top-three place in the EuroCarBody Award.

The New Audi Urban Concept Rocks

The 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show is scheduled next month and Audi has already geared up to rock the event. Brian Harris Audi, the leading Audi dealership in Baton Rouge, LA, is pleased to announce that Audi has recently launched the sketches of its all new electric city car that is going to be known as Audi Urban Concept. 

The sketches have already created a buzz and it seems that when it will launch at the Frankfurt Auto Show it will surely make some headlines in the automobile market. This ultra light car with a dune buggy look, free standing wheel, sliding canopy for access to passenger cabin are some unique features of the car that will surely create some head turns!

 

The Concept Car will be powered by a pair of e-tron electric motors that will be run by compact lithium-ion battery pack. The lightweight car is built with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer body and free-standing wheels. The most interesting feature is the 21-inch tires that have small cycle-styled fenders in the front and rear. The car is designed to accommodate two passengers side by side with ample leg space. The car will allow its driver to adjust the steering wheel and pedals.

Brian Harris Audi is a leading Audi dealership in Baton Rouge, LA. Visit and explore our vast inventory of new cars, used cars, and certified pre-owned cars. As an authorized Audi dealer, we also offer original BMW parts and offer auto repair services.

Audi’s ‘Travolution’ For Reduced Road Traffic Emissions

Brian Harris Audi, the leading Louisiana Audi car dealer in Baton Rouge, is pleased to inform that Audi is working on Travolution, a new fuel efficient travel system and an innovative approach to environment-friendly driving. 

Audi’s ‘Travolution’ project is based on the concept of cars and traffic lights communicating as a means of minimizing traffic build-up and reducing consumption of fuel and greenhouse gas emission level. The system involves wireless local area networks connections between cars and traffic lights which supply a flow of data from one to the other. The driver can see the data in graphic form on the car dashboards and they will be informed about the recommended speed to drive to make sure that the next traffic light coming up is green and they can pass it without waiting and then accelerate off. Actually, these are the two processes that increase fuel consumption and emissions levels. The ‘Travolution’ tackles this effectively and reduces the fuel consumption and emissions levels. 

A demonstration of the ‘Travolution’ conducted in Germany earlier this year revealed that the system has a capacity of reducing the fuel consumption by approximately 200 milliliters for each traffic light wait.  With the 'Travolution', Audi hopes to reach a whole new level in fuel consumption in its cars. Brian Harris is excited about this system and likes to divulge more about this to all those interested in knowing about this. Contact Brian Harris Audi anytime for details. Also take a look their New Audi Car Specials and drive home the Audi of your choice with great savings!

Audi Bags Two Awards at the Telematics Update Awards 2011

Brian Harris Audi, your nearest Audi car dealership in Baton Rouge, LA is proud to announce that Audi has bagged two awards at the Telematics Update Awards 2011.

The “Global OEM Infotainment Solution” award was clinched by Audi Connect while the “Telematics Leadership” award was won by Dr. Peter Steiner, head of Infotainment Development at AUDI AG.

Audi Connect is a unique solution that helps to connect the Audi vehicles with the internet, the driver and the nearby infrastructure. The technology is now available with all the Audi models, starting from A1 and the brand-new Q3 to the A6, the A7 Sportback and the A8.

This unique technology helps to integrate different online services including navigation using Google Earth satellite images or Audi traffic information online.  Both of the uses have immense practical importance while driving on road. Plus, the latest Audi Connect solution also displays weather and travel information to the driver. All these features are integrated into the menu structure to avoid distraction and maximize convenience.

In addition to the “Global OEM Infotainment Solution” award, Dr. Peter Steiner, was honored as an expert in the Telematics Leadership category. Dr. Steiner obtained his PhD degree in engineering physics from the Technical University of Munich in 1996. The most notable achievement under his leadership was the integration of Google Earth into an automotive navigation system. This integration was done for the first time in the world and for this outstanding innovation Audi and Google were honored with the "Best Embedded Telematics Navigation Product” at the 2010 Telematics Update Award.

Brian Haris Audi, Baton Rouge, LA, is known for all new, used, certified and pre-owned Audi cars and high-class auto service. Visit Brian Harris Audi today and schedule for a test drive at your convenience!

New Car to Continue Audi’s Success in DTM Racing

Here is some great news for all Audi fans from Brian Harris Audi, the Louisiana Audi dealer in Baton Rouge. An awesome two-door coupe will succeed the four-door A4 DTM with which Audi has won the prestigious DTM title four times since 2004. Its safety standards are even higher than before.

The first prototype of the new racing car, internally called the R17, is being built up at Audi Sport in Ingolstadt. The technically and visually upgraded A5, expected to arrive at dealership soon, forms the basis for the new DTM car. It has been conceived as the best possible, lowest-cost, safest and above all, a fantastic car. Audi will rely on the A5 in the most popular international touring car racing competitions from 2012. German Motorsport Association (DMSB) and the DTM umbrella organization ITR have been roped in to develop the new technical specifications.

The new Audi A5 DTM comprises a high-strength carbon-fiber monocoque which is combined with a steel tube cage. The proven V8 engine rated at 460 hp and the six-speed transmission, the backbone of the successful A4 DTM, will be continued in the new DTM car. Audi’s new regulations have ensured that the new racing car is highly safe and continue the work done over the past three decades consistently. The strength of the pillars, front and rear crash absorbers have been increased to ensure maximum safety during racing competitions. The new Audi A5 DTM will be unveiled at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt soon. Contact Brian Harris Audi to know more about the racing heritage of Audi cars. Also take a look at awe inspiring   Audi cars and special offers on new Audi cars.