VW May Ditch Audi As Its Flagship Technology Development Brand

And Ford could take Audi’s place? Seriously?

We’ve been hearing rumors for the past few weeks about a potential partnership between Volkswagen Group and Ford, specifically in regards to electric vehicle platform development. While neither automaker has yet to officially comment, something is definitely about to happen. Up until now, Audi has served as VW Group’s technology development star brand but that may soon chance when VW CEO Herbert Diess announces the automaker’s 10-year plan later this month, according to a report from Reuters.

Diess is expected to reveal major cost cutting measures by working with rivals, such as Ford, on numerous projects, such as EV platforms. Doing so, however, would actually sideline Audi as the German automaker’s main R&D center.

This potential alliance with Ford is a big deal for the company because VW has proudly done things in-house for decades. Audi has been an engineering hub of sorts whose technological developments were spread out through all of VW’s many brands. But times are changing. For example, VW spent $13.1 billion last year on EV and autonomous vehicle development. Why not split those costs with a rival who shares common ground?

Ford is also looking at ways to drastically cut costs, especially since its earnings have not been stellar as of late. There are many possible ways this VW-Ford partnership can work and it’s easy to see why Audi is expected to be pushed aside somewhat.

For example, Ford could supply VW with a truck platform and even some engines. VW may even buy a stake in Ford’s autonomous vehicle program and also give it access to its MEB electric car multi-use platform. Why have Audi spearhead development of an autonomous vehicle program costing billions when Ford is already further along and, at the same time, could also benefit from VW? Basically, both VW and Ford understand major changes are already beginning to happen in the auto industry, so it’s smart to make these partnerships from positions of relative strength.

While the new Audi A8 does have some advanced self-driving features, VW’s overall efforts for a fully autonomous car have fallen behind rivals, such as Waymo. Diess does not want to see VW lose its edge in the coming decade so making radical changes, such as sidelining Audi for a technical partership with Ford, is a key way to ensure its long-term health.

2019 Audi A6 First Look Review: Advancing Technology In A Dying Segment

The new A6 is a tech powerhouse, but can it save the sedan?

Audi made the interesting decision to reveal the sleek A7 Sportback before showing the more conventional A6 sedan. Now Audi has pulled the sheet off the all-new 2019 A6, which is geared to do battle with the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E-Class. Trouble is, sedans like these are currently losing out to trendy crossovers and luxury pickup trucks. The refreshed A6 benefits from new drivetrains, autonomous driving functionality, and an impressive, new interior. So will all of Audi's hard work be enough to save the luxury sedan?

Without driving the new A6, our first guess would be yes. The previous-generation A6 was a class leader when it was revealed back in 2011, but eventually became outdated next to redesigned versions of the 5 Series and E-Class. For the first time in a few years, all three of these cars have been redesigned at the same time, which means they can be judged on a level playing field. The biggest headlines for the A6 are refreshed styling, a new interior, new engines, and new technology features. Since no one has really had a chance to drive the A6 yet, we thought we'd take a look at what's new with the car and how it stacks up against its main rivals from BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Starting off with the styling, the A6 adopts cues from the A7. In the previous generation, the A6 looked bland next to the curvy A7. This new A6 sedan looks like it deserves to be in the same beauty pageant as its Sportback brother. Audi, BMW, and Mercedes have all been a bit restrained with the styling of their midsize sedans, but we'd still have to give the edge to the Mercedes. In our opinion, the E-Class has the most elegant lines, but the A6 is a close second. The 5 Series is just too bulbous to be as pretty as the other two, though your opinion may differ from ours. The interior is a different story.

The interior of the E-Class was our favorite in the segment, but the A6 has swooped in and stolen our affection. The Mercedes' cabin looks remarkably high-tech thanks to a lovely dual-screen layout. So what's better than two screens? How about three? The A6 benefits from Audi's Virtual Cockpit display, which replaces traditional analog gauges. Audi's MMI system was never the best in class, but the system has been replaced by dual touch screens. We've seen dual screens done poorly in the Acura TLX, but we've also seen them work well in the Range Rover Velar. We'll give Audi the benefit of the doubt because these touch screens look like a nice improvement.

Under the hood, the 3.0-liter supercharged V6 has been replaced by a new turbocharged unit. Power is up from 311 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque to 340 hp and 368 lb-ft of torque. As with the previous generation, the A6 uses a slightly less powerful version of the engine in the smaller S4. Power goes out to Quattro AWD (now standard) through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. Zero-60 takes 5.1 seconds, which is slower than the BMW 540i (4.7 seconds) and the Mercedes E43 AMG (4.5 seconds). There's also a diesel engine on offer, but it won't be sold in the US. The Audi is not the performance benchmark of the segment, but it never really was in the first place.

The Audi will seek to differentiate itself from the the pack with its impressive technology. The A6 uses five radar sensors, five cameras, twelve ultrasonic sensors and a laser scanner just for its Park Assist Package. All of these external sensors and cameras add up to help the A6 navigate through traffic and provide gentle steering intervention to keep it in a lane. It may not have level three autonomous technology like its big brother, the A8, but the A6 can still park itself and offer partial self-driving. We'll have to wait until Audi releases full pricing details and standard features before painting a full picture of the A6. Still, the new A6 looks like a technological powerhouse in the luxury sedan segment.

Aston Martin Has No Plans To Develop Autonomous Technology

Amen.

Everywhere you look these days it’s as if every automaker is busy at work developing autonomous technologies, at least to an extent. Not Aston Martin. The iconic English brand is currently in something of a product renaissance, specifically the all-new DB11, the insane Vulcan and upcoming Valkyrie hypercar, as well as its just announced racing-inspired AMR brand. We were fortunate to speak with Vice President and Chief Special Operation Officer David King at Geneva last week, and were reminded once again why we love Aston Martin.

“Our customers want more track-focused cars, specifically Porsche 911 GT3 competitors, and therefore we will offer our cars with two levels of potency: Heavily re-engineered AMR Pro cars, such as the Vantage AMR Pro, and the first tier AMR, like the Rapide AMR.” Knowing this, we asked King if Aston Martin is working on new technologies that don’t necessarily involve performance, such as self-driving tech. “No,” came the immediate reply with a smile. “We are not working in-house on autonomous technology. This doesn’t mean that one day perhaps we’ll license someone else’s technology. But, for me, Aston Martin is about driving passion and performance, and that’s what we’re focused on right now,” King explained.

Another very promising sign of Aston Martin’s revival of sorts was the arrival of Dr. Andy Palmer as CEO. After a very successful career at Nissan, Palmer is certainly the right man for this job. “He asks how we can share Aston Martin racing with a wider audience. He wants engineers to think like entrepreneurs, and gives more freedom to spend on exotic materials,” stated King. We also took a stab and asked King about the future of the naturally aspirated engine Aston Martin is currently phasing out. “The naturally aspirated engine is limited by how far you can rev it to make power.”

Along with increasing global emission standards, it’s fair to say the NA engine, even for Aston Martin, is about to retire, replaced not only by turbocharging, but also hybrids and electrics. So rest assured. We won’t be seeing self-driving technology coming from these guys anytime soon, and if we read King correctly, he’s in absolutely no rush to even buy the tech from elsewhere.