Gallery: 2010 Audi R8 V10

The range-topping R8 is the first car in the world to be equipped with all-LED (light emitting diode) headlamps. For the first time the high intensity diodes have been used for low beam and high beam settings, as well as for daytime running lights and indicators, intensifying the sports car's visual drama.

The LED headlamp of the Audi R8 is the first representative of a completely new generation of headlamps using only light emitting diodes which in itself reduces CO₂ emissions. An interior light package including LED footwell lighting, light and rain sensors and LED engine compartment lighting also comes as standard on the 196mph "supercar".

The first all-LED headlights represent the triumph of an idea for Audi. Dr. Wolfgang Huhn, Head of the Light and Visibility Department at Audi, explains: "A lot of people initially viewed this development as a mere marketing gimmick. Yet everyone who has seen these lights in action is not only astonished by the excellent output but also thrilled with the homogenous distribution of light and the agreeable, daylight-esque colour of the light."

Audi was the first car manufacturer to recognize the potential of revolutionary LED lighting technology and then incorporate it during development of its vehicles and can now boast a technological edge putting it "light" years ahead of the competition.

This success story began at the 2003 North American International Auto Show – which begins on 11 January in Detroit this year – when Audi first presented the Pikes Peak quattro concept study. This elegant SUV, inspiration for today's Audi Q7, garnered attention with the world's first fog lights equipped with high-performance light-emitting diodes.

Integrated into the broad bumper as striking strips of light, the fog lights were a sensation not merely in a technical sense. The strip-shaped lights were also aesthetically pleasing and very popular with the public.

The 12-cylinder Audi A8 went into series production soon afterwards as the world's first vehicle with LED daytime running lights. High-performance light-emitting diodes as a light source for headlights had never previously been seen. Huhn added: "Audi blazed trails with LED technology. And even though we're years ahead of our direct competitors, this field continues to bear tremendous potential for us. Our research counts on the 'Vorsprung durch Technik' typical at Audi and no one can imagine our designs without it."

Today's xenon and LED headlights are four times more energy efficient than halogen headlights. And by 2018, LED technology should be about eight times more efficient than halogen light. In addition, LEDs excel due to their practically indefinite service life and react up to ten times more quickly than traditional incandescent bulbs.

Greater safety, lower fuel consumption

LEDs can also reduce a vehicle's fuel consumption. When daytime running lights become mandatory in the European Union in May 2011, Audi models with on-board LED technology will be ahead of the competition.

Drivers in a lot of European countries – such as Italy, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, and Sweden – already must use their lights during the day. As a result, just one vehicle's conventional low-beam headlights, taillights, and license-plate illumination consume some 200 watts – which the alternator must constantly generate.

By comparison, a mere 15 watts is required to power the new Audi A4's modern LED daytime running lights, which have the added advantage of far better visibility for other road users. All in all, that equates to a decrease of about 0.2 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres and about 4 grams fewer CO₂ emissions per kilometre.

A statistical example clearly illustrates the significance of these figures: Thanks to this new technology, the Audi models with LED daytime running lights sold in 2008 alone consumed – during just their first year in use – about 10 million fewer litres of fuel and emitted approximately 25,000 fewer metric tons of CO₂.

The discovery of "digital light"

Lumens per watt are the "horsepower" of light. For the sake of comparison, an ordinary household light bulb generates about 20-25 lumens per watt. A modern passenger vehicle's xenon headlights, on the other hand, are very energy-efficient and create some 80 lumens per watt.

The first LED headlights in the Pikes Peak concept generated 18 lumens while the next generation of white high-performance LEDs hit the market this year with a whopping 100 lumens per watt – surpassing the efficiency of xenon lights for the first time.

"Digital light" can be made more or less bright electronically and precisely adapted to a driver's needs. Audi developers are convinced that future generations of headlights will react to weather conditions, a vehicle's speed, the distance between vehicles, and potentially dangerous objects.

Huhn concluded: "We're striving to create intelligent headlights and taillights which think and anticipate in the interest of enhancing a driver's safety and comfort. For example, there are already high-beam headlights in pre-series development which will allow drivers to navigate roads at night without temporarily blinding oncoming drivers. This is made possible by a variable distribution of light: An electronic system continuously calculates the distance to any approaching vehicles to ensure that the road ahead is ideally illuminated at all times – without irritating oncoming drivers."

Gallery: 2010 Hyundai VI Equus rendering

Gallery: Splinter Wooden Supercar

This latest shot continues to suggest that this coupe will use the CLK-inspired deleted B-pillar design to achieve a stylish hardtop convertible look. When the production car arrives in 2010, we expect Mercedes to offer a wide variety of V6 and V8 engines, including a 525 hp 6.3-liter V8 for the E63 AMG model.

DETROIT January 4, 2009Kimberly S. Johnson(AP)-- General Motors Corp. is counting on the 2010 Cadillac SRX crossover vehicle to lure luxury car buyers with new design and performance features.

The redesigned vehicle was unveiled Sunday and is set to go on display at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit later this month. It replaces the SRX model first launched in 2004.

To help compete with better-selling rivals like the Lexus RX, Acura MDX, and the BMW X3 and X5, the SRX's designers took elements from other Cadillac models and melded them into this one. The new SRX looks faster than its boxy predecessor, with a curving roofline and a more rounded nose that still retains an aggressive look.

"For GM, it's our most aggressive brand," said Clay Dean, GM's global director for Cadillac design. "We want to appeal to people that set the trends."

Cadillac put more energy into improving the interior quality and exterior design of the car, Dean said. A 3-liter direct-injection V-6 engine comes standard, with the option for a 2.8-liter turbocharged V-6. Although fuel economy testing wasn't complete, GM estimates highway miles per gallon will fall in the mid-20s.

Cadillac has a strong following among luxury car buyers, and the brand remains an important one for GM.

Cadillac sales fell 24 percent in the first 11 months of 2008, about on par with U.S. light truck and SUV sales overall. The automaker sold nearly 148,000 Cadillacs in January through November, including about 14,800 SRXs. But Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus division sold five times as many RXs.

The 2010 SRX is expected to be in showrooms in mid-2009. Pricing hasn't been announced.

The public got its first peek of the SRX at a California auto charity event in August. The model is one of three launches GM has planned for the Detroit show that starts next week. There's a new Chevrolet Equinox crossover that the automaker unveiled in December, and a redesigned 2010 Buick LaCrosse sedan will make its debut.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 2, 2009) –SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association, is actively opposing an effort by some Congressional lawmakers to include a nationwide “Cash for Clunkers” program in the economic stimulus package currently being considered in Washington. Cash for Clunkers, or scrappage as it is more commonly known, would use taxpayer dollars to purchase and crush older vehicles into blocks of scrap metal. There is no evidence that the program will achieve the goal of boosting new car sales.

Many states have considered these programs in the past as a way to help clean the air but abandoned the effort because they simply don’t work. The programs are not cost-effective and do not achieve verifiable air quality or fuel economy benefits.

“In fact, states are currently prohibited from using federal funds for Cash for Clunker programs under the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ),” said Steve McDonald, SEMA’s Vice President of Government Affairs. “The reasons are simple. Regulators have focused on a vehicle’s age rather than the emissions the vehicle produces, based on the erroneous perception that all older cars are dirty cars. These clunker programs do not bother to measure the real emissions of the vehicles involved. Rather, the programs “estimate” emissions reductions using numbers that are significantly overstated.”

Another shortcoming is that clunker programs rarely capture the “gross polluter,” an improperly maintained vehicle of any model year, which puts out dramatically more emissions due to poor maintenance. Those seeking a quick fix through vehicle clunker programs ignore this reality.

Clunker programs even on a voluntary basis further diminish the availability of affordable transportation and repair parts to low-income drivers as more and more older cars are crushed. They do not guarantee that low-income individuals will be able to afford to purchase new vehicles, let alone more fuel efficient or cleaner vehicles, with the money provided by clunker programs. Clunker programs also undermine the used car donation programs of charitable organizations such as Melwood Industries, Salvation Army, and the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

“Rather, auto restoration, customization and repair shops nationwide would suffer with the loss of older cars, trucks and parts they need to supply and service their customers,” McDonald added. “An unchecked Cash for Clunkers program risks destroying classic, historic and special-interest vehicles. America safeguards its artistic and architectural heritage against indiscriminate destruction. Our automotive and industrial heritage deserves the same protection.”

In lieu of clunker programs, SEMA has recommended that Congress work with the states on programs that identify gross polluters and upgrade them with equipment that improves their emissions performance dramatically. These benefits are measured and cost-effective in reducing emissions. Adapting newer technologies to older vehicles benefits the vehicle owner and brings business to auto dealers and repair shops repairing gross polluting vehicles, which in turn will improve air quality. A number of commercially available products and technologies exist which could substantially lower the emission rates of older vehicles while also offering the owner added performance, driveability and fuel mileage. These innovative solutions drive product sales, produce American jobs and secure tax revenues for the government all while sustaining the multi-billion dollar vehicle restoration industry. McDonald concluded, “Now, that’s an economic stimulus we all can support.”

SEMA represents the $38.1 billion specialty automotive industry. Founded in 1963, the trade association has 7,358 member companies. It is the authoritative source of research data, trends and market growth information for automakers and the specialty auto products industry. The industry provides appearance, performance, comfort, convenience and technology products for passenger cars, minivans, trucks, SUVs, crossovers and recreational vehicles. For more information, contact SEMA at 1575 S. Valley Vista Dr., Diamond Bar, CA, 91765-3914; call 909/396-0289; or visit www.sema.org or www.enjoythedrive.com.