Auto News 5

Our Audi Q5 has reached the three-quarter mark in its four-seasons test and it is leaving quite a good impression with our office. A couple of lengthy service visits aside, the Q5 has proven to be the real deal in the compact luxury SUV segment.

Despite the precariousness of the economic recovery, oil tycoons and financiers still have lots of money to spend, and they are getting sick of not spending it. To wit, sales of ultra-luxury goods like Louis Vuitton bags are gaining momentum. It's also fair to assume that these billionaires will need a proper luxury sedan to tote them to and from Congressional hearings. That's why, even as Audi promotes more efficient and proletarian A8s, including a 3.0 diesel V-6 that will make it to the U.S. market, it still intends to import its top dog -- the updated A8L powered by a bigger and more powerful W-12. The twelve-cylinder sedan will arrive on our shores a few months after the November launch of the 4.2-liter V-8-powered short and long wheelbase A8.