when did audi come to the united states

The new merged company was incorporated on 1 January 1969 and was known as Audi NSU Auto Union AG, with its headquarters at NSU's Neckarsulm plant, and saw the emergence of Audi as a separate brand for the first time since the pre-war era. Volkswagen introduced the Audi brand to the United States for the 1970 model year. That same year, the mid-sized car that NSU had been working on, the K70, originally intended to slot between the rear-engined Prinz models and the futuristic NSU Ro 80, was instead launched as a Volkswagen.

Audi

Audi AG (German: [ˈʔaʊ̯diː ʔaːˈgeː] ( listen)) is a German automobile manufacturer that designs, engineers, produces, markets and distributes luxury vehicles. Audi is a member of the Volkswagen Group and has its roots at Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. Audi-branded vehicles are produced in nine production facilities worldwide.

The origins of the company are complex, going back to the early 20th century and the initial enterprises (Horch and the Audiwerke) founded by engineer August Horch; and two other manufacturers (DKW and Wanderer), leading to the foundation of Auto Union in 1932. The modern era of Audi essentially began in the 1960s when Auto Union was acquired by Volkswagen from Daimler-Benz.[9] After relaunching the Audi brand with the 1965 introduction of the Audi F103 series, Volkswagen merged Auto Union with NSU Motorenwerke in 1969, thus creating the present day form of the company.

The company name is based on the Latin translation of the surname of the founder, August Horch. "Horch", meaning "listen" in German, becomes "audi" in Latin. The four rings of the Audi logo each represent one of four car companies that banded together to create Audi's predecessor company, Auto Union. Audi's slogan is Vorsprung durch Technik, meaning "Advancement through Technology". However, Audi USA had used the slogan "Truth in Engineering" from 2007 to 2016, and have not used the slogan since 2016.[10] Audi, along with BMW and Mercedes-Benz, are among the best-selling luxury automobile brands in the world.[11]

Automobile company Wanderer was originally established in 1885, later becoming a branch of Audi AG. Another company, NSU, which also later merged into Audi, was founded during this time, and later supplied the chassis for Gottlieb Daimler's four-wheeler.[12]

On 14 November 1899, August Horch (1868â€“1951) established the company A. Horch & Cie. in the Ehrenfeld district of Cologne. In 1902, he moved with his company to Reichenbach im Vogtland. On 10 May 1904, he founded the August Horch & Cie. Motorwagenwerke AG, a joint-stock company in Zwickau (State of Saxony).

After troubles with Horch chief financial officer, August Horch left Motorwagenwerke and founded in Zwickau on 16 July 1909, his second company, the August Horch Automobilwerke GmbH. His former partners sued him for trademark infringement. The German Reichsgericht (Supreme Court) in Leipzig,[13] eventually determined that the Horch brand belonged to his former company.[14]

Since August Horch was prohibited from using "Horch" as a trade name in his new car business, he called a meeting with close business friends, Paul and Franz Fikentscher from Zwickau. At the apartment of Franz Fikentscher, they discussed how to come up with a new name for the company. During this meeting, Franz's son was quietly studying Latin in a corner of the room. Several times he looked like he was on the verge of saying something but would just swallow his words and continue working, until he finally blurted out, "Father – audiatur et altera pars... wouldn't it be a good idea to call it audi instead of horch?"[15] "Horch!" in German means "Hark!" or "hear", which is "Audi" in the singular imperative form of "audire" – "to listen" – in Latin. The idea was enthusiastically accepted by everyone attending the meeting.[16] On 25 April 1910 the Audi Automobilwerke GmbH Zwickau (from 1915 on Audiwerke AG Zwickau) was entered in the company's register of Zwickau registration court.

The first Audi automobile, the Audi Type A 10/22 hp (16 kW) Sport-Phaeton, was produced in the same year,[17] followed by the successor Type B 10/28PS in the same year.[18]

Audi started with a 2,612 cc inline-four engine model Type A, followed by a 3,564 cc model, as well as 4,680 cc and 5,720 cc models. These cars were successful even in sporting events. The first six-cylinder model Type M, 4,655 cc appeared in 1924.[19]

August Horch left the Audiwerke in 1920 for a high position at the ministry of transport, but he was still involved with Audi as a member of the board of trustees. In September 1921, Audi became the first German car manufacturer to present a production car, the Audi Type K, with left-handed drive.[20] Left-hand drive spread and established dominance during the 1920s because it provided a better view of oncoming traffic, making overtaking safer.[20]

In August 1928, Jørgen Rasmussen, the owner of Dampf-Kraft-Wagen (DKW), acquired the majority of shares in Audiwerke AG.[21] In the same year, Rasmussen bought the remains of the U.S. automobile manufacturer Rickenbacker, including the manufacturing equipment for eight-cylinder engines. These engines were used in Audi Zwickau and Audi Dresden models that were launched in 1929. At the same time, six-cylinder and four-cylinder (the "four" with a Peugeot engine) models were manufactured. Audi cars of that era were luxurious cars equipped with special bodywork.

In 1932, Audi merged with Horch, DKW, and Wanderer, to form Auto Union AG, Chemnitz. It was during this period that the company offered the Audi Front that became the first European car to combine a six-cylinder engine with front-wheel drive. It used a powertrain shared with the Wanderer, but turned 180-degrees, so that the drive shaft faced the front.

Before World War II, Auto Union used the four interlinked rings that make up the Audi badge today, representing these four brands. However, this badge was used only on Auto Union racing cars in that period while the member companies used their own names and emblems. The technological development became more and more concentrated and some Audi models were propelled by Horch or Wanderer built engines.

Reflecting the economic pressures of the time, Auto Union concentrated increasingly on smaller cars through the 1930s, so that by 1938 the company's DKW brand accounted for 17.9% of the German car market, while Audi held only 0.1%. After the final few Audis were delivered in 1939 the "Audi" name disappeared completely from the new car market for more than two decades.

Like most German manufacturing, at the onset of World War II the Auto Union plants were retooled for military production, and were a target for allied bombing during the war which left them damaged.

Overrun by the Soviet Army in 1945, on the orders of the Soviet Union military administration the factories were dismantled as part of war reparations.[22] Following this, the company's entire assets were expropriated without compensation.[22] On 17 August 1948, Auto Union AG of Chemnitz was deleted from the commercial register.[21] These actions had the effect of liquidating Germany's Auto Union AG. The remains of the Audi plant of Zwickau became the VEB (for "People Owned Enterprise") Automobilwerk Zwickau or AWZ (in English: Automobile Works Zwickau).

With no prospect of continuing production in Soviet-controlled East Germany, Auto Union executives began the process of relocating what was left of the company to West Germany. A site was chosen in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, to start a spare parts operation in late 1945, which would eventually serve as the headquarters of the reformed Auto Union in 1949.

The former Audi factory in Zwickau restarted assembly of the pre-war-models in 1949. These DKW models were renamed to IFA F8 and IFA F9 and were similar to the West German versions. West and East German models were equipped with the traditional and renowned DKW two-stroke engines. The Zwickau plant manufactured the infamous Trabant until 1991, when it came under Volkswagen controlâ€”effectively bringing it under the same umbrella as Audi since 1945.

A new West German headquartered Auto Union was launched in Ingolstadt with loans from the Bavarian state government and Marshall Plan aid.[22] The reformed company was launched 3 September 1949 and continued DKW's tradition of producing front-wheel drive vehicles with two-stroke engines.[22] This included production of a small but sturdy 125 cc motorcycle and a DKW delivery van, the DKW F89 L at Ingolstadt. The Ingolstadt site was large, consisting of an extensive complex of formerly military buildings which was suitable for administration as well as vehicle warehousing and distribution, but at this stage there was at Ingolstadt no dedicated plant suitable for mass production of automobiles: for manufacturing the company's first post-war mass-market passenger car plant capacity in Düsseldorf was rented from Rheinmetall-Borsig. It was only ten years later, after the company had attracted an investor, when funds became available for construction of major car plant at the Ingolstadt head office site.

In 1958, in response to pressure from Friedrich Flick, then the company's largest single shareholder,[23] Daimler-Benz took an 87% holding in the Auto Union company, and this was increased to a 100% holding in 1959. However, small two-stroke cars were not the focus of Daimler-Benz's interests, and while the early 1960s saw major investment in new Mercedes models and in a state of the art factory for Auto Union's, the company's aging model range at this time did not benefit from the economic boom of the early 1960s to the same extent as competitor manufacturers such as Volkswagen and Opel. The decision to dispose of the Auto Union business was based on its lack of profitability.[24] Ironically, by the time they sold the business, it also included a large new factory and near production-ready modern four-stroke engine, which would enable the Auto Union business, under a new owner, to embark on a period of profitable growth, now producing not Auto Unions or DKWs, but using the "Audi" name, resurrected in 1965 after a 25-year gap.

In 1964, Volkswagen acquired a 50% holding in the business, which included the new factory in Ingolstadt, the DKW and Audi brands along with the rights to the new engine design which had been funded by Daimler-Benz, who in return retained the dormant Horch trademark and the Düsseldorf factory which became a Mercedes-Benz van assembly plant. Eighteen months later, Volkswagen bought complete control of Ingolstadt, and by 1966 were using the spare capacity of the Ingolstadt plant to assemble an additional 60,000 Volkswagen Beetles per year.[25] Two-stroke engines became less popular during the 1960s as customers were more attracted to the smoother four-stroke engines. In September 1965, the DKW F102 was fitted with a four-stroke engine and a facelift for the car's front and rear. Volkswagen dumped the DKW brand because of its associations with two-stroke technology, and having classified the model internally as the F103, sold it simply as the "Audi". Later developments of the model were named after their horsepower ratings and sold as the Audi 60, 75, 80, and Super 90, selling until 1972. Initially, Volkswagen was hostile to the idea of Auto Union as a standalone entity producing its own models having acquired the company merely to boost its own production capacity through the Ingolstadt assembly plant – to the point where Volkswagen executives ordered that the Auto Union name and flags bearing the four rings were removed from the factory buildings. Then VW chief Heinz Nordhoff explicitly forbade Auto Union from any further product development. Fearing that the Volkswagen had no long term ambition for the Audi brand, Auto Union engineers under the leadership of Ludwig Kraus developed the first Audi 100 in secret, without Nordhoff's knowledge. When presented with a finished prototype, Nordhoff was so impressed he authorised the car for production, which when launched in 1968, went on to be a huge success. With this, the resurrection of the Audi brand was now complete, this being followed by the first generation Audi 80 in 1972, which would in turn provide a template for VW's new front-wheel-drive water-cooled range which debuted from the mid-1970s onward.

In 1969, Auto Union merged with NSU, based in Neckarsulm, near Stuttgart. In the 1950s, NSU had been the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles, but had moved on to produce small cars like the NSU Prinz, the TT and TTS versions of which are still popular as vintage race cars. NSU then focused on new rotary engines based on the ideas of Felix Wankel. In 1967, the new NSU Ro 80 was a car well ahead of its time in technical details such as aerodynamics, light weight, and safety. However, teething problems with the rotary engines put an end to the independence of NSU. The Neckarsulm plant is now used to produce the larger Audi models A6 and A8. The Neckarsulm factory is also home of the "quattro GmbH" (from November 2016 "Audi Sport GmbH"), a subsidiary responsible for development and production of Audi high-performance models: the R8 and the "RS" model range.

After the launch of the Audi 100 of 1968, the Audi 80/Fox (which formed the basis for the 1973 Volkswagen Passat) followed in 1972 and the Audi 50 (later rebadged as the Volkswagen Polo) in 1974. The Audi 50 was a seminal design because it was the first incarnation of the Golf/Polo concept, one that led to a hugely successful world car. Ultimately, the Audi 80 and 100 (progenitors of the A4 and A6, respectively) became the company's biggest sellers, whilst little investment was made in the fading NSU range; the Prinz models were dropped in 1973 whilst the fatally flawed NSU Ro80 went out of production in 1977, spelling the effective end of the NSU brand. Production of the Audi 100 had been steadily moved from Ingolstadt to Neckarsulm as the 1970s had progressed, any by the appearance of the second generation C2 version in 1976, all production was now at the former NSU plant. Neckarsulm from that point onward would produce Audi's higher end models.

The Audi image at this time was a conservative one, and so, a proposal from chassis engineer Jörg Bensinger[26] was accepted to develop the four-wheel drive technology in Volkswagen's Iltis military vehicle for an Audi performance car and rally racing car. The performance car, introduced in 1980, was named the "Audi Quattro", a turbocharged coupé which was also the first German large-scale production vehicle to feature permanent all-wheel drive through a centre differential. Commonly referred to as the "Ur-Quattro" (the "Ur-" prefix is a German augmentative used, in this case, to mean "original" and is also applied to the first generation of Audi's S4 and S6 Sport Saloons, as in "UrS4" and "UrS6"), few of these vehicles were produced (all hand-built by a single team), but the model was a great success in rallying. Prominent wins proved the viability of all-wheel drive racecars, and the Audi name became associated with advances in automotive technology.

In 1985, with the Auto Union and NSU brands effectively dead, the company's official name was now shortened to simply Audi AG. At the same time the company's headquarters moved back to Ingolstadt and two new wholly owned subsidiaries; Auto Union GmbH and NSU GmbH, were formed to own and manage the historical trademarks and intellectual property of the original constituent companies (the exception being Horch, which had been retained by Daimler-Benz after the VW takeover), and to operate Audi's heritage operations.

In 1986, as the Passat-based Audi 80 was beginning to develop a kind of "grandfather's car" image, the type 89 was introduced. This completely new development sold extremely well. However, its modern and dynamic exterior belied the low performance of its base engine, and its base package was quite spartan (even the passenger-side mirror was an option.) In 1987, Audi put forward a new and very elegant Audi 90, which had a much superior set of standard features. In the early 1990s, sales began to slump for the Audi 80 series, and some basic construction problems started to surface.

In the early part of the 21st century, Audi set forth on a German racetrack to claim and maintain several world records, such as top speed endurance. This effort was in-line with the company's heritage from the 1930s racing era Silver Arrows.

Through the early 1990s, Audi began to shift its target market upscale to compete against German automakers Mercedes-Benz and BMW. This began with the release of the Audi V8 in 1990. It was essentially a new engine fitted to the Audi 100/200, but with noticeable bodywork differences. Most obvious was the new grille that was now incorporated in the bonnet.

By 1991, Audi had the four-cylinder Audi 80, the 5-cylinder Audi 90 and Audi 100, the turbocharged Audi 200 and the Audi V8. There was also a coupe version of the 80/90 with both 4- and 5-cylinder engines.

Although the five-cylinder engine was a successful and robust powerplant, it was still a little too different for the target market. With the introduction of an all-new Audi 100 in 1992, Audi introduced a 2.8L V6 engine. This engine was also fitted to a face-lifted Audi 80 (all 80 and 90 models were now badged 80 except for the USA), giving this model a choice of four-, five-, and six-cylinder engines, in Saloon, Coupé and Cabriolet body styles.

The five-cylinder was soon dropped as a major engine choice; however, a turbocharged 230 hp (170 kW) version remained. The engine, initially fitted to the 200 quattro 20V of 1991, was a derivative of the engine fitted to the Sport Quattro. It was fitted to the Audi Coupé, and named the S2 and also to the Audi 100 body, and named the S4. These two models were the beginning of the mass-produced S series of performance cars.

In November 2016, Audi expressed an intention to establish an assembly factory in Pakistan, with the company's local partner acquiring land for a plant in Korangi Creek Industrial Park in Karachi. Approval of the plan would lead to an investment of $30 million in the new plant.[27]

Sales in the United States fell after a series of recalls from 1982 to 1987 of Audi 5000 models[28] associated with reported incidents of sudden unintended acceleration linked to six deaths and 700 accidents.[28] At the time, NHTSA was investigating 50 car models from 20 manufacturers for sudden surges of power.[29]

A 60 Minutes report aired 23 November 1986,[30] featuring interviews with six people who had sued Audi after reporting unintended acceleration, showing an Audi 5000 ostensibly suffering a problem when the brake pedal was pushed.[31][32] Subsequent investigation revealed that 60 Minutes had engineered the failure â€“ fitting a canister of compressed air on the passenger-side floor, linked via a hose to a hole drilled into the transmission.[30]

Audi contended, prior to findings by outside investigators,[29] that the problems were caused by driver error, specifically pedal misapplication.[29] Subsequently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concluded that the majority of unintended acceleration cases, including all the ones that prompted the 60 Minutes report, were caused by driver error such as confusion of pedals.[33] CBS did not acknowledge the test results of involved government agencies, but did acknowledge the similar results of another study.[31]

In a review study published in 2012, NHTSA summarized its past findings about the Audi unintended acceleration problems: "Once an unintended acceleration had begun, in the Audi 5000, due to a failure in the idle-stabilizer system (producing an initial acceleration of 0.3g), pedal misapplication resulting from panic, confusion, or unfamiliarity with the Audi 5000 contributed to the severity of the incident."[34]

This summary is consistent with the conclusions of NHTSA's most technical analysis at the time: "Audi idle-stabilization systems were prone to defects which resulted in excessive idle speeds and brief unanticipated accelerations of up to 0.3g [which is similar in magnitude to an emergency stop in a subway car]. These accelerations could not be the sole cause of [(long-duration) sudden acceleration incidents (SAI)], but might have triggered some SAIs by startling the driver.[35] The defective idle-stabilization system performed a type of electronic throttle control. Significantly: multiple "intermittent malfunctions of the electronic control unit were observed and recorded... and [were also observed and] reported by Transport Canada."[35]

With a series of recall campaigns, Audi made several modifications; the first adjusted the distance between the brake and accelerator pedal on automatic-transmission models.[28] Later repairs, of 250,000 cars dating back to 1978, added a device requiring the driver to press the brake pedal before shifting out of park.[28] A legacy of the Audi 5000 and other reported cases of sudden unintended acceleration are intricate gear stick patterns and brake interlock mechanisms to prevent inadvertent shifting into forward or reverse. It is unclear how the defects in the idle-stabilization system were addressed.

Audi's U.S. sales, which had reached 74,061 in 1985, dropped to 12,283 in 1991 and remained level for three years.[28] – with resale values falling dramatically.[36] Audi subsequently offered increased warranty protection[36] and renamed the affected models – with the 5000 becoming the 100 and 200 in 1989[29] – and reached the same sales levels again only by model year 2000.[28]

A 2010 BusinessWeek article – outlining possible parallels between Audi's experience and 2009–2010 Toyota vehicle recalls – noted a class-action lawsuit filed in 1987 by about 7,500 Audi 5000-model owners remains unsettled and is currently being contested in county court in Chicago after appeals at the Illinois state and U.S. federal levels.[28]

In the mid-to-late 1990s, Audi introduced new technologies including the use of aluminum construction. Produced from 1999 to 2005, the Audi A2 was a futuristic super mini, born from the Al2 concept, with many features that helped regain consumer confidence, like the aluminium space frame, which was a first in production car design. In the A2 Audi further expanded their TDI technology through the use of frugal three-cylinder engines. The A2 was extremely aerodynamic and was designed around a wind tunnel. The Audi A2 was criticised for its high price and was never really a sales success but it planted Audi as a cutting-edge manufacturer. The model, a Mercedes-Benz A-Class competitor, sold relatively well in Europe. However, the A2 was discontinued in 2005 and Audi decided not to develop an immediate replacement.

The next major model change came in 1995 when the Audi A4 replaced the Audi 80. The new nomenclature scheme was applied to the Audi 100 to become the Audi A6 (with a minor facelift). This also meant the S4 became the S6 and a new S4 was introduced in the A4 body. The S2 was discontinued. The Audi Cabriolet continued on (based on the Audi 80 platform) until 1999, gaining the engine upgrades along the way. A new A3 hatchback model (sharing the Volkswagen Golf Mk4's platform) was introduced to the range in 1996, and the radical Audi TT coupé and roadster were debuted in 1998 based on the same underpinnings.

The engines available throughout the range were now a 1.4 L, 1.6 L and 1.8 L four-cylinder, 1.8 L four-cylinder turbo, 2.6 L and 2.8 L V6, 2.2 L turbo-charged five-cylinder and the 4.2 L V8 engine. The V6s were replaced by new 2.4 L and 2.8 L 30V V6s in 1998, with marked improvement in power, torque and smoothness. Further engines were added along the way, including a 3.7 L V8 and 6.0 L W12 engine for the A8.

Audi's sales grew strongly in the 2000s, with deliveries to customers increasing from 653,000 in 2000 to 1,003,000 in 2008. The largest sales increases came from Eastern Europe (+19.3%), Africa (+17.2%) and the Middle East (+58.5%). China in particular has become a key market, representing 108,000 out of 705,000 cars delivered in the first three quarters of 2009. One factor for its popularity in China is that Audis have become the car of choice for purchase by the Chinese government for officials, and purchases by the government are responsible for 20% of its sales in China.[37] As of late 2009, Audi's operating profit of €1.17-billion ($1.85-billion) made it the biggest contributor to parent Volkswagen Group's nine-month operating profit of €1.5-billion, while the other marques in Group such as Bentley and SEAT had suffered considerable losses.[38] May 2011 saw record sales for Audi of America with the new Audi A7 and Audi A3 TDI Clean Diesel.[39] In May 2012, Audi reported a 10% increase in its sales—from 408 units to 480 in the last year alone.[40]

Audi manufactures vehicles in seven plants around the world, some of which are shared with other VW Group marques[41] although many sub-assemblies such as engines and transmissions are manufactured within other Volkswagen Group plants.

Audi's two principal assembly plants are:

Outside of Germany, Audi produces vehicles at:

In September 2012, Audi announced the construction of its first North American manufacturing plant in Puebla, Mexico. This plant is expected to be operative in 2016 and produce the second generation Q5.[42]

From 2002 up to 2003, Audi headed the Audi Brand Group, a subdivision of the Volkswagen Group's Automotive Division consisting of Audi, Lamborghini and SEAT, that was focused on sporty values, with the marques' product vehicles and performance being under the higher responsibility of the Audi brand.

On January 2014, Audi, along with the Wireless Power Consortium, operated a booth which demonstrated a phone compartment using the Qi open interface standard at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).[43] In May, most of the Audi dealers in UK falsely claimed that the Audi A7, A8, and R8 were Euro NCAP safety tested, all achieving five out of five stars. In fact none were tested.[44]

In 2015, Audi admitted that at least 2.1 million Audi cars had been involved in the Volkswagen emissions testing scandal in which software installed in the cars manipulated emissions data to fool regulators and allow the cars to pollute at higher than government-mandated levels. The A1, A3, A4, A5, A6, TT, Q3 and Q5 models were implicated in the scandal.[45] Audi promised to quickly find a technical solution and upgrade the cars so they can function within emissions regulations.[46] Ulrich Hackenberg, the head of research and development at Audi, was suspended in relation to the scandal.[47] Despite widespread media coverage about the scandal through the month of September, Audi reported that U.S. sales for the month had increased by 16.2%.[48]

In November 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency implicated the 3-liter diesel engine versions of the 2016 Audi A6 Quattro, A7 Quattro, A8, A8L and the Q5 as further models that had emissions regulation defeat-device software installed.[49] Thus, these models emitted nitrogen oxide at up to nine times the legal limit when the car detected that it was not hooked up to emissions testing equipment.[50]

Audi AI is a driver assist feature offered by Audi. The company's stated intent is to offer fully autonomous driving at a future time, acknowledging that legal, regulatory and technical hurdles must be overcome to achieve this goal. On June 4, 2017, Audi stated that its new A8 will be fully self-driving for speeds up to 60Â km/h using its Audi AI. Contrary to other cars, the driver will not have to do safety checks such as touching the steering wheel every 15 seconds to use this feature. The Audi A8 will therefore be the first production car to reach level 3 autonomous driving, meaning that the driver can safely turn their attention away from driving tasks, e.g. the driver can text or watch a movie. Audi will also be the first manufacturer to use a 3D LIDAR system in addition to cameras and ultrasonic sensors for their AI.[51][52]

Audi produces 100% galvanised cars to prevent corrosion,[53] and was the first mass-market vehicle to do so, following introduction of the process by Porsche, c. 1975. Along with other precautionary measures, the full-body zinc coating has proved to be very effective in preventing rust. The body's resulting durability even surpassed Audi's own expectations, causing the manufacturer to extend its original 10-year warranty against corrosion perforation to currently 12 years (except for aluminium bodies which do not rust).[54]

Audi introduced a new series of vehicles in the mid-1990s and continues to pursue new technology and high performance. An all-aluminium car was brought forward by Audi, and in 1994 the Audi A8 was launched, which introduced aluminium space frame technology (called Audi Space Frame or ASF) which saves weight and improves torsion rigidity compared to a conventional steel frame. Prior to that effort, Audi used examples of the Type 44 chassis fabricated out of aluminium as test-beds for the technique. The disadvantage of the aluminium frame is that it is very expensive to repair and requires a specialized aluminium bodyshop.[55] The weight reduction is somewhat offset by the quattro four-wheel drive system which is standard in most markets. Nonetheless, the A8 is usually the lightest all-wheel drive car in the full-size luxury segment, also having best-in-class fuel economy.[56] The Audi A2, Audi TT and Audi R8 also use Audi Space Frame designs.

For most of its lineup (excluding the A3, A1, and TT models), Audi has not adopted the transverse engine layout which is typically found in economy cars (such as Peugeot and CitroÃ«n), since that would limit the type and power of engines that can be installed. To be able to mount powerful engines (such as a V8 engine in the Audi S4 and Audi RS4, as well as the W12 engine in the Audi A8L W12), Audi has usually engineered its more expensive cars with a longitudinally front-mounted engine, in an "overhung" position, over the front wheels in front of the axle line - this layout dates back to the DKW and Auto Union saloons from the 1950s. But while this allows for the easy adoption of all-wheel drive, it goes against the ideal 50:50 weight distribution.

In all its post Volkswagen-era models, Audi has firmly refused to adopt the traditional rear-wheel drive layout favored by its two archrivals Mercedes-Benz and BMW, favoring either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. The majority of Audi's lineup in the United States features all-wheel drive standard on most of its expensive vehicles (only the entry-level trims of the A4 and A6 are available with front-wheel drive), in contrast to Mercedes-Benz and BMW whose lineup treats all-wheel drive as an option. BMW did not offer all-wheel drive on its V8-powered cars (as opposed to crossover SUVs) until the 2010 BMW 7 Series and 2011 BMW 5 Series, while the Audi A8 has had all-wheel drive available/standard since the 1990s. Regarding high-performance variants, Audi S and RS models have always had all-wheel drive, unlike their direct rivals from BMW M and Mercedes-AMG whose cars are rear-wheel drive only (although their performance crossover SUVs are all-wheel drive).

Audi has recently applied the quattro badge to models such as the A3 and TT which do not use the Torsen-based system as in prior years with a mechanical center differential, but with the Haldex Traction electro-mechanical clutch AWD system.

Prior to the introduction of the Audi 80 and Audi 50 in 1972 and 1974, respectively, Audi had led the development of the EA111 and EA827 inline-four engine families. These new power units underpinned the water-cooled revival of parent company Volkswagen (in the Polo, Golf, Passat and Scirocco), whilst the many derivatives and descendants of these two basic engine designs have appeared in every generation of VW Group vehicles right up to the present day.

In the 1980s, Audi, along with Volvo, was the champion of the inline-five cylinder, 2.1/2.2 L engine as a longer-lasting alternative to more traditional six-cylinder engines. This engine was used not only in production cars but also in their race cars. The 2.1 L inline five-cylinder engine was used as a base for the rally cars in the 1980s, providing well over 400 horsepower (300 kilowatts) after modification. Before 1990, there were engines produced with a displacement between 2.0 L and 2.3 L. This range of engine capacity allowed for both fuel economy and power.

For the ultra-luxury version of its Audi A8 fullsize luxury flagship sedan, the Audi A8L W12, Audi uses the Volkswagen Group W12 engine instead of the conventional V12 engine favored by rivals Mercedes-Benz and BMW. The W12 engine configuration (also known as a "WR12") is created by forming two imaginary narrow-angle 15° VR6 engines at an angle of 72°, and the narrow angle of each set of cylinders allows just two overhead camshafts to drive each pair of banks, so just four are needed in total.[57] The advantage of the W12 engine is its compact packaging, allowing Audi to build a 12-cylinder sedan with all-wheel drive, whereas a conventional V12 engine could have only a rear-wheel drive configuration as it would have no space in the engine bay for a differential and other components required to power the front wheels. In fact, the 6.0 L W12 in the Audi A8L W12 is smaller in overall dimensions than the 4.2 L V8 that powers the Audi A8 4.2 variants.[58] The 2011 Audi A8 debuted a revised 6.3-litre version of the W12 (WR12) engine with 500 PS (370 kW; 490 hp).

New models of the A3, A4, A6 and A8 have been introduced, with the ageing 1.8-litre engine now having been replaced by new Fuel Stratified Injection (FSI) engines. Nearly every petroleum burning model in the range now incorporates this fuel-saving technology.

In 2003 Volkswagen introduced the Direct-Shift Gearbox (DSG), a type of dual clutch transmission. It is an automated semi-automatic transmission, drivable like a conventional automatic transmission. Based on the gearbox found in the Group B S1, the system includes dual electrohydraulically controlled clutches instead of a torque converter. This is implemented in some VW Golfs, Audi A3, Audi A4 and TT models where DSG is called S-tronic.

Beginning in 2005, Audi has implemented white LED technology as daytime running lights (DRL) in their products. The distinctive shape of the DRLs has become a trademark of sorts. LEDs were first introduced on the Audi A8 W12, the world's first production car to have LED DRLs,[59][60][61] and have since spread throughout the entire model range. The LEDs are present on some Audi billboards.

Since 2010, Audi has also offered the LED technology in low- and high-beam headlights.[62]

Starting with the 2003 Audi A8, Audi has used a centralised control interface for its on-board infotainment systems, called Multi Media Interface (MMI). It is essentially a rotating control knob and'segment' buttons â€“ designed to control all in-car entertainment devices (radio, CD changer, iPod, TV tuner), satellite navigation, heating and ventilation, and other car controls with a screen.

The availability of MMI has gradually filtered down the Audi lineup, and following its introduction on the third generation A3 in 2011, MMI is now available across the entire range. It has been generally well received, as it requires less menu-surfing with its segment buttons around a central knob, along with'main function' direct access buttons â€“ with shortcuts to the radio or phone functions. The colour screen is mounted on the upright dashboard, and on the A4 (new), A5, A6, A8, and Q7, the controls are mounted horizontally.

Audi has assisted with technology to produce synthetic diesel from water and carbon dioxide.[63][64][65]

Audi uses scanning gloves for parts registration during assembly, and automatic robots to transfer cars from factory to rail cars.[66]

The following tables list Audi production vehicles that are sold as of 2014:

Audi is planning an alliance with the Japanese electronics giant Sanyo to develop a pilot hybrid electric project for the Volkswagen Group. The alliance could result in Sanyo batteries and other electronic components being used in future models of the Volkswagen Group.[70] Concept electric vehicles unveiled to date include the Audi A1 Sportback Concept,[71] Audi A4 TDI Concept E,[72] and the fully electric Audi e-tron Concept Supercar.[73]

Audi has competed in various forms of motorsports. Audi's tradition in motorsport began with their former company Auto Union in the 1930s. In the 1990s, Audi found success in the Touring and Super Touring categories of motor racing after success in circuit racing in North America.

In 1980, Audi released the Quattro, a four-wheel drive (4WD) turbocharged car that went on to win rallies and races worldwide. It is considered one of the most significant rally cars of all time, because it was one of the first to take advantage of the then-recently changed rules which allowed the use of four-wheel drive in competition racing. Many critics doubted the viability of four-wheel drive racers, thinking them to be too heavy and complex, yet the Quattro was to become a successful car. Leading its first rally it went off the road, however the rally world had been served notice 4WD was the future. The Quattro went on to achieve much success in the World Rally Championship. It won the 1983 (Hannu Mikkola) and the 1984 (Stig Blomqvist) drivers' titles,[88] and brought Audi the manufacturers' title in 1982 and 1984.[89]

In 1984, Audi launched the short-wheelbase Sport Quattro which dominated rally races in Monte Carlo and Sweden, with Audi taking all podium places, but succumbed to problems further into WRC contention. In 1985, after another season mired in mediocre finishes, Walter Röhrl finished the season in his Sport Quattro S1, and helped place Audi second in the manufacturers' points. Audi also received rally honours in the Hong Kong to Beijing rally in that same year. Michèle Mouton, the only female driver to win a round of the World Rally Championship and a driver for Audi, took the Sport Quattro S1, now simply called the "S1", and raced in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The 1,439-metre (4,721 ft) climb race pits a driver and car to drive to the summit of the 4,302-metre (14,114 ft) Pikes Peak mountain in Colorado, and in 1985, Michèle Mouton set a new record of 11:25.39, and being the first woman to set a Pikes Peak record. In 1986, Audi formally left international rally racing following an accident in Portugal involving driver Joaquim Santos in his Ford RS200. Santos swerved to avoid hitting spectators in the road, and left the track into the crowd of spectators on the side, killing three and injuring 30. Bobby Unser used an Audi in that same year to claim a new record for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb at 11:09.22.

In 1987, Walter Röhrl claimed the title for Audi setting a new Pikes Peak International Hill Climb record of 10:47.85 in his Audi S1, which he had retired from the WRC two years earlier. The Audi S1 employed Audi's time-tested inline-five-cylinder turbocharged engine, with the final version generating 441 kW (600 PS; 591 bhp).[90] The engine was mated to a six-speed gearbox and ran on Audi's famous four-wheel drive system. All of Audi's top drivers drove this car; Hannu Mikkola, Stig Blomqvist, Walter Röhrl and Michèle Mouton. This Audi S1 started the range of Audi 'S' cars, which now represents an increased level of sports-performance equipment within the mainstream Audi model range.

As Audi moved away from rallying and into circuit racing, they chose to move first into America with the Trans-Am in 1988.

In 1989, Audi moved to International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) GTO with the Audi 90, however as they avoided the two major endurance events (Daytona and Sebring) despite winning on a regular basis, they would lose out on the title.

In 1990, having completed their objective to market cars in North America, Audi returned to Europe, turning first to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) series with the Audi V8, and then in 1993, being unwilling to build cars for the new formula, they turned their attention to the fast-growing Super Touring series, which are a series of national championships. Audi first entered in the French Supertourisme and Italian Superturismo. In the following year, Audi would switch to the German Super Tourenwagen Cup (known as STW), and then to British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) the year after that.

The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), having difficulty regulating the quattro four-wheel drive system, and the impact it had on the competitors, would eventually ban all four-wheel drive cars from competing in 1998,[91] but by then, Audi switched all their works efforts to sports car racing.

By 2000, Audi would still compete in the US with their RS4 for the SCCA Speed World GT Challenge, through dealer/team Champion Racing competing against Corvettes, Vipers, and smaller BMWs (where it is one of the few series to permit 4WD cars). In 2003, Champion Racing entered an RS6. Once again, the quattro four-wheel drive was superior, and Champion Audi won the championship. They returned in 2004 to defend their title, but a newcomer, Cadillac with the new Omega Chassis CTS-V, gave them a run for their money. After four victories in a row, the Audis were sanctioned with several negative changes that deeply affected the car's performance. Namely, added ballast weights, and Champion Audi deciding to go with different tyres, and reducing the boost pressure of the turbocharger.

In 2004, after years of competing with the TT-R in the revitalised DTM series, with privateer team Abt Racing/Christian Abt taking the 2002 title with Laurent Aïello, Audi returned as a full factory effort to touring car racing by entering two factory supported Joest Racing A4 DTM cars.

Audi began racing prototype sportscars in 1999, debuting at the Le Mans 24 hour. Two car concepts were developed and raced in their first season - the Audi R8R (open-cockpit 'roadster' prototype) and the Audi R8C (closed-cockpit 'coupÃ©' GT-prototype). The R8R scored a credible podium on its racing debut at Le Mans and was the concept which Audi continued to develop into the 2000 season due to favourable rules for open-cockpit prototypes.

However, most of the competitors (such as BMW, Toyota, Mercedes and Nissan) retired at the end of 1999. The factory-supported Joest Racing team won at Le Mans three times in a row with the Audi R8 (2000â€“2002), as well as winning every race in the American Le Mans Series in its first year. Audi also sold the car to customer teams such as Champion Racing.

In 2003, two Bentley Speed 8s, with engines designed by Audi, and driven by Joest drivers loaned to the fellow Volkswagen Group company, competed in the GTP class, and finished the race in the top two positions, while the Champion Racing R8 finished third overall, and first in the LMP900 class. Audi returned to the winner's podium at the 2004 race, with the top three finishers all driving R8s: Audi Sport Japan Team Goh finished first, Audi Sport UK Veloqx second, and Champion Racing third.

At the 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans, Champion Racing entered two R8s, along with an R8 from the Audi PlayStation Team Oreca. The R8s (which were built to old LMP900 regulations) received a narrower air inlet restrictor, reducing power, and an additional 50 kg (110 lb) of weight compared to the newer LMP1 chassis. On average, the R8s were about 2–3 seconds off pace compared to the Pescarolo–Judd. But with a team of excellent drivers and experience, both Champion R8s were able to take first and third, while the Oreca team took fourth. The Champion team was also the first American team to win Le Mans since the Gulf Ford GTs in 1967. This also ends the long era of the R8; however, its replacement for 2006, called the Audi R10 TDI, was unveiled on 13 December 2005.

The R10 TDI employed many new and innovative features, the most notable being the twin-turbocharged direct injection diesel engine. It was first raced in the 2006 12 Hours of Sebring as a race-test in preparation for the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans, which it later went on to win. Audi has been on the forefront of sports car racing, claiming a historic win in the first diesel sports car at 12 Hours of Sebring (the car was developed with a Diesel engine due to ACO regulations that favor diesel engines). As well as winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2006 making history, the R10 TDI has also shown its capabilities by beating the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP in 2007, and beating Peugeot again in 2008, (however Peugeot won the 24h in 2009) and, in a podium clean-sweep by proving its reliability throughout the race (compared to all four 908 entries retired before the end of the race) while breaking a new distance record (set way back by the Porsche 917K of Martini Racing in 1971), in 2010 with the R15 TDI Plus.[92]

Audi's sports car racing success would continue with the Audi R18's victory at the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans. Audi Sport Team Joest's Benoît Tréluyer earned Audi their first pole position in five years while the team's sister car locked out the front row.[93] Early accidents eliminated two of Audi's three entries, but the sole remaining Audi R18 TDI of Tréluyer, Marcel Fässler, and André Lotterer held off the trio of Peugeot 908s to claim victory by a margin of 13.8 seconds.

Audi entered a factory racing team run by Joest Racing into the American Le Mans Series under the Audi Sport North America name in 2000. This was a successful operation with the team winning on its debut in the series at the 2000 12 Hours of Sebring. Factory backed Audi R8s were the dominant car in ALMS taking 25 victories between 2000 and the end of the 2002 season. In 2003 Audi sold customer cars to Champion Racing as well as continuing to race the factory Audi Sport North America team. Champion Racing won many races as a private team running Audi R8s and eventually replaced Team Joest as the Audi Sport North America between 2006 and 2008. Since 2009 Audi has not taken part in full American Le Mans Series Championships, but has competed in the series opening races at Sebring, using the 12-hour race as a test for Le Mans, and also as part of the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship season calendar.

Audi participated in the 2003 1000km of Le Mans which was a one-off sports car race in preparation for the 2004 European Le Mans Series. The factory team Audi Sport UK won races and the championship in the 2004 season but Audi was unable to match their sweeping success of Audi Sport North America in the American Le Mans Series, partly due to the arrival of a factory competitor in LMP1, Peugeot. The French manufacturer's 908 HDi FAP became the car to beat in the series from 2008 onwards with 20 LMP wins. However, Audi were able to secure the championship in 2008 even though Peugeot scored more race victories in the season.[94]

In 2012, the FIA sanctioned a World Endurance Championship which would be organised by the ACO as a continuation of the ILMC. Audi competed won the first WEC race at Sebring and followed this up with a further three successive wins, including the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans. Audi scored a final 5th victory in the 2012 WEC in Bahrain and were able to win the inaugural WEC Manufacturers' Championship.

As defending champions, Audi once again entered the Audi R18 e-tron quattro chassis into the 2013 WEC and the team won the first five consecutive races, including the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans. The victory at Round 5, Circuit of the Americas, was of particular significance as it marked the 100th win for Audi in Le Mans prototypes.[95] Audi secured their second consecutive WEC Manufacturers' Championship at Round 6 after taking second place and half points in the red-flagged Fuji race.[96]

For the 2014 season Audi entered a redesigned and upgraded R18 e-tron quattro which featured a 2 MJ energy recovery system. As defending champions, Audi would once again face a challenge in LMP1 from Toyota, and additionally from Porsche who returned to endurance racing after a 16-year absence. The season opening 6hrs of Silverstone was a disaster for Audi who saw both cars retire from the race, marking the first time that an Audi car has failed to score a podium in a World Endurance Championship race.

Audi provide factory support to Abt Sportsline in the FIA Formula E Championship, The team competed under the title of Audi Sport Abt Formula E Team in the inaugural 2014-15 Formula E season.[97] On 13 February 2014 the team announced its driver line up as Daniel Abt and World Endurance Championship driver Lucas di Grassi.[98]

Audi has been linked to Formula One in recent years but has always resisted due to the company's opinion that it is not relevant to road cars, but hybrid power unit technology has been adopted into the sport, swaying the company's view and encouraging research into the program by former Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali.

The Audi emblem is four overlapping rings that represent the four marques of Auto Union. The Audi emblem symbolises the amalgamation of Audi with DKW, Horch and Wanderer: the first ring from the left represents Audi, the second represents DKW, third is Horch, and the fourth and last ring Wanderer.[99][100] The design is popularly believed to have been the idea of Klaus von Oertzen, the director of sales at Wanderer - when Berlin was chosen as the host city for the 1936 Summer Olympics and that a form of the Olympic logo symbolized the newly established Auto Union's desire to succeed.[101] Somewhat ironically, the International Olympic Committee later sued Audi in the International Trademark Court in 1995, where they lost.[102]

The original "Audi" script, with the distinctive slanted tails on the "A" and "d" was created for the historic Audi company in 1920 by the famous graphic designer Lucian Bernhard, and was resurrected when Volkswagen revived the brand in 1965. Following the demise of NSU in 1977, less prominence was given to the four rings, in preference to the "Audi" script encased within a black (later red) ellipse, and was commonly displayed next to the Volkswagen roundel when the two brands shared a dealer network under the V.A.G banner. The ellipse (known as the Audi Oval) was phased out after 1994, when Audi formed its own independent dealer network, and prominence was given back to the four rings - at the same time Audi Sans (a derivative of Univers) was adopted as the font for all marketing materials, corporate communications and was also used in the vehicles themselves.

As part of Audi's centennial celebration in 2009, the company updated the logo, changing the font to left-aligned Audi Type, and altering the shading for the overlapping rings.[103] The revised logo was designed by Rayan Abdullah.[104]

Audi developed a Corporate Sound concept, with Audi Sound Studio designed for producing the Corporate Sound.[105] The Corporate Sound project began with sound agency Klangerfinder GmbH & Co KG and s12 GmbH. Audio samples were created in Klangerfinder's sound studio in Stuttgart, becoming part of Audi Sound Studio collection. Other Audi Sound Studio components include The Brand Music Pool, The Brand Voice.[106] Audi also developed Sound Branding Toolkit including certain instruments, sound themes, rhythm and car sounds which all are supposed to reflect the AUDI sound character.[107]

Audi started using a beating heart sound trademark beginning in 1996. An updated heartbeat sound logo, developed by agencies KLANGERFINDER GmbH & Co KG of Stuttgart and S12 GmbH of Munich, was first used in 2010 in an Audi A8 commercial with the slogan "The Art of Progress."[108][109]

Audi's corporate tagline is Vorsprung durch Technik, meaning "Progress through Technology".[110] The German-language tagline is used in many European countries, including the United Kingdom, and in other markets, such as Latin America, Oceania and parts of Asia including Japan. A few years ago, the North American tagline was "Innovation through technology", but in Canada the German tagline Vorsprung durch Technik was used in advertising. Since 2007, Audi has used the slogan "Truth in Engineering" in the U.S.[111] However, since the Audi emissions testing scandal came to light in September 2015, this slogan was lambasted for being discordant with reality.[112] In fact, just hours after disgraced Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn admitted to cheating on emissions data, an advertisement during the 2015 Primetime Emmy Awards promoted Audi's latest advances in low emissions technology with Kermit the Frog stating, "It's not that easy being green."[113]

It was first used in English-language advertising after Sir John Hegarty of the Bartle Bogle Hegarty advertising agency visited the Audi factory in 1982.[114] In the original British television commercials, the phrase was voiced by Geoffrey Palmer.[114] After its repeated use in advertising campaigns, the phrase found its way into popular culture, including the British comedy Only Fools and Horses, the U2 song "Zooropa"[115] and the Blur song "Parklife". Similar-sounding phrases have also been used, including as the punchline for a joke in the movie Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and in the British TV series Peep Show.

Audi Sans (based on Univers Extended) was originally created in 1997 by Ole SchÃ¤fer for MetaDesign. MetaDesign was later commissioned for a new corporate typeface called Audi Type, designed by Paul van der Laan and Pieter van Rosmalen of Bold Monday. The font began to appear in Audi's 2009 products and marketing materials.[116]

Audi is a strong partner of different kinds of sports. In football, long partnerships exist between Audi and domestic clubs including Bayern Munich, Hamburger SV, 1. FC Nürnberg, Hertha BSC, and Borussia Mönchengladbach and international clubs including Chelsea, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, A.C. Milan, AFC Ajax and Perspolis. Audi also sponsors winter sports: The Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is named after the company. Additionally, Audi supports the German Ski Association (DSV) as well as the alpine skiing national teams of Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, France, Liechtenstein, Italy, Austria and the U.S. For almost two decades, Audi fosters golf sport: for example with the Audi quattro Cup and the HypoVereinsbank Ladies German Open presented by Audi. In sailing, Audi is engaged in the Medcup regatta and supports the team Luna Rossa during the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series and also is the primary sponsor of the Melges 20 sailboat. Further, Audi sponsors the regional teams ERC Ingolstadt (hockey) and FC Ingolstadt 04 (soccer).[117] In 2009, the year of Audi's 100th anniversary, the company organized the Audi Cup for the first time.[118] Audi also sponsor the New York Yankees as well. In October 2010 they agreed to a three sponsorship year-deal with Everton.[119] Audi also sponsors the England Polo Team and holds the Audi Polo Awards.[120][121]

In 2001, Audi promoted the new multitronic continuously variable transmission with television commercials throughout Europe, featuring an impersonator of musician and actor Elvis Presley.[122][123] A prototypical dashboard figure – later named "Wackel-Elvis" ("Wobble Elvis" or "Wobbly Elvis") – appeared in the commercials to demonstrate the smooth ride in an Audi equipped with the multitronic transmission. The dashboard figure was originally intended for use in the commercials only, but after they aired the demand for Wackel-Elvis fans grew among fans and the figure was mass-produced in China and marketed by Audi in their factory outlet store.[124]

As part of Audi's attempt to promote its Diesel technology in 2009, the company began Audi Mileage Marathon. The driving tour featured a fleet of 23 Audi TDI vehicles from 4 models (Audi Q7 3.0 TDI, Audi Q5 3.0 TDI, Audi A4 3.0 TDI, Audi A3 Sportback 2.0 TDI with S tronic transmission) travelling across the American continent from New York to Los Angeles, passing major cities like Chicago, Dallas and Las Vegas during the 13 daily stages, as well as natural wonders including the Rocky Mountains, Death Valley and the Grand Canyon.[125]

As part of 2014 model year Audi TDI vehicles launch in the US, 3 television commercials ("The Station", "Future", "Range") were produced. In the 60-second 'The Station' ad, a woman at a fueling station reaches for the diesel pump to fill up her Audi A6. In a dramatic fashion, unsuspecting onlookers race towards her and they can't imagine the luxury vehicle is in fact a diesel. The spot ends with the tagline "It's time to rethink diesel – join the club." "The Station" appeared on primetime network and cable 2013 fall programming including Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, Hostages, Sons of Anarchy and NBC NFL Sunday Night Football. The 15-second "Range" ad demonstrates the potential to drive from New York to Chicago on a single tank of gas, covering a range of approximately 790 miles. In the 15-second "Future" ad, viewers see the potential for clean diesel as today's leading alternative fuel solution and an intelligent choice for those on the leading-edge. Audi TDI provides drivers with 30% better fuel economy and range without compromises on performance and design. In addition to the three new television spots, Audi also tried to dispel the most common myths of diesel – gas station availability, the smell and perception associated with an older generation of diesel vehicles, weak performance – in a series of four online video shorts that would roll out over the next two months on the Audi YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/audiusa). The spots also will appear on The Washington Post and Slate.com in a custom user-generated content hub through 2013-10-31. In addition to standard and high-impact ads, the content hub features custom videos, articles and infographics, along with relevant social conversations. The Audi TDI clean diesel campaign also features print ads that reinforce the message "the future of fuel is here now." Print ads would roll out in select automotive buff books in fall 2013.[126][127] 'The Station' ad was premiered in Canada in September 2013.[128] 'The Station' (also called 'The Moment of Truth') ad was produced by Venables Bell & Partners, Biscuit Filmworks, Final Cut.[129][130][131]

As part of 2014 model year Audi TDI vehicles launch in the US, the 'Truth in 48' driving challenge took place from Audi Pacific dealership at Los Angeles to New York in 48 hours or less, began at 9 a.m. PDT on 2013-09-07. The Coast-to-coast attempt used 2014 Audi A6 TDI and Audi A7 TDI and a 2014 Audi Q5 TDI crossover as the support vehicle, with teams of eight noted hypermilers and four journalists.[132][133]

The next phase of technology Audi is developing is the e-tron electric drive powertrain system. They have shown several concept cars as of March 2010[update], each with different levels of size and performance. The original e-tron concept shown at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show is based on the platform of the R8 and has been scheduled for limited production. Power is provided by electric motors at all four wheels. The second concept was shown at the 2010 Detroit Motor Show. Power is provided by two electric motors at the rear axle. This concept is also considered to be the direction for a future mid-engined gas-powered 2-seat performance coupe. The Audi A1 e-tron concept, based on the Audi A1 production model, is a hybrid vehicle with a range extending Wankel rotary engine to provide power after the initial charge of the battery is depleted. It is the only concept of the three to have range extending capability. The car is powered through the front wheels, always using electric power.

It is all set to be displayed at the Auto Expo 2012 in New Delhi, India, from 5 January. Powered by a 1.4 litre engine, and can cover a distance up to 54Â km s on a single charge. The e-tron was also shown in the 2013 blockbuster film Iron Man 3 and was driven by Tony Stark (Iron Man).

In PlayStation Home, the PlayStation 3's online community-based service, Audi has supported Home by releasing a dedicated Home space in the European version of Home. Audi is the first carmaker to develop a space for Home. On 17 December 2009, Audi released the Audi Space as two spaces; the Audi Home Terminal and the Audi Vertical Run.[134] The Audi Home Terminal features an Audi TV channel delivering video content, an Internet Browser feature, and a view of a city. The Audi Vertical Run is where users can access the mini-game Vertical Run, a futuristic mini-game featuring Audi's e-tron concept. Players collect energy and race for the highest possible speeds and the fastest players earn a place in the Audi apartments located in a large tower in the centre of the Audi Space. In both the Home Terminal and Vertical Run spaces, there are teleports where users can teleport back and forth between the two spaces. Audi has stated that additional content will be added in 2010.[needs update][135]


what is the difference between gps and a gps

Standalone/self-ruling GPS devices depend solely on information from satellites. A-GPS augments that by using cell tower data to enhance quality and precision when in poor satellite signal conditions. In exceptionally poor signal conditions, for example in urban areas, satellite signals may exhibit multipath propagation where signals skip off structures, or are weakened by meteorological conditions or tree canopy. Some standalone GPS navigators used in poor conditions can't fix a position because of satellite signal fracture and must wait for better satellite reception. A regular GPS unit may need as long as 12.5 minutes (the time needed to download the GPS almanac and ephemerides) to resolve the problem and be able to provide a correct location.[2]

Assisted GPS

Assisted GPS or Augmented GPS (abbreviated generally as A-GPS and less commonly as aGPS) is a system that often significantly improves the startup performance—i.e., time-to-first-fix (TTFF)—of a GPS satellite-based positioning system. A-GPS is extensively used with GPS-capable cellular phones, as its development was accelerated by the U.S. FCC's 911 requirement to make cell phone location data available to emergency call dispatchers.[1]

An assisted GPS system can address these problems by using external data. Utilizing this system can come at a cost to the user. For billing purposes, network providers often count this as a data access, which can cost money, depending on the plan.[3]

To be precise, A-GPS features depend mostly on an internet network or connection to an ISP (or CNP, in the case of CP/mobile-phone device linked to a cellular network provider data service). A mobile (cell phone, smart phone) device with just an L1 front-end radio receiver and no GPS acquisition, tracking, and positioning engine only works when it has an internet connection to an ISP/CNP, where the position fix is calculated offboard the device itself. It doesn't work in areas with no coverage or internet link (or nearby BTS towers, in the case on CNP service coverage area). Without one of those resources, it can't connect to the A-GPS servers usually provided by CNPs. On the other hand, a mobile device with a GPS chipset requires no data connection to capture and process GPS data into a position solution, since it receives data directly from the GPS satellites and is able to calculate a position fix itself. However, the availability of a data connection can provide assistance to improve the performance of the GPS chip on the mobile device.

Assistance falls into two categories:

As an additional benefit, in mobile station assisted implementations, the amount of processing and software required for a GPS receiver can be reduced by offloading most of the work onto the assistance server.

A typical A-GPS-enabled receiver uses a data connection (Internet or other) to contact the assistance server for aGPS information. If it also has functioning autonomous GPS, it may use standalone GPS, which is sometimes slower on time to first fix, but does not depend on the network, and therefore can work beyond network range and without incurring data-usage fees.[3] Some A-GPS devices do not have the option of falling back to standalone or autonomous GPS.

Many mobile phones combine A-GPS and other location services, including Wi-Fi Positioning System and cell-site multilateration and sometimes a hybrid positioning system.[4]

High-Sensitivity GPS is an allied technology that addresses some of these issues in a way that does not require additional infrastructure. However, unlike some forms of A-GPS, high-sensitivity GPS cannot provide a fix instantaneously when the GPS receiver has been off for some time.

Standalone GPS provides first position in approximately 30â€“40 seconds. A standalone GPS needs orbital information of the satellites to calculate the current position. The data rate of the satellite signal is only 50 bit/s, so downloading orbital information like ephemerides and the almanac directly from satellites typically takes a long time, and if the satellite signals are lost during the acquisition of this information, it is discarded and the standalone system has to start from scratch. In A-GPS, the network operator deploys an A-GPS server, a  cache server for GPS data. These A-GPS servers download the orbital information from the satellite and store it in the database. An A-GPS-capable device can connect to these servers and download this information using mobile-network radio bearers such as GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, LTE or even using other radio bearers such as Wi-Fi. Usually the data rate of these bearers is high, hence downloading orbital information takes less time.

A-GPS has two modes of operation:

Mobile Station Assisted (MSA)

Mobile Station Based (MSB)

A-GPS protocols are part of Positioning Protocol defined by two different standardization bodies, 3GPP and Open Mobile Alliance (OMA).

Control Plane Protocol

User Plane Protocol

Defined by the OMA to support positioning protocols in Packet Switched Networks. Two generations of User Plane Protocol have been defined.


what year did my pet monster come out

My Pet Monster is a plush doll first produced by American Greetings in 1986. As one of the few plush dolls marketed to boys at the time, My Pet Monster was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The doll has blue fur, horns and a fanged smile, and is recognizable by its orange plastic handcuffs. The handcuffs could also be worn by children and came with a breakaway link so that the child could simulate breaking the chain. Several versions of the doll have been released in various sizes and other attributes. Other characters were also created with brightly colored fur and unorthodox names like Gwonk, Wogster and Rark. Their popularity allowed a wealth of merchandise including coloring books, Golden Look-Look books, frame-tray puzzles and various other items.

My Pet Monster

Capitalizing on the nostalgia in many children of the '80s, Toymax released a 22-inch tall talking My Pet Monster doll in 2001.

It spawned a live-action direct-to-video film in 1986 about a boy who becomes the Pet Monster after being exposed to a statue and changes Incredible Hulk-style when hunger strikes, how a man tries to kidnap him for experimentation, and how his sister helps her brother out of this crisis.

My Pet Monster also spawned a children's cartoon series that ran for one season on ABC, produced by Ellipse (France), Nelvana (Canada), and Hi-Tops Video in association with Golden Books. The show follows Monster who lives with a boy named Max. When Monster wears his handcuffs, they turn him into a stuffed animal. Max often does this as a way to maintain the secret of Monster's existence from others. Max's sister, Jill (Voiced by Alyson Court), and his friend, Chuckie, are the only ones that know this secret.[1]

The two main adversaries in the show are Mr. Hinkle, a neighbor who always thinks Max is up to something, but is not quite sure what, and Beastur, a large monster who hates light and tries to bring Monster back to MonsterLand. Beastur, though immense and fierce, is sadly quite incompetent. He can be stopped by the magic cuffs—which reduce him to a smaller, though still "alive" monster—or by his own bungling, and sent back through the warp portal to his own world. He wears dark glasses to protect his sensitive eyes, which he can use to see in the dark.

Beastur appears in nearly every episode as either a primary or secondary foe. On one notable occasion, he was scared back through the portal to Monsterland not by light or the cuffs, but by the affections of a smitten female gorilla. In the final episode, it is also shown that Beastur hates to be hugged, even more so than being exposed to light.

Much of the voice cast of My Pet Monster returned several years later for Beetlejuice, another cartoon show with a surreal theme and a supernatural world populated by fantastic monsters.

Reruns of all 13 half-hour episodes aired on Teletoon Retro in Canada from September 5, 2011.[2]


what is the coupon rate of a bond

Coupons are normally described in terms of the coupon rate, which is calculated by adding the sum of coupons paid per year and dividing it by the bond's face value. For example, if a bond has a face value of $1,000 and a coupon rate of 5%, then it pays total coupons of $50 per year. Typically, this will consist of two semi-annual payments of $25 each.[1]

Coupon (bond)

A coupon payment on a bond is the annual interest payment that the bondholder receives from the bond's issue date until it matures.

The origin of the term "coupon" is that bonds were historically issued in the form of bearer certificates. Physical possession of the certificate was proof of ownership. Several coupons, one for each scheduled interest payment, were printed on the certificate. At the date the coupon was due, the owner would detach the coupon and present it for payment (an act called "clipping the coupon").[2]

The certificate often also contained a document called a talon, which (when the original block of coupons had been used up) could be detached and presented in exchange for a block of further coupons.[3]

Not all bonds have coupons. Zero-coupon bonds are those that pay no coupons and thus have a coupon rate of 0%. Such bonds make only one payment: the payment of the face value on the maturity date. Normally, to compensate the bondholder for the time value of money, the price of a zero-coupon bond will always be less than its face value on any date before the maturity date. During the European sovereign-debt crisis, some zero-coupon sovereign bonds traded above their face value as investors were willing to pay a premium for the perceived safe-haven status these investments hold. The difference between the price and the face value provides the bondholder with the positive return that makes purchasing the bond worthwhile.

Between a bond's issue date and its maturity date (also called its redemption date), the bond's price is determined by taking into account several factors, including:


where was the film the railway man filmed

Shooting began in April 2012 in Edinburgh and North Berwick in East Lothian and St Monans in Fife, and later in Thailand and Ipswich, Queensland, Australia.[3][9][10]

The Railway Man (film)

The Railway Man is a 2013 British–Australian war film directed by Jonathan Teplitzky. It is an adaptation of the autobiography The Railway Man by Eric Lomax, and stars Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Jeremy Irvine, and Stellan Skarsgård.[3][4][5] It premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September 2013.[6]

During the Second World War, Eric Lomax is a British officer who is captured by the Japanese in Singapore and sent to a Japanese POW camp, where he is forced to work on the Thai-Burma Railway north of the Malay Peninsula. During his time in the camp as one of the Far East prisoners of war, Lomax is tortured by the Kempeitai (military secret police) for building a radio receiver from spare parts. The torture depicted includes beatings, rape, and waterboarding. Apparently, he had fallen under suspicion of being a spy, for supposedly using the British news broadcast receiver as a transmitter of military intelligence. In fact, however, his only intention had been to use the device as a morale booster for himself and his fellow prisoner-slaves. Lomax and his surviving comrades are fiunally resuced by the British Army.

Some 30 years later, Lomax is still suffering the psychological trauma of his wartime experiences, though strongly supported by his wife Patricia. His best friend and fellow ex-POW Finlay brings him evidence that one of their captors, Japanese secret police officer Takashi Nagase, is now working as a tourist guide in the very camp where he and his men once tortured British POWs, having escaped prosecution for his war crimes. Before Lomax can act on this information, Finlay, unable to handle his memories of his experiences, commits suicide by hanging himself from a bridge. Lomax travels alone to Thailand and returns to the scene of his torture to confront Nagase 'in an attempt to to let go of a lifetime of bitterness and hate'. When he finally confronts his former captor, Lomax first questions him in the same way Nagase and his men had interrogated him years before. The situation builds up to the point where Lomax prepares to smash Nagase's arm, using a club and a clamp designed by the Japanese for that purpose and now used as war exhibits. Out of guilt, Nagase does not resist, but Lomax redirects the blow at the last moment. Lomax threatens to cut Nagase's throat and finally pushes him into a bamboo cage, of the kind in which Lomax and many other POWs had been placed as punishment. Nagase soon reveals that the Japanese (including himself) were brainwashed into thinking the war would be a victorious one for them, and that he never knew the high casualties caused by the Imperial Japanese Army. Lomax finally frees Nagase, throws his knife into the nearby river, and finally at peace with himself, returns to Britain.

After an indefinite period of time, Lomax returns, with Patricia, to Thailand. He meets up with Nagase once again, and in an emotional scene, after exchanging and accepting each other's apologies, the two make peace. The epilogue relates that Nagase and Eric remained friends until their deaths in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

While he was working on the screenplay, co-writer Frank Cottrell Boyce travelled to Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland with Firth to meet 91-year-old Lomax.[7] Firth said of the film: "I think what is not often addressed is the effect over time. We do sometimes see stories about what it's like coming home from war, we very rarely see stories about what it's like decades later. This is not just a portrait of suffering. It's about relationships... how that damage interacts with intimate relationships, with love."[8]

Rachel Weisz was originally to play Patti, but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with re-shoots for other films.[9]

On Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, the film has a score of 66% based on reviews from 109 critics. The consensus reads: "Understated to a fault, The Railway Man transcends its occasionally stodgy pacing with a touching, fact-based story and the quiet chemistry of its stars."[11] At Metacritic, the film received a score of 59/100 based on 33 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[12]

Kidman, Firth, and Irvine were all praised for their roles. Katherine Monk of the Montreal Gazette said of Kidman: "It's a truly masterful piece of acting that transcends Teplitzky's store-bought framing, but it's Kidman who delivers the biggest surprise: For the first time since her eyebrows turned into solid marble arches, the Australian Oscar winner is truly terrific", and finished with: "Coupled with some dowdy clothes and a keen ear for accents, Kidman is a very believable middle-aged survivor who will not surrender to melodrama or abandonment".[13] Ken Korman, who agreed with that assessment, stated: "Kidman finds herself playing an unabashedly middle-aged character. She rises to the occasion with a deep appreciation of her character's own emotional trauma."[14] Liam Lacey of The Globe and Mail stated, "Firth gives the performance his all as a man trapped in a vortex of grief, shame and hate, but as in Scott Hicks's Shine, which the film occasionally resembles, there's an overtidy relationship between trauma and catharsis".[15]

The film grossed $4,415,429 in the US, and $17,882,455 outside internationally, for a combined gross of $22,297,884.[2]

Philip Towle from the University of Cambridge, who specialises in the treatment of POWs, awarded the film three stars out of five for historical accuracy. Reviewing the film for History Extra, the website of BBC History Magazine, he said that, while he had no problem with the representation of the suffering of POWs or the way in which the Japanese are portrayed, "the impression [the film] gives of the post-war behaviour of former POWs of the Japanese is too generalised..."

Towle also points out that the meeting between Lomax and his tormentor was not unexpected, but rather there had been correspondence leading up to it. He writes that the film may not have made it clear: the railway was basically finished, and by the time of their rescue "...the main dangers to the POWs came from starvation and disease, Allied bombing and the looming threat that all would be murdered by the Japanese at the end of the war".[18]


who is the head of the family in india

The family is headed by a senior person called a 'Karta', usually the oldest male or female, who makes decisions on economic and social matters on behalf of the entire family. The patriarch's wife generally exerts control over the household and minor religious practices and often wields considerable influence in domestic matters. Family income flows into a common pool, from which resources are drawn to meet the needs of all members, which are regulated by the heads of the family. However, with urbanization and economic development, India has witnessed a break up of traditional joint family into more nuclear-like families, and the traditional joint family in India accounted for a small number of Indian households.

Hindu joint family

A joint family or undivided family is an extended family arrangement prevalent throughout the Indian subcontinent, particularly in India, consisting of many generations living in the same household, all bound by the common relationship.[1][2]

Historically, for generations India had a prevailing tradition of the Joint Hindu Family or undivided family. The system is an extended family arrangement prevalent throughout the Indian subcontinent, particularly in India, consisting of many generations living in the same home, all bound by the common relationship. A patrimonial joint family consists of a man and his wife; their son's; their unmarried daughter's; their son's and son's and son's and son's and unmarried daughters, and so on up-to infinite. Any number of these people may without impacting the legal existence of the family, be decreased.

A Hindu undivided family or HUF is a legal term related to the Hindu Marriage Act. The female members are also given the right of share to the property in the HUF. The term finds reference in the provisions of the Income Tax Act, but the expression is not defined in the act. There are various aspects of Hindu law relevant for the purpose assessment of income of HUF with Hindu Succession Act 1956 and Income Tax Act 1961 and wealth in the status of HUF, as well as the impact of the provisions of Hindu Succession Act 1956 as amended by Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act 2005 relevant for the purpose of assessment of income and wealth in the status of HUF under the Income Tax Act 1961.

In the case of Surjit Lal Chhabra 101 ITR 776 SC, joint family and undivided family are synonymous: "A joint Hindu family consists of persons lineally descended from a common ancestor and includes their wives and unmarried daughters. The daughter, on marriage, ceases to be a member of her father's family and becomes a member of her husband's family."

In 2016, a judgment of the Delhi High Court ruled that the eldest female member of a Hindu Undivided Family can be its 'Karta' (manager).

Different relationships are addressed via different names. The nature of relationship also varies. Relations can be of equivalence, mutual respect or teasing in nature.

In joint families in northern and central India between a bride or sister-in-law and her younger brother-in-law, a joking or teasing relationship is common, and the relationship towards an older brother-in-law is that of respectfulness.

In a traditional joint Hindu family, there is a subservient relationship between the wives of the brothers: the patriarch's wife is addressed as "Badi Bhabhi" (in Hindi), meaning "eldest brother's wife." She is traditionally considered the mistress of the house and is in charge of running the household affairs and overseeing the servants (if any). The subsequent younger brothers' wives typically seek her advice and permission for any matter his/decisions regarding the household and rearing of the childrens.


which animal is related most closely to the sechura fox pseudalopex sechurae

The Sechuran fox (Lycalopex sechurae), also called the Peruvian desert fox or the Sechuran zorro, is a South American species of canid closely related to other South American "false" foxes or zorro, of which it is the smallest. It is found in the Sechura Desert in southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru.[1]

Sechuran fox

Pseudalopex sechurae
Dusicyon sechurae

The Sechuran fox is small for a canid, weighing 2.6 to 4.2 kilograms (5.7 to 9.3 lb), with a body length of 50 to 78 centimetres (20 to 31 in) and a tail of 27 to 34 centimetres (11 to 13 in). Its fur is gray agouti over most of the body, fading to white or cream coloured on the underparts. There are reddish brown markings on the backs of the ears, around the eyes, and on the legs. The muzzle is dark grey, and a grey band runs across the chest. Its tail is tipped with black. It has small teeth, adapted to feed on insects and dry plants, with fox-like canine teeth.[3]

The chromosome number is 2n=74.[4]

First identified in the Sechura desert, the fox inhabits arid environments in southwestern Ecuador and western Peru, at elevations from sea level to at least 1,000 metres (3,300Â ft), and possibly much higher. Within this region it has been reported from the western foothills of the Andes down to the coast, inhabiting deserts, dry forests, and beaches.[5] There are no recognised subspecies.

Several fossils of Sechuran foxes are known from the late Pleistocene of Ecuador and Peru, close to the modern range. Genetic analysis suggests that the closest living relative of the Sechuran fox is Darwin's fox, which is native to Chile.[5]

The Sechuran fox is nocturnal, and spends the daylight hours in a den dug into the ground. It is generally solitary, although occasionally seen travelling in pairs. Pups are born in October and November, although little else is known of its reproductive behavior.[6]

The fox is an opportunistic feeder, and its diet varies widely depending on the season and local habitat. It has been found to feed on seed pods, especially those of the shrub Prosopis juliflora and of caper bushes, as well as the fruit of Cordia and mito plants, and is capable of surviving on an entirely herbivorous diet when necessary. More commonly, however, it also eats insects, rodents, bird eggs, and carrion as a part of its diet.[7] It can probably survive for long periods of time without drinking, subsisting on the water in its food.[3]

The Sechuran fox is threatened by habitat loss, which has been particularly extensive in Ecuador. They have been known to prey on local livestock, such as chickens, and are hunted both to reduce such attacks and so that their body parts can be used in local handicrafts, folk medicine, or magical rituals. The animal is considered at Low Risk in Ecuador, and hunting is not permitted in Peru without a licence. The species is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN.[5]


what does wxi stand for in soccer aid

Soccer Aid is a biennial British charity event that has raised over Â£20 million in aid of UNICEF UK, through ticket sales and donations from the public. The event is a friendly-style football match between two teams, England and the Soccer Aid World Eleven (WXI) (formerly Rest of the World (ROW) until 2018), composed of celebrities and former professional players representing their countries. Soccer Aid was initiated by Robbie Williams and Jonathan Wilkes.

Soccer Aid

Television coverage began on ITV on 22 May 2006 in a show presented by Ant & Dec. Dermot O'Leary took over as main presenter in 2010. The event returned on 7 September 2008, won by England for a second time and again on 6 June 2010, won by the Rest of the World after a penalty shoot-out. England beat the RoW a third time on 27 May 2012 and RoW won for a second time in June 2014. England won for the fourth time on 5 June 2016 and a fifth time on 10 June 2018.

ITV, 22â€“27 May 2006

The practice matches were over 60 minutes, with the Soccer Aid match over 90 minutes.

The competition was organised on behalf of UNICEF UK, with profits from the matches along with donations and sponsorship donated to UNICEF programs in Africa, Asia and the Americas.

England beat the Rest Of The World 2â€“1 with the goals coming from Les Ferdinand and Jonathan Wilkes, which put England into a two-goal lead but a handball inside the area from David Gray resulted in a penalty converted by Diego Maradona. Wilkes won the Man of the Match award.

The England squad was managed by former England national football team manager Terry Venables, assisted by David Geddis and Ted Buxton. The original squad comprised 16 players, with Bryan Robson added later. A handful of the players, notably Angus Deayton, had previous celebrity international experience from the previous month's England v Germany: The Legends match in Reading, which Germany won 4â€“2. The England squad went into the match with no major injury worries. Their victory over a squad of ex-England internationals from the 1960s to 1990s on Tuesday morning was tempered with defeats to the Rest of the World in a penalty shootout and football quiz.

The Rest of the World squad was managed by Ruud Gullit, with Gus Poyet as his assistant. Captain Gordon Ramsay injured his leg in the early training sessions and was considered doubtful for the match. The original squad of 16 players, which later saw 2 changes, was supplemented by the addition of Diego Maradona during the buildup to the competition. Lothar Matthäus had appeared in the England v Germany: The Legends match the previous month.

The Rest of the World squad was wracked by injuries and withdrawals, and suffered from a lack of players. Desailly, MatthÃ¤us, Schmeichel and Ginola all arrived with only 2 or 3 days to spare before the match; Ginola arrived during half time of their warm-up defeat to the Scotland Legends on Wednesday afternoon, and Diego Maradona only joined the squad on the day before the match.

Also, Craig Doyle and Brian McFadden went into the match carrying knocks, which led to management members Ruud Gullit and Gus Poyet coming on as substitutes on Wednesday and in the match itself.

Other notable participants
The match was refereed by Pierluigi Collina, the Italian referee considered by many fans as the best referee of all time.[1]

England v Rest of the World, at 19:30 just before kick-off Jonathan Ansell sang the footballing anthem "Nessun Dorma" whilst the players were introduced to Sir Geoff Hurst.

The England squad was coached by Harry Redknapp, with Bryan Robson as his assistant manager.

The Rest Of The World squad was coached by Kenny Dalglish, with Ian Rush as player-assistant manager.

The referee at the start of the match was Pierluigi Collina, who also refereed the previous match in 2006 and is regarded as the best referee of all time.[1] However, after Collina was injured in the first half he was replaced by Scottish referee Hugh Dallas. The process of two professional referees overseeing one half of the match each has since been maintained in subsequent series.

Soccer Aid 2010 was played on 6 June 2010. It was broadcast in the United Kingdom on ITV and presented by Dermot O'Leary.

Soccer Aid 2012 was played on 27 May 2012, as something of a precursor to UEFA Euro 2012 and the 2012 Summer Olympics. It was broadcast in the United Kingdom on ITV and presented by Dermot O'Leary. Cat Deeley presented the backstage build up show before the main event.

The 2014 match was played at Old Trafford on 8 June 2014.[2]

The main match was hosted by Dermot O'Leary with Kirsty Gallagher, and Cat Deeley presented the backstage build-up show before the main event. Caroline Flack presented from the BT Tower in London.[3] Match commentators were Sam Matterface and Graham Taylor, and Sol Campbell was a studio guest.

By full-time, the total raised for UNICEF was Â£4,233,019.[4]

Man of the match:

Match officials:

The 2016 match was played at Old Trafford on Sunday, 5 June.[10] The main match was hosted by Dermot O'Leary and Kirsty Gallacher, with commentary from Clive Tyldesley and Chris Kamara.[11]

Man of the match:

Match officials:

The 2018 match was played at Old Trafford on Sunday 10 June.[13] The main match was hosted by Dermot O'Leary and Kirsty Gallacher, with commentary from Clive Tyldesley and Robbie Savage.

Man of the match:

Match officials:


when does the activation of a motor neuron occur in a stretch reflex

When a muscle lengthens, the muscle spindle is stretched and its nerve activity increases. This increases alpha motor neuron activity, causing the muscle fibers to contract and thus resist the stretching. A secondary set of neurons also causes the opposing muscle to relax. The reflex functions to maintain the muscle at a constant length.

Stretch reflex

The stretch reflex (myotatic reflex) is a muscle contraction in response to stretching within the muscle. It is a monosynaptic reflex which provides automatic regulation of skeletal muscle length.

Gamma motoneurons regulate how sensitive the stretch reflex is by tightening or relaxing the fibers within the spindle.  There are several theories as to what may trigger gamma motoneurons to increase the reflex's sensitivity. For example, alpha-gamma co-activation might keep the spindles taut when a muscle is contracted, preserving stretch reflex sensitivity even as the muscle fibers become shorter. Otherwise the spindles would become slack and the reflex would cease to function.

This reflex has the shortest latency of all spinal reflexes including the Golgi tendon reflex and reflexes mediated by pain and cutaneous receptors.

A person standing upright begins to lean to one side. The postural muscles that are closely connected to the vertebral column on the opposite side will stretch. The muscle spindles in those muscles will detect this stretching, and the stretched muscles will contract to correct posture.

Other examples (followed by involved spinal nerves) are responses to stretch created by a blow upon a muscle tendon:

Another example is the group of fibers in the calf muscle, which synapse with motor neurons supplying muscle fibers in the same muscle. A sudden stretch, such as tapping the Achilles' tendon, causes a reflex contraction in the muscle as the spindles sense the stretch and send an action potential to the motor neurons which then cause the muscle to contract; this particular reflex causes a contraction in the soleus-gastrocnemius group of muscles. Like the patellar reflex, this reflex can be enhanced by the Jendrassik maneuver.

The central nervous system can influence the stretch reflex via the gamma motoneurons, which as described above control the sensitivity of the reflex.

Inhibitory signals arrive at gamma neurons through the lateral reticulospinal tract from Brodmann area 6, the  paleocerebellum and the red nucleus.  Facilitatory signals arrive through the ventral reticulospinal tract from Brodmann area 4, the neocerebellum and the vestibular nucleus.[citation needed]

The clasp-knife response is a stretch reflex with a rapid decrease in resistance when attempting to flex a joint. It is one of the characteristic responses of an upper motor neuron lesion.


who has won the austrian grand prix 2018

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton entered the round with a fourteen-point lead over Sebastian Vettel in the drivers' championship. In the constructors' championship, Mercedes held a twenty-five-point lead over Ferrari. The race was won by Max Verstappen for Red Bull, marking the first time that Red Bull has won at their home Grand Prix. This race also marked the first double retirement for Mercedes since the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix and the first retirement for Hamilton since the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix.

2018 Austrian Grand Prix

The 2018 Austrian Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Eyetime Großer Preis von Österreich 2018) was a Formula One motor race held on 1 July 2018 at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. The race, which was contested over seventy-one laps, was the ninth round of the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship, and marked the 32nd running of the Austrian Grand Prix and the 31st time it had been held as a round of the Formula One World Championship since the series inception in 1950.

The circuit included three drag reduction system (DRS) zones for the first time. These included a zone along the main straight, with the second zone on the straight from Turn 1 to Turns 2 and 3, and a third zone extending from Turn 3 to Turn 4.[2]

In Q2, Carlos Sainz had to avoid Vettel, who was going slowly on the racing line. Vettel was later awarded a 3 place grid penalty for the incident. Mercedes locked out the front row in Q3 and Valtteri Bottas took his first pole of 2018. The Ferraris locked out the second row however Romain Grosjean outqualified Daniel Ricciardo to take P6.

Bottas had a poor start from pole position. Initially passed by Hamilton, Räikkönen and Verstappen, he reclaimed P2 overtaking Verstappen and Räikkönen around the outside of Turn 4. Stoffel Vandoorne broke his front wing at Turn 3, requiring a pitstop, dropping him to the back of the field. On lap 12, Nico Hülkenberg's engine failed on the start/finish straight, causing his immediate retirement from the race. On lap 14, Bottas retired with a gearbox failure, causing a Virtual Safety Car. During the VSC period, Ferrari and Red Bull pitted both their cars. However Mercedes chose not to pit Hamilton. Hamilton pitted on lap 25, and rejoined in P4, ahead of Vettel, who overtook him on lap 39. On lap 54 Ricciardo retired with an exhaust problem and then Brendon Hartley retired on the next lap with a hydraulics issue. Hamilton retired on lap 64 with a fuel pressure problem giving Mercedes only their 2nd double retirement since returning to F1 and Hamilton's first retirement since the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix. Verstappen won the race, giving Red Bull their first win at the Red Bull Ring, and Verstappen his first win of the season. The Haas cars finished P4 and P5, giving them their best points finish ever and Grosjean his first points of the season.

Drivers' Championship standings

Constructors' Championship standings