Adding to the existing A4 Driving Challenge game on the iPhone that Audi released in September of 2008 to promote the then-redesigned A4, the company just released a new game called “Audi A1 Beat Driver” to promote the new small car. As with any advertisement/promo-game, it doesn’t cost anything to download and play.

Audi A1 Beat Driver features nine songs to drive to the beat to, if that makes sense. In the game, you drive the A1 down a virtual road, swiping the screen to steer while trying to hit as many blocks as possible to the beat of the music. Imagine Rock Band or Guitar Hero, but with a compact car instead. As with every video game that’s ever existed, you try and collect power-ups and avoid obstacles along the way.

An International list of scores is kept on the leaderboard in-game, and naturally you can share your score via Twitter or Facebook and view more information about the Audi A1 from within the app. I wouldn’t call the game a “keeper,” but it’s definitely worth a download and one play-through.

Readers of German magazine “Auto Zeitung” recently gave Audi a few design awards. First up, Audi was voted “Brand with the most beautiful cars,” beating out over 50 other carmakers. In addition, the R8 Spyder was awarded “most beautiful convertible,” also finishing third for “most beautiful car model,” while Audi got additional props for the A5 Sportback finishing right behind it in fourth.

I don’t particularly agree with the R8 Spyder being very pretty, but you know those Germans…

photo by Mert Esmer

Audi is working especially hard recently to bring electric power to their lineup. Initially, we thought the launch of the e-tron electric sports car was a one model deal, but it turns out Audi is calling “e-tron” their “brand name for electric mobility.” The electric sports car they showed will be launched first, in late 2012 in limited numbers, but will be followed by other models powered by an electric powertrain.

The Audi A1 e-tron, for example, will likely be the next step. Audi is calling the A1 e-tron a “Mega City Vehicle,” and with a power output of 102 hp, gets 31 miles out of its electric motor. A small rotary engine serves as a range extender, giving the A1 e-tron an extra 124 miles. Audi says the car will get around 124 mpg with both the gasoline and electric motors.

Audi is also applying the electric concept to developing full hybrid vehicles. The Audi Q5 hybrid will be on the market as early as late 2010, and the A8 hybrid in being displayed as you read this at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. The A8 Hybrid Concept is more of an engineering study than a preview, but the idea is solid. The concept car is equipped with a 2.0-liter turbo engine, and along with the electric motor, gets an output of 245 hp and 354 lb-ft of torque.

Audi S4

Well, we just got back from the 2010 Chicago Auto Show. While it isn’t quite as big or flashy as it used to be, there are still plenty of great cars, concepts, and exhibits to check out. Audi didn’t have any big news so they didn’t hold a press conference, but they have a large display full of their line-up.

Interestingly, almost every Audi vehicle present is white, except for the R8, R8 Spyder, and S5 Cabriolet, which are a special dark gold color unavailable in the production models, and the 2011 Audi A8, which is silver. Check out the photos below for a look at the Audi display at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show:

Audi R8 V10

Audi TTS

Audi S5 Cabriolet

Audi Q5

2011 Audi A8

Audi R8 V10 Spyder

Audi Q7 S-line

Audi A5

Audi Q7 side

Audi Q7 front

Audi Q5 side

Audi Q5 rear

Audi A6

Audi A5 Cabriolet

Audi A5 Cabriolet

Audi A4 Avant

Audi is giving their Facebook fans the Green Police Super Bowl ad a bit early. The ad, which will be shown during Sunday’s game, features the Audi A3 TDI being praised by the Green Police during a “green crackdown.” The 60 second spot is actually a compilation of many of the other Green Police videos already shown.

The fact that Audi is advertising the A3 TDI really speaks to the current economic climate, and I hope will help get diesel technology out to the masses.

Here’s the video:

Check out Audi’s Facebook fan page for some other Green Police videos and info.

Audi recently released a new advertising campaign centered around the “Green Police” – a fictional police force focusing on environmental concerns (see video below.) A clever campaign that quickly backfired when one blogger pointed out that the Green Police was an unofficial name given to a group that was affiliated with Nazi persecution called the Ordnungspolizei. They were given the name Green Police by some because of the green uniforms they wore.

The term Ordnungspolizei, however, translates literally into “Order Police,” not Green Police. “Jeffrey Kuhlman, the chief communications officer for Audi of America, told AutoblogGreen that he personally talked to two Jewish leaders – Abraham Foxman, head of the Anti Defamation League, and Fred Zeidman, Chairman of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial and Museum – about the green police ads and that they did not see a problem with the spot.”

Yet people are still quite up in arms about the ad campaign, to the point where Audi may have to pull it altogether. Despite the fact that Audi had done (what one would think was) more than enough research on the name and implications, there is still an outrage regarding the Green Police.

My thoughts? Get over it, people. It clearly has absolutely nothing to do with the Nazis, it’s “green” as in environmental. Why twist it around and make drama over something irrelevant? Check out the video below for a Green Police (the Audi version) ad:

For the third year in a row, Audi will be advertising on the Super Bowl. For the first year, Audi premiered a clever Godfather-style ad for the R8. Last year, they made a short action film based around the A6. This year Audi will feature the A3 TDI – awarded “Green Car of the Year” by Green Car Journal. Can you tell the direction the auto industry is heading here? Featuring the A3 TDI is a very smart move on Audi’s part, and will likely bring in a lot of buyers. This will also help out the diesel market in general, which will be a positive step, especially in the US market.

The Super Bowl ad will feature 70’s rock band Cheap Trick reinterpreting one of their old songs for the ad. Interesting.

The Audi A3 TDI gets an incredible 42 MPG on the highway, which is into hybrid-level territory without the hybrid price premium. The A3 TDI accounts for 53% of the United States’ A3 sales, showing positive movement towards diesel returning to the mainstream.

Audi just gave their logo a refresh. The old logo, which you can see below was already a modern version of their four rings logo they’ve had since 1932 and featured a three-dimensional depth and shadowing. The new logo gives the rings a new shine resembling polished chrome, much like you see on the front of all new Audis.

The font has also been updated from the odd-looking text to a new, more symmetrical and sans-serif font, and is also moved to the left instead of centered. The update reflects design trends of the 21st century and keeps the brand looking fresh.

The new logo has already been implemented on the Audi Media site, but has not yet been updated on customer-facing sites such as AudiUSA.com or Audi.co.uk. Expect the new logo to be rolled out on all websites and documentation soon.

2009 Audi A3 Sportback

VW of America announced a voluntary recall of about 16,000 VW and Audi models due to a faulty temperature sensor in the DSG transmission. The recall only applies to certain models built between September 2008 and August 2009, including the VW Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, GTI, and Eos, as well as Audi’s 2009 A3, TT and TT Roadster.

According to Audi of America, “Some customers with the affected vehicles have experienced illuminated warning lamps in the dashboard, and in rare instances, reported that the transmission went into neutral.” Volkswagen will be contacting affected customers within the coming weeks, but if you’re among those with a recalled vehicle, contact your dealer right away or call Volkswagen at (800) 444-8982 or Audi at (800) 253-2834.

Audi Clean Campaign in NYC

Audi is running with a new promotional technique in which they use cleaning agents to “paint” the sidewalks in New York City. A great choice in location, considering the cleanliness of the city.

The images created on the sidewalks depict how if only one-third of Americans drove clean diesel, we’d reduce our dependence on foreign oil by 1.5 million barrels a day. I’m glad Audi is really pushing the diesel thing, and now that driving a diesel vehicle is no longer a dirty and smelly experience, I’m really hoping that it catches on in America.

A few facts about diesel:

• Clean diesel engines reduce carbon emissions by 20% over gasoline and are 30% more fuel-efficient.
• One drop of diesel fuel has 12% more power than one drop of gasoline.
• If one-third of Americans switched to from gasoline to clean diesel, it would be the equivalent of planting 2.2 billion trees.
• Diesel is currently less expensive than gasoline nationwide. While this may change day-to-day, it does come back to the issue of America’s dependence on gasoline and being dependent on speculative commodity price fluctuations.

Below is a video released by Audi showing the benefits of diesel technology: