Why America Never Embraced the Audi A7 Sportback

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By: Sergiu Tudose

With the car industry slowly but surely shifting from automotive design to product design, the types of vehicles we’re likely to miss most are precisely these A7 Sportback types. Cars that dared to be flashy just for the sake of it, while still getting the proportions right and preserving a clear sense of brand identity.

The Audi A7 should have been the perfect premium GT for America. It featured the sleek proportions of a coupe, the practicality of a hatchback, and the comfort of an executive sedan. You wanted a car that was both beautiful and useful? There it was.

Yet, the A7 genuinely failed to establish itself in North America, as far as I’m concerned. Sales were always poor, as if this was some type of niche segment. In a way, it was, but that wasn’t the problem. The problem was image. Audi’s image, to be precise. The A7 fell victim to the Porsche Panamera. It’s as simple as that.

America views Audi as the “safe” premium choice, and premium buyers rarely go for safe. They want to show off what they have. Especially those who prefer to purchase statement cars. This is why Porsche sold four times as many Panameras as Audi sold A7 Sportbacks. Literally, a 4-to-1 ratio, which on paper makes little sense since the Audi is the cheaper option.

Then there’s the fact that luxury buyers in the U.S. tend to reward cars with strong, easy-to-understand identities. BMW is the driver’s choice. Mercedes is for both comfort and status. Porsche is, well, Porsche. A Range Rover is for presence and style, and then there’s the Audi A7 which never fit neatly into any of these boxes.

It’s also not the sharpest driver’s car. It drives well, don’t get me wrong, but there are better choices out there. So, even though it did everything very well, it ended up getting out-prestiged. Is that a proper term? That’s ok, let’s assume that it is.

Then there were the more practical people who didn’t understand why they should spend more on an A7 when they could just as easily get the A6 – same platform, same engineering, same powertrains. To the average buyer, the A7 looked like an expensive A6 with a different roofline, which of course, it was.

Speaking of the average buyer, most people didn’t even look twice at the A7 when they could just as easily buy the Q8. The Q8 moved roughly 6 to 7 times more units annually, and as you know, Americans heavily favor premium crossovers like the Q8 over any niche fastback-style sedan.

Unfortunately for Audi, the second generation A7 arrived just as U.S. buyers began abandoning traditional body styles at a staggering pace, looking for something with more ground clearance.

For the full article, please continue reading on our site.

By: Cristian Agatie

Predictably, sales of electric vehicles in the US dropped sharply toward the end of 2025, after the federal tax credit was phased out and carmakers exhausted the funds that partly compensated the loss. This was a signal for most legacy carmakers that the market no longer wants EVs, and switching back to combustion and hybrid powertrains would be a good decision. 

Most decided that they could blame the market conditions for their underwhelming sales. "People no longer want to buy EVs" has become the new mantra among legacy carmakers. However, this was obviously not true, considering that EV sales continued to climb. During the first half of 2026, it became clear that people still wanted to buy EVs. They just didn't want to buy poorly designed EVs. 

Carmakers who afforded to lower prices continue to sell EVs. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 rose among the ranks thanks to significant discounts. Those who produced compelling EVs continued to sell EVs. Tesla and Rivian grew their EV sales, proving that good cars sell no matter the propulsion system. 

On the other hand, those who only waited for a reason to turn back to combustion vehicles found the perfect excuse. As I argued before, this is an easy way out of a difficult situation. Their management sacrificed the company's future for the present comfort. Hybrids might be what many customers want now, but not what future customers want. 

I get it, executives are under shareholders' pressure to deliver now, not in a distant future when they will likely not be in charge anymore. However, not seeing the prominent role EVs have is pure blindness. Combustion and hybrid cars are the old way, keeping most of the customers happy for the time being. However, for those who already tasted the greener pasture of owning an EV, no hybrid would be acceptable. 

Losing these customers because you want to go back to your comfort zone is a monumental strategic mistake. No legacy carmaker is looking at EVs as a way to retain customers, even though that's exactly what they are. Especially for those who have sold EVs and then have given up on a replacement. 

Honda is the best example, having recently confirmed it would not offer an EV in the US starting next year. The Japanese carmaker scrapped the Acura ZDX last September and is preparing an untimely demise for the Prologue EV at the end of 2026. Even worse, Honda scrapped the three EVs it planned to launch in the US as part of the new "0" EV sub-brand. 

For many Prologue owners, Honda's decision to discontinue its EV lineup felt like a betrayal. According to several studies, very few EV owners would consider anything other than another EV when they buy a new car. This shows what a powerful tool EVs are for customer retention. Without an electric model, Honda is about to lose most of these customers to competing brands.

For the full article, please continue reading on our site.

By: Aurel Niculescu

Volkswagen's largest North American crossover SUV has received a full makeover for the 2027 model year, first showcased at the 2026 New York International Auto Show, and now we also know the pricing details – which means we can directly pit it against some of its most ardent rivals.

Not long ago, Volkswagen of America reported its Q2 sales figures for 2026, and things are shaping up quite positively: over 89k units delivered with a rise of almost 25% compared to the same period last year. Of course, that’s the silver lining – the reality is that Volkswagen couldn’t reach 100k in no less than three months in one of the largest automotive markets of the world!

The Volkswagen Tiguan was quite responsible for the rise, as the new model jumped over 152% to 29k units but the current generation of the Atlas mid-size three-row family-oriented crossover SUV came second with 21,549 units and a jump of almost 19% despite getting ready to switch generations. Clearly, this is a popular model, at least as far as VW fans are concerned.

Volkswagen's largest North American crossover SUV has now let loose the pricing information and the model roster ahead of the market launch happening this fall season and, well, it’s not all good news: the second-generation 2027 Atlas will start at $43,135 with the destination charge included, for the SE model. The Atlas SE w/Technology kicks off at $47,135, the Atlas SEL R-Line at over $53k, and the Atlas SEL Premium R-Line flagship is more than $58k. The base MSRP is now $2,350 more than before, with $50 coming from the higher $1,525 destination charge.

Volkswagen probably thinks the hike is worth the effort because of the all-new exterior design and interior cabin, plus the upgraded turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder, shared with the new Tiguan, which packs 282 horsepower and 253 pound-feet of torque. Unfortunately, when it goes on sale later this year, it will face off with stiff and sometimes more affordable competition.

For example, the recently upgraded Honda Pilot and the popular Toyota Grand Highlander are both more expensive, starting at $43,890 and $43,855 for the 2026 model year, respectively. The 2026 Ford Explorer remains one of the cheapest options in the segment at $40,260, which is one of the reasons why it’s so successful recently, but there are also other rivals undercutting the MSRP of the Atlas.

Those include the all-new 2026 Hyundai Palisade, starting at $41,035, as well as the monumentally popular 2027 Kia Telluride, which is even newer than its corporate cousin but also cheaper than both, at an MSRP of $40,735. But that’s not all, because there are also other options, like the ritzier Jeep Grand Cherokee L, the alternate Hyundai Santa Fe or Kia Sorento, as well as the Chevrolet Traverse, Mazda CX-90, or the Nissan Pathfinder, among others.

For the full article, please continue reading on our site.

By: Dragos Chitulescu

I have almost 100 Matchbox collectibles inside two transport cases, and nobody even bothered inquiring about them. I’m talking about a mix of Basic, Moving Parts and Collector vehicles, some of which are quite cool and yet as cheap as it gets.

I wouldn’t rush to the conclusion that enthusiasts worldwide don’t care about MBX too much, as it might just be a local problem. But the older I get the more sense they make when compared to Hot Wheels.

They’re not always exciting, but I’ve also had enough of the Liberty Walk hype that most manufacturers seem to be feeding on these days. With that said, it was by pure chance that I discovered that the 24th Matchbox Gathering of Friends occurred recently in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

And Mattel had a team onsite to reveal some of the goodies coming our way in 2027. I’ve added at least 10 of them to my must-have list, and hope the distribution network will be more effective in bringing these to a toy store near me.

Official information highlighted the fact that we’ll see 40 new castings in the 2027 Basic series. I’m happy to see the 2002 Mazda RX-7 Spirit R is getting a new color variation in Mix A but have mixed feelings about the 1985 Porsche 911 Rally. The Volvo V90 Cross Country is a new design for next year, and I have some great memories driving the Ocean Race version close to the Arctic Pole.

It’s the family car I’d buy tomorrow if I wasn’t worried about running costs and reliability issues. I recently unboxed the First Edition of the 1974 Ford F100 Ranger, and it’s easily one of my favorite trucks from Mattel despite lacking some detail. The Jeep J10 Stepside isn’t too far behind, and I can also guarantee playing with the Skidster is plenty of fun.

The National Parks livery is just a bonus here. For its second variation ever, the 2025 Aston Martin Vanquish is already moving up in the world by joining the Super Chase club. I didn’t spot anything interesting in Mix C, but we should move on to the new castings already.

I noticed some people were fairly upset by the abundance of rally-themed vehicles coming up, but I’m a big fan of the sport so the more the merrier.

The Renault 5 Turbo has been MIA for Hot Wheels since 2017, and it’s good to have it back even in Matchbox form. On the topic of rally-themed vehicles, you’ll also notice the 1986 Ford RS200, the 1984 Porsche 953, the 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX, the 2025 Toyota GR86 and the 1987 MG Metro 6R4 on the list.

I’m particularly excited about the first and last ones here, which may be obvious if you’ve been reading my Hot Wheels unboxing stories. The 2024 Audi RS Q E-Tron E2 and the 2024 Ford Raptor T1+ will also look great in the sandbox, especially if you can find a way to capture photos of them jumping mid-air. 

For the full article, please continue reading on our site.

By: Alex Oagana

One of the most common questions among old-school petrolheads has few things in common with logic but many things in common with unadulterated passion. That sometimes-irresistible question is: “What if we put a V8 in it?”

The weird part is that I’m not strictly talking about muscle cars, sports cars, grand tourers, or any other vehicle whose long hood or overall proportions and size would have been designed from the beginning to feature a large-displacement, multi-cylinder engine. No, I’m also talking about small cars, city cars, and lightweight vehicles that would normally raise an eyebrow even if they turned out to be powered by anything with over 2.0-liters of displacement.

The V8, in the historical context, has been traditionally used as a tool for powering cars that are sized accordingly. It’s only natural to find it under the hoods of larger cars, where the packaging works, the weight distribution at least makes a little sense, and the people who usually buy one also expect to have room somewhere to put their luggage.

That said, with a history spanning almost as long as the era when the V8 became somewhat mainstream, there has been a parallel tradition of crazy (in the good way) people who decided to drop an eight-cylinder in things that have absolutely no business accommodating one. Obviously, most of the times that happened in sheds and backstreet garages, but sometimes, and more often than you might expect, it has also happened on full-blown production lines.

The origin of this, let’s say trend, was probably established in the early 1960s, when Carroll Shelby created the legendary Shelby Cobra by taking a lightweight British roadster and shoehorning an American V8 lump under its hood. The formula was simple enough: Get a tiny car, find a V8 that can fit in it whether it likes it or not, and the actual engineering is just another very brave part of the process.

With that in mind, this philosophy doesn’t unite all of the following cars, as they not only span about six decades, but were built on multiple continents, by non-rivaling carmakers, and each one reinterprets the “small car with a big engine” ethos in its own way. What they do definitely share is that the “what if we put a V8 in it?” question usually gets a seriously cool answer. Here are five of them.

Daimler SP250: The Roadster that Became a Police Car

Before Daimler Cars were acquired by Jaguar and slowly disappeared from the public spotlight, they existed under the BSA (British Small Arms) umbrella, which, at one point decided to appoint a motorcycle designer as the carmaker’s managing director. Taking the helm of Daimler in 1956, Edward Turner had been known almost exclusively for developing Triumph motorcycles and the engines for them, including the legendary Triumph Speed Twin.

After BSA appointed him managing director of its automotive division, they also asked him to design a new V8 for Daimler, raising a number of eyebrows in the industry and not knowing how important this decision would become for the company. The resulting powerplant became one of the coolest small-displacement V8s ever put into a production car.

 For the full article, please continue reading on our site.

By: Bogdan Popa

Believe it or not, but running Android Auto in full-screen mode in a 2023 (yes, 2023!) Ram still isn’t possible. Dealers shrug and point to the parent company. Luckily, a Ram owner found a way to make it happen, though this involves getting a $60 adapter to bypass the original settings of the 12-inch Uconnect screen.

When it’s not ignoring people calling for patches (such as these unlucky folks who’ve lost the option to show traffic information in Google Maps on Android Auto), Google actually does wonderful things.

A speedometer is now rolling out on Android Auto after so, so, so many years of users begging for it, and evidence shows that a major update powered by Gemini is coming to Google Maps.

The navigation app will soon be able to access information from other Google products, including Gmail and Google Calendar, so hopefully the recommendations you’ll get while driving will make more sense.

Otherwise, WhatsApp has finally released an official app for Android Auto and CarPlay, while General Motors updated Energy Pass with ChargePoint integration.

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