Audi Displays Winter Sports-Themed Q3 Vail Concept with the RS3's 2.5L Turbo in Detroit

As it turns out, the Audi Q3 Vail Concept wasn't a three-door crossover study as some sketches falsely suggested but a specially themed edition of the Q3 crossover, the regular versions of which are sold in other parts of the world including Europe but not in the States.

What makes this concept that is named after the famous winter sports venue in the U.S. a little more interesting is not so much the cosmetic enhancements as its mechanical hardware.

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Audi Boss Confirms Q3 Vail Concept for Detroit Show, Says More Models are Coming

The first and second place in the U.S. premium segment may belong to the Germans for 2011, but while BMW and Mercedes-Benz are at the top, Audi couldn’t manage anything better than seventh place, with less than half deliveries of its rivals.

Clearly, this is far from ideal for the Ingolstadt-based carmaker since the U.S. remains the number one market for premium brands. Furthermore, Audi, which is the segment leader both in Western Europe and China, wants to overtake BMW as the number one premium brand worldwide by 2015.

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Euro NCAP Announces the Results of the Latest Round of Crash Tests

The Ford Ranger's five-star rating in the Euro NCAP crash test was a surprise in the sense that it was the first time a pickup truck ever achieved such a high score not only for passenger but also for pedestrian protection as well.

The independent European safety organization also released the results for 11 more new models that were tested along with the Ranger. With the emphasis given these days on safety, the five-star rating awarded in all but one of the models was to be expected.

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