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<\/p>\nIt\u2019s hard to think of a brand that\u2019s fallen harder than Audi. Nissan has had a similar trajectory, but expectations for Nissan were never quite as high as they were for Audi, which makes it feel somehow worse.<\/p>\n
Who has replaced Audi? I don\u2019t think it\u2019s Lexus, as that brand has always had its own niche. Perhaps Genesis? Nah, I think Genesis is taking more from Mercedes, spiritually if not literally. Tesla? It\u2019s probably Tesla. That brand became the default for a certain kind of person for a while.<\/p>\n
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Audi is pushing F1 big this year, and F1 does indeed have a huge halo. Will it be enough to shine a light on Audi? Volvo isn\u2019t in F1, and it\u2019s not in as bad a shape, but it needs to prove it can do an EV launch without crapping the bed.<\/p>\n
European driving tests are, generally, harder than American ones. What are Brits doing about it? Cheating. That\u2019ll work! Yesterday\u2019s TMD was a lot, so I\u2019m happy to end this one on a positive note.<\/p>\n
\u2018A Lot Of Pieces Of The Puzzle Are Coming Together\u2019 Today was the big reveal for the livery for Audi\u2019s R26 car for this year\u2019s F1 season. Normally, I wouldn\u2019t care that much. If you love F1, that\u2019s awesome, but there are places that are going to typically be more excited about every livery reveal than The Morning Dump.<\/p>\n Audi, though, needs the help. Sales are crashing (<\/a>it\u2019s a global problem)<\/a>\u00a0and the CEO is dealing with a bunch of internal heat<\/a>. Formula One can provide a ton of attention, of course, and also create value if your team is successful. For a brand like Cadillac, which is on a bit of an upswing, I get the positioning. If you become a Cadillac fan via F1, then there\u2019s probably something in the lineup you might like.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, a lot of pieces of the puzzle are coming together,\u201d said Gernot D\u00f6llner, CEO of AUDI AG and Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi Motorsport AG, at the team presentation. \u201cIt\u2019s impressive to see how the intensive preparation is paying off and the performance of those involved is becoming evident. For the first time, the full power of the project is on display. We are ready and excited to inspire people around the world by taking part in Formula 1.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to time out the multi-year process of getting into F1, and Audi faces some interesting challenges here. Right off the bat, Audi is built on the bones of Sauber, which is still a backmarker team that\u00a0sometimes moves into the middle. Will there be more success this year? F1 is changing rules and powertrains, so there are some opportunities. Chaos is a ladder, and if anyone is used to chaos, it\u2019s Audi.<\/p>\n Assuming that Audi is successful on track, are there going to be products in the showroom to get fans excited enough to buy something? If Bortoleto manages a podium, is that going to drive people to lease a Q5?<\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s worked out for Mercedes, and Mercedes has a more interesting lineup right now. Obviously, Ferrari has roughly 300,000 fans for every car it sells, but that took decades of careful work.<\/p>\n Like D\u00f6llner said, pieces of the puzzle are coming together, but right now it\u2019s just a frame, and the frame is the easy part. When Audi can start getting pieces of the sky togehter I\u2019ll be more hopeful.<\/p>\n Volvo Can\u2019t Screw Up The EX60 As mentioned, Volvo has a 400-mile car in its new EX60<\/a>, which is a Polestar 3-sized vehicle to slot in between the EX30 and EX90. The embargo is up later today, so you\u2019ll be able to read all the details here.<\/p>\n Will it be enough? I\u2019m not sure. After all the hype for the EX90 and EX30, both were bad launches. The EX90, while good, feels like a work in progress<\/a>. The EX30 was seriously delayed<\/a>.<\/p>\n Automotive News says dealers are cautiously optimistic<\/a> that this might go better:<\/p>\n Jason Church, chairman of the Volvo Retail Advisory Board, said the EX60 is the automaker\u2019s \u201csecond chance\u201d to get an EV launch right.<\/p>\n \u201cEX60 must launch on time and be top notch when it rolls off the line in Sweden,\u201d said Church, COO of Courtesy Automotive Group, which has a Volvo dealership in Scottsdale, Ariz. \u201cEarly customers cannot be beta testers.\u201d<\/p>\n Oof.<\/p>\n People Caught Cheating On The British Driving Test Up 47% I was able to drive in England, and it was mostly fine. If I can do it, presumably anyone can? Perhaps not, according to a recent story in\u00a0The Guardian<\/a>, which said cheating was up 47%.<\/p>\n Do they take cheating seriously? Yes!<\/p>\n Ninety-six people were prosecuted for attempting to cheat driving tests or impersonate candidates in 2024-25, the DVSA said. A prosecution case can include multiple incidents.<\/p>\n Impersonators and learners who use them could be sent to prison, banned from driving, ordered to carry out unpaid work and made to pay court costs.<\/p>\n Qounain Khan, 23, from Birmingham, was handed an eight-month prison sentence at Cardiff crown court in June 2025 after pleading guilty to impersonating learners at theory test centres 12 times. The court heard impersonators could be paid up to \u00a32,000 for passing a test.<\/p>\n Sorina-Ana Turcitu, 42, from north London, admitted attempting to take a practical driving test on behalf of someone else, and was sentenced to 12 weeks\u2019 imprisonment suspended for 18 months at Ipswich magistrates court in September 2025.<\/p>\n While I think that imprisoning people for this kind of stuff is severe, this is a real public danger. It seems like a lot of these are suspended sentences, which, if it works the way I think it does, those people stay out of jail if they don\u2019t re-commit the crime.<\/p>\n The Autopians Hit The Detroit Auto Show Ray Wert asked me for a press pass, definitely with an ulterior motive, and I approved it with the understanding that he\u2019d write an article for us about it. He hasn\u2019t written anything yet, which is entirely predictable, although he\u2019s shown up in one of his wife\u2019s Instagram reels<\/a>, so I know he was there!<\/p>\n
\n![\"Audi](\"https:\/\/images-stag.jazelc.com\/uploads\/theautopian-m2en\/Audi_Revolut_F1_Team_R26_Livery_-_Launch-1-Large.jpeg\")
<\/a>Photo: Audi<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Source: Volvo<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Photo: Matt Hardigree<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Photo: Stellantis<\/p>\n