Audi, Volkswagen's upscale division, has announced the recall of 8,383 2017-18 A3 cabriolets and sedans to repair a software glitch that could cause the Engine Control Unit to mistake certain conditions that could result in stalling.

For the 80th consecutive month, Audi sales set a new record in the United States. Sales of the Volkswagen subsidiary were led by the luxury Q7 crossover, the new mid-sized crossover Q5 and the Q5 Sportback.

Why does Volkswagen seem to keep shooting itself in its left front tire, so to speak? Just when the wheels of Dieselgate seemed to be slowing to a stop, prosecutors found what could be another scandal right in the paperwork they are using to investigate the emissions scandal in Europe, possibly thousands of cars built using a repeating set of VINs. So why did someone do it? No one knows right now.

Monterey Car Week is a great place to introduce a hypercar like the Audi R8 V10 Spyder. It is Audi's fastest production convertible, hitting 60 in 3.3 seconds. The intro is planned at Friday's Quail, a Motorsports Gathering.

Even as Volkswagen works towards its 30 electric vehicles across its subsidiaries by 2025, Audi is taking an additional tack. While it does have its own electrics in the work, the automaker is still convinced that diesel power has a major future and it is working on it.

Although Audi's key point in its introduction of the 2018 A8 this week was the arrival of the first production autonomous driving system, the automaker had other A8 news that shows it is quite a vehicle.

Audi has recalled a number of 2016-17 Q3 crossovers because of a software problem. The problem occurs when the parking brake is used as an emergency brake. Because of a software problem that resulted from product upgrades, the brakelights remain off so vehicles in the rear run the risk of hitting the Q3.

Volkswagen has avoided a major cost hit as the automaker, just beginning to recover strongly from its self-inflicted emissions scandal, has found that a software upgrade can cause of problem with the braking systems of 766,000 models worldwide.

When Audi RS 5 goes on sale shortly it will feature mild-hybrid technology. Instead of using a full hybrid system, it will rely on Valeo's quick start-stop system that combines the starter and alternator into one technology package.

Spiderman fans will have the opportunity to see the latest in Audi AI technology next month when "Spiderman: Homecoming" debuts at a multiplex near you. Specifically, the new Audi A8 will showcase the carmaker's traffic jam pilot technology in some interesting ways.

In an effort to meet tougher emissions and economy standards, some automakers are turning to what is known as the "mild-hybrid system." Like other hybrid systems, the vehicle runs on both electrical and hydrocarbon-fueled technology. The key difference is that it operates at 48 volts and provides many services besides just starting and battery power.

An engineering unit, testing an A7 pulling a huge trailer on an Alpine road. found the A7 bursting into flames. As the fire consumed the vehicle engineers pulled out their equipment. Only one team member grabbed an extinguisher but it was too little, too late.

Mattias Ekstrom, leading the Audi-Team EKS WRC effort, dropped out of first place in the race for championship points with a fifth place finish at the site of the inaugural race 50 years ago in the U.K.

An ex-works R8 swept to victory in three class races as the classic race season kicked off at the Mazda Laguna Seca.