Newsletters

HERNDON, Va., Dec 2, 2009  -  The 2010 Audi A5 emerged as a double winner in the 2010 Kelley Blue Book Best Resale Value Awards Tuesday night, demonstrating that the true value of Audi engineering remains apparent years after the initial sale.

Each year, the Kelley Blue Book Best Resale Value Awards recognize vehicles that are determined by a panel of expert automotive analysts to maintain the greatest proportion of their original list price after five years of ownership. It’s an assessment Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com is uniquely positioned to make as a leading provider of new and used car information.

Among all 2010 model-year vehicles, the Audi A5 received multiple honors. It earned a spot on the overall “Top 10 Model” list, and the A5 won Best Resale Value in the “Luxury Car” category.

The Audi A5 is an established leader in the luxury performance coupe segment. While the hours spent by Audi engineers perfecting the A5 ownership experience directly translate to its initial value, the benefit ultimately extends to resale owners as well.

“We believe the superior level of quality built into Audi vehicles is apparent several years after purchase,” said Johan de Nysschen, President, Audi of America. “We are honored that Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com recognizes that value in the A5.”
As vehicles are an important investment for most buyers, resale value is a critical factor in their purchase decisions. Kelley Blue Book’s Web site, kbb.com, provides access to information that can facilitate smarter vehicle purchases.

“Depreciation is often one of the greatest expenses incurred by drivers during the first five years of vehicle ownership, “ said James Bell, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com. “This reality underscores the progress that Audi has achieved in developing the 2010 A5. It is a vehicle poised to defy the discouraging resale statistics and that feat deserves recognition. We are proud to honor the 2010 Audi A5 among this year’s Best Resale Value Award winners.”

Click here to build your new Audi.

Top 10 Little Things That Count

By Joe Bruzek, Cars.com
In the time our editors spend reviewing hundreds of cars a year, we run across features we simply can't live without. The features that make us whine when we don't have them aren't high-end, expensive gadgets but little conveniences that make a high impact on everyday usability and comfort. Here are our 10 favorites:

One-Touch Power Windows
Sure, one-touch up/down windows only save three seconds, but that's three seconds you can use to get out your checking deposit slip at the bank teller's window. And if there's a person you don't want to delay, it's the one who handles your money. The 2010 Toyota Camry has the one-touch up/down feature on all four windows.

USB Input
With a USB input, you can tuck the MP3 player out of the way, let it charge and control your 10,000 songs through the stereo, which is much better than the more common MP3 jack. Bonus points go to stereos that recognize older iPods — some won't — as well as searchable song lists. Interfaces that aren't alphabetically searchable make it agonizing to turn the dial a hundred times to get to your Weird Al Yankovic collection.

Telescoping Steering Wheel
Telescoping steering wheels not only give you more adjustability for finding a comfortable seating position, but they also help keep drivers in a safe position if the airbag deploys. The feature is available in every class of vehicle, so a model that doesn't have a telescoping steering wheel is at a competitive disadvantage.

Backup Camera
Backup cameras make navigating parking lots infinitely easier and can pay for themselves by preventing even one parking lot fender bender. Our favorites have lines on the screen that preview the vehicle's backup path. However, we'd still like to see more backup cameras as a stand-alone option rather than tied to an expensive navigation package.

Steering-Wheel Controls
There's probably nothing you have more interaction with in a car than the steering wheel and stereo, so having controls for both in the same place cuts down on the time your hands are off the wheel. Even better are steering wheels with cruise control buttons -- a separate cruise control stalk almost always gets mistaken for the turn signal at some point.

Trip Computer
A trip computer with mileage readouts can be an easy, no-cost way to improve fuel economy. By looking at the instant mileage, you can tailor your driving habits for the best results. Also included in some trip computers is an outside temperature gauge. Although we can't change the weather by looking at the gauge, it's quantitative proof that the weather forecaster is making stuff up.

Smart Cupholders
Fast-food drinks and jumbo-size coffees are more satisfying when they're not all over your car's carpet. The best cupholders are deep enough to keep cups from tipping over and accommodate different-sized drinks — from small coffees to Super Big Gulp Slurpees — using adjustable feelers and grips.

Heated Seats
This quintessential winter feature makes dealing with subfreezing temperatures as easy as hitting the heated seat button to "on." Heated seats start warming before the car's heat is able to blast at 90 degrees, and they can be fitted on cloth or leather seats.

Height-Adjustable Seats
Seats that adjust vertically are so critical to sitting comfortably that when a car doesn't have more than four-way adjustability, it seems grossly outdated. Six-way adjustable seats should be the bare minimum; anything less should have been left in 1996.

Three Sets of Latch Connectors
Just because a big SUV has three rows of seating doesn't guarantee there will be more than two sets of Latch connectors for child-safety seats. SUVs that have three sets of Latch anchors or more, like the 2010 Honda Pilot, offer more flexibility for larger families.

100% Russian bling: Gold plated Porsche 911 turbo

If you wake up day after day only to find your bank balance replenished by a few million dollars, chances are at some point, you won’t know what to do with it. Take this Porsche 911 owner for example. He couldn’t find ways to get rid of the fast-accumulating green paper and did this to himself.- A 40- pound pure gold covered Porsche 911.
We find the idea annoying but appreciate the work that has gone into it. The carvings and designs on the surface are brilliant and would have taken weeks to complete by an extremely set of talented and skilled individuals. The polished surface looks nice and should have masked the rear-view mirrors entirely, eliminating the need for a reflective glass and related electronics for adjustments, but maybe next time?!

Driving a Porsche 911 on the streets would grab enough attention leave alone a gold-covered one. Is the Sultan of Brunei reading this?

The Chesapeake and Ohio canal went from where to where?

Washington D.C. to Cumberland, Md
Chesapeake Bay to Cincinnati, Ohio
Chesapeake Bay to Cleveland, Ohio
Washington D.C. to Frostburg, Maryland

See answer under Car Doctor.

Make sure that your automobile is up to date on its service schedule. 

Washington D.C. to Cumberland, Md.
The original Chesapeake and Ohio canal was about 175 miles long. It was originally intended to go all the way to Ohio, but never made it.