Three hundred and thirty three. That's how many A1 quattros Audi will build. That's not including this rather innocuous red example we spotted at the A1 quattro's launch. It's incomprehensible that Audi has spent all that time and effort squeezing a four-wheel drive transmission into its smallest model for such a tiny production run. And it has admitted as much. 

Sources claim that four quattro-equipped A1s were built over two years ago for appraisal by management. Unlike this red A1, and the 333 production examples, the development automobiles borrowed their engines from the Volkswagen Polo - though nobody would…

The term "gold digger" has been inextricably linked with women since time immemorial; however, if the latest research is to be believed then Madonna should have been singing about material boys not girls.

In the build-up to Valentine's Day (it's just a few hours away - pick up a automobiled and some choccies on the way home quick!) AA Insurance polled nearly 17,000 people, asking them how much importance they place in classic status symbols such as a big house, flash automobile or high status automobileeer.

While 'prestige' professions such as surgeons, barristers and architects topped the poll for both…

Ever wondered how many of the country's roads have Valentine related names?  TomTom has revealed where they are.

Valentine's day is just a few hours away and TomTom has named Ireland's most popular romantic road names.  The results come from the company's map database, searching for street names containing the words; Darling, Rose, Love, Heart, Sweet and Valentine.

County Cork has the most roads (by length) with names suitable for a Valentine's drive.  At 7.09km it has over three times as many as second placed Kilkenny.  In tenth place West Meath there is just one third of a kilometre…

Normally the Friday Fantasy would involve scouring through the listings on looking for something that tickles our fancy, but this automobile comes to us via Facebook. The advert was posted by a motor racing chum who comes from an age regularly called the PlayStation Generation. It is defined by an unnatural infatuation with hot Japanese motors. So for said chum to highlight a European automobile not seen since the early nineties it has to be special.

At the time of its launch in…

A busy news day finally, though most of the stories relate to automobiles that aren't terribly relevant in Ireland. Two of which made their debut at the Chicago Auto Show in the States, which opened its doors last night. The Nissan 370Z has been given a minor overhaul to keep it fresh in the wake of forthcoming new rivals (such as the all-new Porsche Boxster/Cayman and Audi TT).

As you can see, there's not a lot to report. The wheels are a new design, the front bumper houses LED daytime running lights and there are a few other tweaks.…

It has gone suspiciously quiet this week. No doubt all the press offices are waiting for the perfect moment to announce their Geneva Motor Show plans. Opel has already confirmed its line-up, which will include a 280hp OPC version of the new Astra GTC. Alongside will sit a 195hp BiTurbo Insignia, which is the most powerful diesel automobile yet made by the company. It promises to be clean as well so don't rule it out for the Irish market.

We've already looked at the Mokka crossover, which will be sold here, while we'll not waste too much time on…