Η Audi Αγγλίας ανακοίνωσε την υπηρεσία Audi Cam μέσω της οποίας όλοι οι τεχνικοί θα καταγράφουν με κάμερα όλες τις εργασίες επισκευής των αυτοκινήτων των πελατών. Στη συνέχεια τα video αυτά θα αποστέλνονται είτε στον υπολογιστή είτε στο smartphone του πελάτη, προτού ξεκινήσουν οι εργασίες επισκευής.
Από την άλλη η Audi Αμερικής ανακοίνωσε την R8 Exclusive Selection Editions για τα προ facelift R8. Οι εκδόσεις είναι διαθέσιμες τόσο με τον V8 όσο και με τον V10 κινητήρα σε σύνολο 50 μονάδων, 20 V8 και 30 V10. Τα V8 αυτοκίνητα θα είναι διαθέσιμα με το νέο γκρι ματ “Daytona Gray” χρώμα, φορά carbon μπροστά splitter, carbon διαχύτη, μαύρα διακοσμητικά, τα πίσω φωτιστικά σώματα του R8 GT, κόκκινες δαγκάνες και νέες ζάντες 19″. Στο εσωτερικό υπάρχουν νέες δερμάτινες επενδύσεις σε μαύρο και κόκκινο χρώμα, νέο σύστημα πλοήγησης και παχύτερο τριάκτινο τιμόνι.
Τα V10 είναι διαθέσιμα σε λευκό και μαύρο χρώμα, φορά 19″ ζάντες, ενώ στο εσωτερικό υπάρχουν carbon διακοσμητικά και μαύρες δερμάτινες επενδύσεις με λευκές ραφές. Οι τιμές ξεκινούν από τις 137.700 δολάρια για την V8 έκδοση και από τα τις 161.500 δολάρια για την V10 έκδοση. Περισσότερες λεπτομέρειες μπορείς να βρεις στο δελτίο τύπου που ακολουθεί.
[Πηγή: Audi]
[learn_more caption=”Δελτίο Τύπου”]
NEW AUDI CAM BRINGS SERVICING TO THE SMALL SCREEN
Pioneering Audi Cam service enables customers to see and hear about necessary repair work and to authorise it all via mobile phone or PC
World first for a car maker – Audi Cam service now rolled out across all UK Audi Centres
Hand-held camera produces narrated film clips that are embedded in customer-specific PIN-protected web page that is emailed to the customer
Page includes video and audio commentary, VAT-inclusive pricing for each job, personal technician and service team profiles and action buttons for automatic authorisation of work
The term ‘candid camera’ takes on new meaning from this week as Audi Centre technicians across the UK double as pioneering ‘Audi Cam’ film producers to further the brand’s quest for absolute clarity and transparency in its customer relationships. The new Audi Cam service will be the first in the world to enable technicians carrying out workshop inspections to focus hand-held ‘Audi Cams’ on specific problems, to deliver verbal diagnoses and to send the resulting film clips to customers’ home computers or smartphones before any work begins.
The Audi Cam is a small, hand-held video camera capable of delivering high quality footage with excellent sound quality. Audi Approved technicians, all of whom have undergone tailor-made training, will use it first to visually and verbally identify a customer’s car on film after conducting an initial inspection. They will then pinpoint and clearly explain any problems found, and then propose solutions to those problems.
Each problem identified – for example brake pad wear or illegal tyre tread depth – is filmed as an individual clip to minimise file size and reduce ‘buffering’, and in as little as three minutes can then be incorporated into a web page that is exclusive to the customer involved. A secure link to that page is then emailed to the customer, who has sole access to it using a unique PIN number which is sent separately by text message to their mobile phone. The page is optimised for compatibility with home computers and smartphones, so its full functionality is available ‘on-the-move’.
Online authorisation
The page contains the relevant film clip or clips, and grades each problem as either ‘urgent’, ‘advisory’ or ‘for info’ to give the customer a clear idea of its severity. It also provides a VAT-inclusive price quotation for each job, along with action buttons that enable the customer to authorise the Centre to proceed with it at the price quoted, to reject the work or to request a call back to discuss it.
Once the customer has added all the jobs he or she wants to proceed with to the ‘shopping basket’, they can authorise the Centre to begin the work by re-entering their unique PIN number. Before doing this, they can even gain some insight into the team which will be working on the car by viewing personal service team profiles posted on their page.
Audi Cam is an evolution of the Direct Reception technology rolled out across the Audi Centre network last year. Direct Reception gives customers audio visual access to their cars from the comfort of the Audi Centre reception area as they are worked on by technicians equipped with head-mounted cameras and two-way audio links. They are free to talk to the technicians directly, and service advisors are on hand to answer any questions that arise. The Direct Reception programme continues alongside this latest development and has a very similar objective – to instil even greater customer confidence not only in the legitimacy of each diagnosis but also the integrity and unparalleled product knowledge of Audi trained technicians.
Paul Sansom, Head of Aftersales and Service for Audi UK, welcomed the advances made by this new initiative: “Audi is unquestionably an innovator where its cars are concerned, and I’m delighted that we’re now also making real headway in advancing the art of looking after those cars and their drivers. By effectively beaming the workshop to our customers’ homes or smartphones, Audi Cam greatly simplifies the service and repair process, and at the same time breaks down more of the barriers between the service bay and the customer that have traditionally fostered scepticism and suspicion. This is genuine progress through technology in the best tradition of Vorsprung durch Technik.”
Picture caption
Audi in focus – Audi Centre technicians across the UK are now equipped with ‘Audi Cams’ which enable them to send narrated film clips of potential problems to customers’ home computers or smartphones before any work begins.
Note to Editors
In 2011 Audi recorded its best ever worldwide result of 1,302,650 sales, a 19 per cent improvement over 2010. In the UK, 113,703 Audi models found homes last year, a 14 per cent increase on 2010. To sustain the technological lead embodied in its Vorsprung durch Technik slogan, the brand plans to invest €13 billion, mainly in new products, between 2011 and 2015. By this point, its range will have expanded from today’s 39 models to a total of 42. Recent additions, including the A1 Sportback, the all-new A3 and the new generation A4 and A5 ranges, will be joined imminently by, among others, the RS 4 Avant, the A6 allroad and the R8 e-tron, the first fully electric series-production Audi model. On the race circuit, Audi has competed in the Le Mans 24 Hour sportscar endurance race 14 times since 1999, achieving a podium finish on all of these occasions as well as outright victory 11 times. In 2012, Audi made history at Le Mans by winning with pioneering hybrid diesel technology used in the Audi R18 e-tron quattro.
Audi Introduces R8 Exclusive Selection Editions for 2012
Audi today announced 2012 R8 models created exclusively for the U.S. market. Building on the award-winning R8 V8 and R8 V10 Coupes, the Exclusive Selection Editions will arrive in limited volume later this month. Only twenty 2012 Exclusive Selection Edition R8 V8 vehicles and thirty 2012 Exclusive Selection Edition R8 V10 vehicles will be produced.
The 2012 Exclusive Selection Edition R8 V8 commands immediate attention with new exterior colors and stunning exclusive interior finishes. For the first time, Audi debuts a Daytona Gray matte exterior for the 2012 Exclusive Selection Edition R8 V8, complete with carbon fiber exterior splitter and diffuser, 19″ titanium five-arm double spoke wheels, black grille surround, black exhaust finishers, R8 GT tail lamps, and red brake calipers. Inside, the R8 V8 features an exclusive leather package with Crimson Red elements and contrast stitching, exclusive leather Navigation surround, and a thicker contoured leather multifunctional steering wheel for a sportier grip. The 2012 Exclusive Selection Edition R8 V8 is equipped with a 4.2-liter FSI® V8 which generates 430 hp at 7,900 rpm, with 316 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 – 6,000 rpm.
Carbon Fiber elements, Bang & Olufsen® Sound System and Navigation with the Audi Music Interface also add to the 2012 Exclusive Selection Edition V8.
The 2012 Exclusive Selection Edition R8 V10 comes with a shimmering Ibis white exterior and Brilliant Black features – including the sideblade, exterior mirrors, and rear license plate surround – as well as R8 GT tail lamps and 19″ bi-color e-tron wheels. Ibis finishes and Alabaster White contrast stitching, as well as a Carbon Fiber monoposto driver’s cockpit, completes the interior, which also features an exclusive leather Navigation surround and contoured steering wheel. The 2012 Exclusive Selection Edition R8 V10 is equipped with a 5.2-liter FSI V10, and produces 525 hp at 8,000 rpm with 391 lb-ft of torque at 6,500 rpm.
Either version can be paired with a six-speed manual transmission or an automatic R tronic® transmission. With Audi ultra lightweight technology and Audi quattro® all-wheel drive, the R8 boasts superior speed, performance and handling.
MSRP Pricing
- 2012 Exclusive Selection Edition R8 V8 manual transmission: $137,700
- 2012 Exclusive Selection Edition R8 V8 R tronic transmission: $146,800
- 2012 Exclusive Selection Edition R8 V10 manual transmission: $161,500
- 2012 Exclusive Selection Edition R8 V10 R tronic transmission: $170,600
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