imported into the US, the S3 should be easier since crash testing would be the same as the A3 4 door Sportback.Alexandre Premat and Mike Rockenfeller won the LMS title this year in an Audi R10, but Ullrich says in this week's Autosport that the decision not to return was made to save money.
"We will not participate in the LMS," he said. "We all have to face that the economy is moving and everyone has to put something into their pocket to save money.
"The LMS has grown quite significantly but you have to face the fact that to make the best out of less money, there is no choice but to cut parts of the programme."
The Le Mans 24 Hours is, so far, the only confirmed outing for the R15 beyond the American Le Mans Series season-opener, the Sebring 12 Hours, in March.
But Ullrich says a decision about a tenth consecutive full ALMS campaign is still to be made.
"We are still in discussion about the American programme," he said. "There has to be a board decision to do it, but we are all working on it very hard."
Audi stalwarts Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela, who have five Le Mans wins each with the marque, are likely to race Audis again next year despite not having their contracts renewed this season. Both are expected to race the new R8 GT3 car for teams in Europe.
GM's sales in Europe fell 25 percent to 94,479 vehicles, with the Saab brand reporting a 28 percent plunge. The Detroit- based carmaker said Nov. 7 it may run short of cash by the end of the year unless the market improves or it raises more capital.
Registrations in Europe by Toyota slumped 24 percent to 54,612 cars. Asia's largest carmaker, leading GM in global auto sales this year, posted a 69 percent plunge in quarterly net income on Nov. 6. Deliveries of its Lexus brand fell 32 percent.
Audi has announced that the S3 Sportback will come in two flavors S-Tronic (DSG) and 6 Speed manual. What makes this even more exciting is Audi now has the option to bring the S3 Sportback over to the US, which they stated hatchbacks wouldn't sell here in the states but it seems as though this is a great compromise although the cost quite possibly could put it at $44,289.93 USD. With a base 265hp would put it $10k above the VW R32, 15hp more and a possible 100ilbs less weight. The tuning advantage goes to the S3 which tuners are getting 300+ from a reflash and a turbo upgrade/reflash can net you 350+. Will Audi decide to bring this over since VW has axed plans for the R36? We can only hope..
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Peugeots will be able to run this years LeMans but a class will be created next year for Hybrids and Electric LMP's.
The European Union's highest court last year struck down a 48-year old German law that shields Volkswagen from takeover, forcing Berlin to come up with alternative legislation.
On Thursday, Germany's Bundestag lower house of parliament approved a revised law which addresses some of the EU's concerns but not all of them.
For example, the new legislation keeps a rule that gives the state of Lower Saxony, which holds just over 20 percent of Volkswagen shares, an effective blocking minority in the firm. The EU has said explicitly that Germany must scrap the rule. The highly profitable Porsche holding company says it currently controls 42.6 per cent of voting shares at the bigger Volkswagen. The new legislation, an amendment of the long-standing "Volkswagen Law," gives Lower Saxony veto rights at shareholder meetings. Porsche will own just under 75 per cent of the giant car manufacturer when options fall due next year.
"We will move ahead with the case in the next few weeks. The Commission certainly hopes to reach a decision on the next stage before Christmas," a Commission spokesman said.
The law allows Lower Saxony, the region where Volkswagen is based, to block strategic decisions taken by the company's largest shareholder, Stuttgart-based sports carmaker Porsche.
Porsche has lobbied vigorously for the law to be overturned but encountered robust opposition from the German government and Volkswagen workers. Porsche chief executive Wendelin Wiedeking wrote to legislators, predicting that law would cause future problems for Berlin.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a speech in September at Volkswagen headquarters in Wolfsburg that she believed the new legislation met EU demands and vowed to defend the blocking minority clause in Brussels.
A solid majority of legislators in Berlin backed the bill, which is popular because the state is seen as a guarantor of jobs at the company, the biggest industrial enterprise in Lower Saxony.
Thousands of VW workers have demonstrated in support of the law, which is also backed by Lower Saxony premier Christian Wulff, an influential member of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU). But the labour leader at Volkswagen, Bernd Osterloh, applauded the law as a "grand signal" and said it fully met provisions of European Union law.
The European Union is expected to challenge the legislation in court, arguing that it distorts European corporate law.
A German newspaper reported that the would-be plant construction is an important measure for Audi to expand business in the Chinese market. Audi China to be established will explore new business independently, including sourcing in China and building a test centre particularly for the Chinese market. 
Audi president Rupert Stadler indicated that new Audi China division will be closer to the Chinese market and help with local production of Audi A3, which will share the platform with the upcoming sixth-generation VW Golf.
Last May, Rupert Stadler announced the code-named "Route 15" plan, which aimed to sell 1.5 million Audis by 2015, over BMW and Mercedes-Benz to be the number one luxury brand. Audi China sales will target 200,000 units by then, almost double than 100,888 in 2007.
By 2015, the Audi models will be added up to 40, most of which will also be introduced to China as it is the largest overseas market for Audi. "To meet 200,000 sales by 2015 is achievable," said Johannes Thammer, general manager of FAW-VW Audi sales division.
Also optimistic about the Chinese market is Voggenreiter, who said Audi sales forecast in China hasn't decreased though faced with financial crisis.
Once again Porsche & Audi have collabed again producing the baby R8, the Audi R4. The chassis will be in the R4 and the upcoming Porsche Boxster/Cayman vehicles also. Weight reduction with aluminum body paneling and Audis newer 40/60 torque split should make this a thrill to drive considering the engine options. Even though Audi has stated it will do away with manual gearboxes this should be availble with Audi's 6 Speed gearbox and a 7 speed DSG option.
Audi the luxury-car brand of Volkswagen was among German companies affected by strikes after the IG Metall labor union failed to reach agreement with employers over pay.
About 5,000 staff at Audi's Ingolstadt and Neckersulm plants stopped working for as much as two hours, the union said in separate e-mailed statements today. About 8,000 manufacturing workers downed tools across Germany today, the union added on its website.
IG Metall, representing 3.2 million employees, is pressing for an 8 percent pay rise next year. The union last week rejected a counteroffer from the Gesamtmetall employers' association for a one-time payment this year and a 2.1 percent increase in 2009.
Strikes will continue on Nov. 3 at E.G.O. Blanc und Fischer & Co. GmbH, which makes parts for appliances, Zehnder Group AG, General Electric Co.'s health-care unit, MSC Freiburg GmbH, Ferromatik Milacron Maschinenbau GmbH and Sick AG, IG Metall said. At least 18 production sites will be affected, it said.
The engineering sector employers' group, Gesamtmetall, offered workers a 2.9 percent wage offer over 14 months on Thursday, which IG Metall has rejected.
"This bad offer is an insult," IG Metall's deputy chairman, Detlef Wetzel, said in a statement. "On this basis, a quick solution is not possible."
The rise sought by IG Metall, which is seeking a deal for the 3.6 million workers in the engineering sector, is the biggest wage hike it has sought in 16 years.
The union is due to resume wage negotiations with Gesamtmetall on Nov. 11 in the southern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, where agreements often serve as pilot deals for the engineering sector nationwide.
Negotiators will resume talks in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia on Nov. 13, which has previously also produced pilot deals. If no deal is reach at the next round of talks, IG Metall has vowed to stage full-blown strikes to press its case.-Source:Bloomberg
