Audi pushed hard for market credibility against Mercedes and BMW during the 1990s. The aluminum-framed A8 was a major step forward in that effort. Product planners in Ingolstadt wanted to find a way to build on their success.

As the world gears up to gape at the wedding of one Kate Middleton into the barrel of jug-eared inbreds known as the British royal family, Audi has figured out a way to turn the royals into silent spokesmodels.

While the debate boils in the United States about how many gadgets we should have in our dashboards, European makes are streaming ahead with broadband-quality wireless connections built-in. Will America lose an auto broadband race too?

According to Germany's Der Spiegel, Bugatti is working on a new sedan (Galibier?) based on the Audi A8. Also, Volkswagen's board has decided Bugatti will stop building sportscars in 2014. Just what VW needed — another uber-luxury sedan brand. [DerSpiegel]

Last week Tom Brady crashed his 2010 Audi S8 into a minivan and then joked about wrecking it so he could get the 2011 model. Well, it's one week later and Audi's given him... the 2011 model. Seriously.

The 2011 Audi A8's a high-tech gadgetmobile from front-to-back. Exhibit A: the A8's pure LED "gorgeous set of eyes" are works of functional art. No wonder Tom Brady wanted one so badly.

According to InsideLine, Audi's looking to put the 2011 A8's new ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic transmission into the rest of its lineup. That may include the entry-level A3 model — even when it's equipped with the 2.0T four-banger. Simplicity, FTL! [InsideLine]

Watch this video of an Audi A8 weaving in and out of snowpocalypse carnage outside of Greenbelt, MD during this month's storm and you'll think one of two things: