The Geneva Salon may not be the prime place for tuners, but it is one of the two most important motor shows in Europe together with the Frankfurt and Paris events that alternate each year, and as such, big players in the industry like ABT Sportsline always have something new to show.

At this year's event, ABT will debut several new tuned models including the Volkswagen Up! and Beetle, and the Audi AS6 Avant and QS3 crossover.

As it turns out, the Audi Q3 Vail Concept wasn't a three-door crossover study as some sketches falsely suggested but a specially themed edition of the Q3 crossover, the regular versions of which are sold in other parts of the world including Europe but not in the States.

What makes this concept that is named after the famous winter sports venue in the U.S. a little more interesting is not so much the cosmetic enhancements as its mechanical hardware.

The first and second place in the U.S. premium segment may belong to the Germans for 2011, but while BMW and Mercedes-Benz are at the top, Audi couldn’t manage anything better than seventh place, with less than half deliveries of its rivals.

Clearly, this is far from ideal for the Ingolstadt-based carmaker since the U.S. remains the number one market for premium brands. Furthermore, Audi, which is the segment leader both in Western Europe and China, wants to overtake BMW as the number one premium brand worldwide by 2015.

The Ford Ranger's five-star rating in the Euro NCAP crash test was a surprise in the sense that it was the first time a pickup truck ever achieved such a high score not only for passenger but also for pedestrian protection as well.

The independent European safety organization also released the results for 11 more new models that were tested along with the Ranger. With the emphasis given these days on safety, the five-star rating awarded in all but one of the models was to be expected.

A new flagship version of the Audi Q3 series is starting to take shape as the German company has begun testing prototype models of what may end up carrying the 'S', 'RS' or even perhaps a different moniker altogether on the famous Nürburgring racetrack.

We first received concrete proof that Audi is contemplating the development of a high-performance version of its Q3 compact crossover during a press event in Switzerland when the Ingolstadt-based automaker gave journalists the opportunity to drive a test model equipped with the force-fed five-pot found in the TT RS and RS3 models.

ABT Sportsline, the German tuning company that has long specialized in modifying anything produced by the Volkswagen Group, has released details on its upcoming program for the new Audi Q3 small crossover.

Cosmetically, the tuning house has developed a bespoke front grille, a new front bumper with larger air inlets on both corners, rocker panels, a rear apron that makes space for the quad tail pipes, a roof spoiler and carbon fiber trim splats.