After pulling its flagship sedan from the Frankfurt Motor Show, Audi will finally unveil the 2011 A8 at Design Miami on November 30. A few days after its official reveal, the 2011 Audi A8 will make its first public appearance at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Weight reduction is the simplest way to boost fuel economy and reduce overall emissions, which is why Audi has developed a lightweight prototype of its A5 Coupe. Based on the standard A5 Coupe, Audi engineers were able to reduce the A5‘s weight by more than 240 pounds, thanks the extensive use of aluminum and carbon fiber.

Most major automakers have now reported their September sales and, with a handful of surprising high points from the luxury segment, plus the demand increases we’ve come to expect from Korean automakers, sales are mostly down across the board in the wake of August’s record-breaking numbers.

Further blurring the line between coupe, sedan and wagon, Jaguar is reportedly readying a five-door coupe. Designed in the same vein as the Audi A5 Sportback and BMW 5-Series GT, the compact hatch will replace the X-Type in the Jaguar lineup.

The press preview days of this year’s IAA in Frankfurt, Germany have come to and end, thus concluding our coverage of the event. Dozens of debuts took place, including a number production cars and a several concept vehicles. Below is a roundup of our coverage.

• Alfa Romeo MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde
• 2010 Aston Martin Rapide
• Audi A5 Sportback
• Audi e-Tron Concept
• Audi R8 V10 Spyder 5.2 FSI
• Audi S5 Sportback
• Bentley Continental GT ‘Series 51′
• 2010 BMW 5-Series Gran Turismo
• BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept
• 2011 BMW X1

Audi has taken the wraps off its A5 Sportback at the Frankfurt Motor Show – the latest entrant into the growing segment of four-door “coupes.” Though not bound for North America, the new model will slot in between the A4 and A6 in Europe, where the 33,650 euro A5 Sportback will go on sale later this month.

Audi’s sportiest Sportback, the S5 Sportback, was officially unveiled this week at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Based on the A5 Sportback revealed last month, the S model improves the all-around performance of the four-door coupe, thanks in large part to the addition of a supercharged V6.

Driven in part by the Cash for Clunkers program, several automakers have posted strong July sales. Subaru set a July record with sales up 34.2 percent, while Ford Motor Company says that July was its first month in over a year to post an increase in monthly sales – but GM, Chrysler and Toyota all posted less-than-stellar numbers.

Audi’s new entry-level A5 2.0T quattro six-speed manual will start from $36,000 when it goes on sale this summer in the United States. A six-speed Tiptronic adds $1,200 and three trim levels will be available, Premium, Premium Plus and Prestige. The 2.0T with a manual transmission costs $4,700 less than the A5 3.2 V6 quattro it replaces – though A5s will continue to be available with the V6 and Tiptronic.

The latest J.D. Power APEAL – Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout – study released yesterday brought with it some good news for automakers struggling to sell new cars. Among the winners were seven all-new models and the industry average, which ranks design execution from a consumer standpoint, increased dramatically.

This September’s Frankfurt Motor Show will be light by at least two new model reveals as Audi has reportedly pulled its A1 mini car and next-generation A8 flagship sedan from the German show. Audi will instead use the Frankfurt show to display its new A5 Sportback.

The Audi TTS Coupe is the devil on your shoulder wagging his tail and poking you with his pitch fork as he encourages you to go faster, faster, faster! — and not just because this particular TTS press fleet vehicle was painted Lucifer red.

Mercedes-Benz’ mid-size coupe offerings have been a bit confusing over the years – with the lines between the E- and C-Class being a blur — but the German automaker could finally sort things out by 2011. Mercedes recently launched the new E-Class Coupe – replacing the CLK-Class – and a new report indicates a C-Class Coupe could also be on the way.

Mercedes-Benz’ mid-size coupe offerings have been a little confusing as of late. The German automaker first decided to replace its C-Class-based CLK with the all-new E-Class-based E-Class Coupe, but Mercedes officials recently revealed the E-Class Coupe is only about 60 percent based on the E-Class’ architecture. As if the line between the previous CLK and current E-Class Coupe wasn’t blurred enough, new reports are now surfacing that the CLK will not necessarily be discontinued.

Nevada’s Operation Buster, the series of bomb tests in the desert that unleashed the building blocks of the postwar United States nuclear weapons program, makes a weird and eerie backdrop for the unveiling of Mercedes-Benz’s all-new E-Class coupe. Though it replaces the C-Class-based CLK, the 2010 E coupe is really a return to “executive class” coupes for the German automaker.

For the first time all year, not one but two Detroit brands outsold Toyota. Chevrolet and Ford both posted brand sales that exceeded Toyota’s figures, proving that there are some silver linings, at least in Detroit, in the continuously cloudy new car market in the United States.

Audi reinvented itself with the first-generation A4 back in the mid-1990s. Replacing the forgettable 80, the A4 went down in Audi history as the model that single-handedly kept the boys and girls in Ingolstadt employed. So after two successful generations, where does Audi go with its third-gen model?

Audi today announced it will unveil a new model at the Audi Forum Ingolstadt on July 16th. About 2,500 people are expected to attend the event, which will commemorate Audi’s 100th birthday. Rupert Stadler, Chairman of Audi’s Board of Management will take the wraps off the vehicle.

In our next installment of Battle of the Exes, Leftlane’s popular “He said, She said” soap opera, ex-husband and ex-wife “team” John Priddy and Brenda Priddy (don’t say their names together) decided to take a look at Volvo’s XC60, the ultra-safe, compact, premium SUV that goes up against the likewise brand new Mercedes-Benz’s GLK and BMW and Land Rover’s established X3 and LR2, respectively.

It appears as though Ford is looking to take on the Mazda5 MPV with a new concept version of its Transit Connect. Dubbed the Transit Connect Family One, the show car demonstrates how easily the Transit Connect could be transformed into an MPV for small families – and it includes an application of Ford’s Work Solutions RFID system.