AutoblogGreen

So what about the 2.0TDI A4? That's the real deal for buyers with a focus on fuel economy. That engine is also already certified in the US. (Jetta...)

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@Mirko -

blame EPA/CARB for that one. Their T2B5 / LEV II emissions requirements are so strict that meeting them only makes financial sense (sort of) for relatively large diesel engines.

Besides, car makers desperately want to overcome negative stereotypes regarding passenger car diesels in the US, last not least the charge that they deliver little power. In a country that has become accustomed to 200+ hp mills in "mid-sized" sedans, that translates to shipping the big diesel engines first. Smaller ones can and perhaps will follow only after meeting emissions becomes cheaper and there is proven customer acceptance of clean diesel engines.

Oh, and the weak dollar and looming recession will combine to delay this process.

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Too bad about the hybrid, but I'll pile on with Mirko, where's the 2.0TDI? Our A6 sits gathering dust waiting for an efficient Audi to trade it in on. In the meantime our Prius gets driven. Come on Audi!

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You can excuse CARB: diesel's NOx and particulate emissions would be a real problem in much of California. And since California and New York together are the wealthiest auto market, you can imagine VWAG looking at the ROI and taking a pass.

Was Audi's hybrid a fairly complex system, or was it more akin to GM's BAS or Honda's IMA?

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This is out of the Microsoft playbook, a payout to the CEO can kill a project. Of course, that's got to be a pretty big payout.

Exxon Got To Audi.
This is to world of business. Don't like it get a law passed, either you don't sell this diesel or you don't sell anything. But, then there's Dingell.

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This is very nice...the world is going to shit because a bunch of fkers won't make their millions....

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I would wan't an affordable new plugin-diesel-electric-hybrid Audi A4 duo based on the Audi A4 B8. Audi had a working Plugin-Hybrid for Series-production in 1997. So it wouldn't be a big problem for Audi to build one today. If this doesn't work on the A4 because of too large costs an expensive Audi A8 duo would perhaps make sense.

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"blame EPA/CARB for that one. Their T2B5 / LEV II emissions requirements are so strict that meeting them only makes financial sense (sort of) for relatively large diesel engines."

@rgseidl-

Don't forget that Volkswagen (parent company of Audi) already has a 2.0TDI diesel engine that will meet those standards in the upcoming Jetta and Sportwagon and they are cheaper than an Audi A4. I believe it is the same engine used in the Audi A4 2.0L TDI in Europe as well. There is no reason Audi cannot use it too.

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"because of the plummeting value of the dollar."
Wow, that took a moment to sink in, the Germans don't want to sell us real goods in return for our collapsing fiat currency; hope the Chinese don't get the same idea.

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Well that figures. Nut we still run sh&t

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mike_baz,
The Chinese have "Pegged" their currency to the dollar. No matter what we do, we and they will not vary via currency. Except for sentiment, the larger the US trade deficits go the lower the dollar will go, until no foreign country believes we have the ability to pay off our debt.

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