Audi has just announced that it will bring a Sportback version of the stunning A5 to market this year. The move by Audi comes just weeks after BMW released its 5 Series Gran Turismo.

The new model has the soul of a coupe, the comfort of a sedan and the practicality of a wagon (or Avant, as they say at Audi).

In Europe the car will initially be offered with five powertrains, including two gasoline and three diesel options. The gasoline engines are, as expected, the 2.0 TFSI engine making 211hp and 258 ft-lbs of torque and the 3.2-liter V6 with 265hp.

As for the diesels, they include the 2.0 TDI with 170 and 258 ft-lbs of torque, the 2.7 TDI with 190hp and 295 ft-lbs of torque and a 3.0-liter V6 TDI with 240hp and a massive 369 ft-lbs of torque.

As for cargo capacity, Audi says the new model has 17 cubic feet of cargo space (almost the same as the A4 Avant), and 34.6 cu.-ft. with the rear seats folded flat.

While Audi has yet to release any full photos of the car, the rear hatch section does slope off from the roof that is 1.42-inches lower than that of the A4.

Word of the new model comes from Audi in Europe, but the car will most likely make its way to North America – why else would those Europeans have listed all the stats in ft-lbs and cubic-feet, as well as Nm and liters? The only question mark is what powertrains will be offered. Diesels are unlikely and with Audi recently eliminating the 3.2 V6 from many of its vehicles, the 2.0 TFSI is the only option left.

The A5 Sportback will go on sale in Europe this September with a starting price of 36,050 Euros. If Audi does decide to bring the car to the U.S., the following Spring would be the most likely time.

Official release after the jump:

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The CEO of auto parts supplier Bosch today told a crowd at the National Summit for Clean Transportation that U.S. automakers must adopt diesel technology in order to meet the strict new CAFE standards the Obama Administration has laid out. The new legislation will see fleet averages for passenger cars rise to 35.5 mpg for 2016, up significantly from 27.3 mpg for 2011.

The words of Bosch CEO Peter Marks were echoed by Borg Warner CEO Tim Manganello, who noted that diesel engines get 30 percent better fuel economy over gasoline engines, with 50 percent more torque, while emitting 25 percent fewer emissions.

Marks then called on General Motors, Chrysler and Ford to act now to bring diesels to the U.S.

Both men, whose companies make parts for fuel-efficient cars like the Volkswagen TDI (pictured above), also expressed their lack of optimism in both the electric car and hybrids, noting that there are still several roadblocks in getting the electric car to the mass market and that hybrids don’t often deliver the fuel-economy they are touted to.

Manganello said that, “hybrids are not as attractive as the PR hype,” noting that 72 percent of hybrid owners choose not to purchase a second one.

Of the Big Three, Ford Chairman Bill Ford was in attendance and came to the defense of both hybrids and electric vehicles, noting the critical acclaim that the 2010 Fusion Hybrid has achieved – not to mention its fuel-economy. And to rebuff the suppliers skepticism about bringing electric vehicles to market, Bill Ford stated that the Ford Motor Company has a pure electric vehicle coming out this year and an electric Focus the year afterward.

Using the opportunity to promote Ford’s EcoBoost engine, a turbocharged V6 that gets V6 fuel economy and V8 power, Bill Ford did say that FoMoCo was ready with diesels if the North American market was open to them.

Ford is the second largest producer of diesel engines in Europe, he told the audience, before stating that if there was demand FoMoCo could easily bring them over for use in U.S. vehicles.

[Source: Wards Auto & The Detroit News]

The 2011 Ford Mustang looks like it will get a boost in performance, while at the same time a drop in displacement. According to a report on The Mustang News, Ford is about to replace the aging 4.0-liter V6 with a new 3.7-liter unit.

A Mustang with the new 3.7-liter engine was put on display recently at an employee town hall event at Ford’s Dearborn Development Center.

Currently the V6 makes just 210hp and 240 ft-lbs of torque – a far cry from the 265hp in the new Dodge Challenger and a far, far cry from the 300hp of Chevy’s new V6 Camaro.

Output for the new 3.7-liter unit in Lincoln’s new MKS is an impressive 273hp and 270 ft-lbs of torque. It isn’t likely to be that high in the Mustang for several reasons. Primarily, the cost associated with building a more powerful engine and the fact that those numbers are getting a little too close to the 315hp output of the V8-powered GT. Additionally, the Mustang doesn’t need all that power to keep up, as in V6 trim it already weights several hundred pounds less than cars like the Camaro.

[Source: The Mustang News]

The next General Motors product to get a plug-in hybrid powertrain, like the one that will be introduced in the Chevy Volt, may be a Buick.

This new PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) was supposed to be a version of the Saturn Vue, but as GM has now sold off the Saturn brand to the Penske Automotive Group those plans have most likely been scrapped. After all, we can’t see GM parting with its fancy new PHEV system so easily after all the time, effort and resources it has poured into creating it.

Speculation as to which model would get the powertrain immediately turned towards similar GM crossovers, but according to the folks at GM-Volt.com, the doner chassis will be an all-new small crossover which, according to GM’s design boss Ed Welburn is due out in 2011.

If GM does decide to go this route, we will most-likely see Toyota develop a similar PHEV platform shortly afterwards. Or perhaps just a PHEV-version of the Lexus RX.

[Source: GM-Volt.com]

General Motors has officially announced it has reached a tentative deal to sell its Swedish Saab brand to a group of companies lead by Swedish supercar-maker Koenigsegg.

The deal will see the Koenigsegg group receive $600 million in funding from the European Investment Bank, which has been guaranteed by the Swedish government.

GM will provide Saab with platform and powertrain technology for an undisclosed period of time, while Saab is set to begin production of the next generation 9-5 in the near future at its plant in Trollhättan, Sweden.

“The proposed agreement will enable us to maximize the brand’s potential through an exciting new product line-up with a distinctly Swedish character.  Today’s announcement is great news for Saab’s current and future customers, dealers, suppliers and employees around the globe, said Jan Ake Jonsson, Managing Director of Saab.

“This is yet another significant step in the reinvention of GM and its European operations,” said GM Europe President, Carl-Peter Forster.  “Saab is a highly respected automotive brand with great potential. Closing this deal represents the best chance for Saab to emerge a stronger company.  Koenigsegg Group’s unique combination of innovation, entrepreneurial spirit and financial strength, combined with Koenigsegg’s proven ability to create world-class Swedish performance cars in a highly efficient manner, made it the right choice for Saab as well as for General Motors.”

Koenigsegg’s acquisition of Saab is expected to be completed by the third-quarter of this year.

Official:

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The Camaro Convertible has been an on-again, off-again model for Chevy. Officially, it is now on-again and in case you don’t believe the rumors, here are a few pics of the car sitting outside GM’s Oshawa, Canada plant – where the new Camaro is assembled.

No doubt the decision to go ahead with the car as a 2011 model was made after the popularity of the hard-top, with 14,000 pre-orders. In fact, the Camaro plant in Oshawa is running at heightened capacity and the summer brake has been delayed in an effort to keep up with demand.

With few convertibles offered any more, GM is poised to grab a big portion of the drop-top market. We would also expect that fleet sales of the convertible to rental car agencies could be high, especially if Chrysler eliminates the Sebring Convertible.

Sales of the Camaro Convertible are also likely to be majority V6 models and as the hard-top gets 30 highway mpg, we can expect similarly high numbers for the open-air machine. No doubt the car’s fuel-economy factored in to the green-lighting of the project by GM’s new bosses.

After reviewing the hard-top, we’re certain a convertible version is a good plan. The car’s comfortable sedan-like ride will work well for top-down cruising and we definitely won’t be able to complain about a lack of head room. With the Camaro’s curb weight in excess of 3,800 lbs, however, expect the drop-top to weight in at over 4,000 lbs.

[Source: Autoblog]

[Photo Credit: Brad Miller]

Ford has made the odd decision to drop its SFE (Super Fuel Economy) badged F-150 pickup truck from its lineup for 2010. Odder still is that while the badge is being eliminated, the truck will still be offered.

The SFE model was created to compete with Chevy’s XFE models. The two-wheel drive, 4.6-liter V8-power Ford pickup gets 15/21 mpg (city/highway).

The SFE package was offered on the 4×2 XL and XLT model F-150s, after an in-depth customer survey revealed that fuel economy went from being the 10th most important criteria when buying a truck, to third.

SFE models get the same fuel-economy as the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra XFE models, but do not require a tonneau cover and can tow 500 lbs more. GM’s XFE models also require that you take off the front lip if you drive the truck off-road.

It is not yet known why Ford has decided to drop the badge or if it will offer the SFE package under a different name.

[Source: PickupTrucks.com]

Honda is warning that it may not meet its forecasted sales target for the all-new 2010 Insight hybrid and is citing both the worldwide recession and the low cost of gas as factors.

The Japanese automaker set an ambitious target of 200,000 units for the car’s first year, with almost half of those vehicle sales being in the U.S.

“Given some dramatic change in things, I don’t think we’ll get to 90,000. At 50,000 to 60,000, we will be just fine,” said Honda America VP John Mendel to Bloomberg. Despite this news Honda is not updating its forecast.

According to a Reuters report Honda is also concentrating on sales in Japan right now, as unfavorable exchange rates with the U.S. mean that profit margins are slim for cars sold in the U.S.

In Japan, the Insight was the best selling car in the month of April, but Honda lost that title in May to the 2010 Toyota Prius.

U.S. Insight sales may get a significant boost in the second half of 2009 if the Cash for Guzzlers legislation comes into effect. With an average fuel-economy rating of 41 mpg, the Insight will be an ideal candidate for those looking to get a deal as they trade in their high-mpg car or truck.

The Cash for Guzzlers bill gives as much at $4,500 for new vehicles that exceed the traded-in vehicles’ fuel-economy rating by 10 mpg. And at a starting price of just $19,800, there are a lot of 31 mpg cars that can be traded in to make that total just $14,300.

[Source: Automotive News]

Forget the Fusion and Avenger, the 2010 Ford and Dodge NASCAR racers will be mean street machines and real pony cars. That’s right, the Mustang and Challenger.

Both cars are expected to be closer to stock than any car in recent history, but that’ s not saying much.

The move was made by the NASCAR governing body in an effort to help the series. In the past both GM and Ford warned that the current Cup cars would turn NASCAR into a spec-racing series with every car not only being similar but looking the same. This, they argued, would in turn lead to a lack of brand identification and, therefore, a loss of interest in the series.

It seems they were right.

NASCAR has suffered a significant drop in not only attendance figures and souvenir sales, but also in TV ratings – indicating that the problem is in fact a lack of interest and not a lack of funds.

The new cars actually won’t be all that different, but they will look different, something that NASCAR is most likely hoping will be of interest to manufacturers looking to capitalize on some marketing.

Despite the move by Ford and Doge, GM will continue to run the Impala SS rather than the 2010 Camaro. Also, Toyota is continuing on with its Camry, mostly because it doesn’t have anything else. The sole Japanese automaker in NASCAR recently dropped the two-door Solara from its lineup.

[Source: Fox Sports]

While Toyota’s sales may be suffering as a whole, sales of the all-new 2010 Prius are well above expectations. In fact, the Japanese automaker is having trouble keeping up with demand – something which may result in lengthy waiting lists for the third-generation of Toyota’s successful hybrid.

At the two facilities where the Prius is built in Japan, the plants are running 24 hours a day. To help staff the plants, Toyota has recruited workers from some of its other facilities and has restricted holidays for the summer.

And yet that still might not be enough.

Toyota says it can build as many as 50,000 units a month and it expected that with the dismal economy it could easily handle a forecasted volume of 400,000 units for the year. But before the Prius even when on sale Toyota had taken 80,000 orders for the car and sales in Japan last month topped 110,000 units.

This mini economic boom is having a positive effect on Toyota’s many suppliers, like Panasonic EV Energy, which makes the batteries for the 2010 Prius.

The popularity of the Prius is even prompting Toyota executives to reconsider moving Prius production to the United States, at a facility to be built in Blue Springs, Miss. – a project that was put on hold due to the high overhead costs (and, therefore, economic risk) of building a hybrid assembly plant.

If the 2010 Prius continues to sell well above the expected volume it could help Toyota surpass its sales goal this year of 6.5 million units.

[Source: The New York Times]