So much for those high hopes.

The A3, Audi’s entry-level vehicle for North America, has run into a brick wall–figuratively speaking.  Audi had hoped to invest more resources in the upscale hatch, beginning with worldwide distribution of its 2.0 L diesel four, then bringing new bodystyles and trim levels for US buyers.  Sadly, that’s been put on hold due to a global downturn in sales.

Edmunds is reporting that production at the main factory in Ingolstadt will be temporarily halted due to the drop in demand.  Germany’s cash-for-clunkers program ran its course and is being blamed for the sudden drop-off in sales.  As Leftlane was quick to put out, the A3 is a pretty old vehicle by today’s standards.  With fresh compact competition coming from Japan to Audi’s native Germany, a new A3 is overdue.

We’d still welcome an RS3 on these shores.  We don’t know how much that’d do for Audi’s bottom line, but it’d make us happy.

BMW’s press department has released official photos and early details on the European X1, its new entry sport-ute.  From what we gathered, three diesel engines and one petrol will be offered to the EU market; rear- or all-wheel-drive is available.  The figure BMW boasted was for its diesel-powered sDrive18dcame to 45 mpg in the European driving cycle and had a top speed of 124 mph.

US specs and pricing are unknown.

For those of you still hanging onto the idea of a diesel renaissance here in the States, there’s bad news: Automotive News has reported that the six of the biggest names in the auto business have halted their diesel development plans for the US.

Honda, Nissan, Toyota, GM, Ford, and Chrysler execs felt the cost in making diesel engines fully compliant with US (and especially California) air standards was too high; in addition, consumer perception was not favorable enough to dent the move towards hybrids.

Honda had been on the forefront among the six, with diesel variants of the Accord, TSX, and TL in the pipeline.  One-by-one, management axed the proposed diesels, eventually putting the whole project on hiatus.  Plans from BMW and Volkswagen, however, appear to be moving forward.

The Southeast Automotive Media Organization has handed out awards for the best concepts of 2009.  Award winning vehicles are held as positive examples of the future of the industry.  Concepts are to be more than design studies, but practical works that will be applied to the road.

The Fisker Sunset earned the Production Preview Vehicle Award.  The Fisker, which we briefly covered awhile ago, uses a special Q-Drive plug-in hybrid system.  Mileage is targeted to be as high as 100 mpg, with a 50 mile all-electric starting range.  The Sunset itself will be a four-passenger hardtop convertible, estimated to retail in the neighborhood of $100,000.

VW’s BlueSport won the award for best concept car overall.  The BlueSport is a diesel-powered roadster intended to bring excellent fuel economy to a nimble and sporty ride.  The BlueSport was rumored to have been canceled, but recent reports have since hit the Web stating development has resumed.

The Kia Soul’ster won Concept Truck of the Year.  The Soul’ster is an open-air, off-road variant of the recent Soul hatchback.  Akin to the Wrangler, the Soul’ster aims to bring outdoor roadgoing pleasure at a reasonable price.

The Cadillac Converj finished the run with the Specialty Concept Vehicle Award.  The award may sound like a consolation prize, but its purpose is to honor an example of outstanding technology for the future.  The Converj is a luxury coupe borrowing the GM Voltech extended-range hybrid system.  That will amount to a 40 mi. all-electric range (where then the gas/electric system steps in) and a 100 mph top speed.  The Converj’s beautiful shape and favorable impressions have allowed it to move into the early stages of development.

The Le Mans 24, the world’s most prestigious endurance race, ended with Audi’s stunning defeat in the key P1 class.  Audi has dominated the racing series during this decade, forcing out many in the top category who found it pointless to compete against the German blitz.  It was France’s Peugeot factory teams that broke the decade-long Audi stranglehold.

The victors were David Brabham of Australia, Alexander Wurz of Austria, and Marc Gene of Spain (pictured in that order from left to right) in their diesel-powered Number 9 Peugeot 908 HDi.  Theirs was one of three 908s that took part in the race (the others being numbers 7 and 8).  The three teams aggressively, but enjoyed good fortune from Audi’s lack of it.  The new Audi R15 TDi prototypes were less powerful and slightly slower; but the fatal stroke for the Audis were collisions and tech problems.

The Peugeot name isn’t well-known here in the United States, as French automobiles have never taken off here in the way the Germans and Italians have.  But Peugeot, along with Citroen and Renault, is a prominent marque in France, and has a rich racing heritage.  The 905 LM served with distinction in the early 1990s, defeating the likes of Jaguar and Toyota.

The 908 HDi is the second Le Mans prototype (LMP) to be powered by a diesel engine–the first was the Audi R10 TDi.  The 908 debuted in Paris in the summer of 2006 and competed in its first race one year later.  Claude Guillois, a veteran of the 905 project, directed the development effort and handled powertrain construction.  Guillame Cattelani sculpted the overall shape; Paolo Catone worked on the carbon-composite chassis that kept weight down to 2,000 lbs. Guillois produced the aluminum dual-overhead-cam center-mounted 5.5 L V-12.  A Bosch ECU, MS17 direct fuel-injection, and twin Garrett turbochargers were hooked up, along with a Ricardo 6-spd. sequential gearbox.  Maximum horsepower is over 700 hp and the torque range peaks at nearly 900.

Even with those impressive specs, the 908s had trouble.  The problems usually dealt with tech matters.  This time around, however, Peugeot persevered thanks to Brabham, Wurz, and Gene.  David Brabham is the oldest of the trio at forty-three.  He is the son of F1 star, Jack Brabham, and competed for Simtek, Jaguar, Panoz, and Aston-Martin.  Alexander Wurz, age thirty-five, hails from Austria and has served under the Williams, McLaren, Benetton, and Joest banners.  Spaniard Marc Gene, also thirty-five, has held a less-distinguished career with the Williams and Minard teams; he’s more than proven himself at the race that counts.

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Audi execs are concerned their market strategy may be too narrow.  Audi has been pushing hard over the past ten years to match wits with Mercedes-Benz and BMW.  Thanks to racing dominance, beautiful styling on its productions, and an esteemed rep for interior refinement, Audi’s gained the highest level of status in its century of existence.  But now Audi management is worried that BMW’s expanded offerings, notably in North America, are pushing it further behind.  In just over the past two years, BMW has introduced the 1 series, the X6 crossover, the 3 series diesel, a 7 series update, and a new Z4 roadster to US audiences.  BMW isn’t letting off there: it’s looking to break-in the 5 diesel, roll out an X6 hybrid, and widen the 1 series lineup.

Audi hasn’t rested on its laurels in the US over the same period, with an improved A4, new A5, and the R8 sports car.  Audi does selectively offer the Q5 TDi and wants to spread its US diesel offerings to include the A3 and A4.  Audi’s VW owners want to test the diesel waters some more before committing to the effort.  VW has the Jetta TDi and will be releasing the Golf diesel within the next two years.

This isn’t the only setback: Audi wants to get its A1 subcompact out as soon as possible, but debate’s raging over just how wide the equipment range will be.  There are some hoping to adjust the A3 to properly combat the BMW 1 series from its somewhat restrained form; but broadening the A1 arsenal could threaten A3 sales.  Audi management is also uncertain on how much to invest in hybrid technology over the traditional diesel.

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