At the Geneva Auto Show, VW showed off its 70mpg diesel-hybrid Golf Concept. The German automaker promised that "the model wouldn't just stay a show car". According to the in-depth preview of the Golf VI in the March 27 issue of Auto, Motor und Sport (print edition only), the "forward-looking diesel-hybrid is already a thing of the past." The culprit (once again): it's too expensive. "Eventually" there will be a hybrid Golf, but it will be a gasser, using the 1.4 TSI engine. In the shorter term, VW will rely on further engine downsizing and an optional start-stop system to meet efficiency targets. The Golf VI, which hits European streets this fall, will never see the USA anyway (except in GTI form, perhaps). In a contrast to the platform-globalization programs of the most other big manufacturers, VW is developing lower-cost replacements for the Rabbit and Passat to be produced in their future US plant. The current Passat costs $4k more than the (Camcord) competition, according to VW. Look to a return of twist-beam rear axles.

New car sales in the U.S. are depressed (recessed?), but sales of hybrids are up. While accounting for only 2.2 percent of the total U.S. market share, CNN says "Hybrid cars [are] flying out of showrooms." Indeed. Industry sales of some 350k hybrids translated into a 38 percent jump in '07. Toyota's Prius captured 51 percent of the hybrid market. Although most analysts see rising gas prices as the main sales driver, CNN trots out a tree hugger to convince you that many if not most consumers are [still] buying Priora to make a statement: "My decision is a very political decision," asserts Kim Fenske. "I want to get people in this country off their dependency on foreign oil." Anyway, R.L. Polk industry analyst Lonnie Miller figures hybrid sales increased because buyers have more non-goofy-looking options. "It's a good call on automakers' parts to not make their hybrids so funky and out of body style than what's already out there." Yes, well, Miller says 2008 hybrid sales should increase by 30 percent or more. "I can't see the hybrid category totally chilling out." Dude.

We just received this photo via email from one of TTAC's Best and Brightest: "This may be out of date, but I figured you may find it noteworthy for the Volt birthwatch series. Just under a year ago, GM had a Volt on display at the Indy 500. The car was likely a non-running example, but nonetheless it was there to showcase GM's engineering prowess so I judged it in that light. What I saw was… not good. Some of the trim on the Volt was rusting! Rust! On such a high profile vehicle at such a high profile event!" As the photo shows, it wasn't just a spot or two, either. Whatever GM's reason for showing the vehicle in this condition, let's just hope the production version – whatever it ends up looking like – will have better quality trim. And that their attention to the detail on this display model isn't indicative of their attention to detail on the engineering side.

MotorAuthority has it on good, um, authority that Fiat will be offering gas and diesel-electric hybrid drivetrains by 2011. Research on the powerplants is still in the early stages, says Fiat Powertrain Technologies honcho Alfredo Altavilla, and the 2011 timetable could still be delayed if the development team runs into problems. The engines are said to be a 0.9 liter two-cylinder gas-hybrid with a dual-clutch transmission, and a larger 2.3 liter diesel-hybrid four-banger. European emissions standards are clearly the motivating factor here, and the tiny gas burner is expected to weigh in at 90g of CO2 per km driven, well below 2012 European Commission standards. With Fiat jumping on the greentech bandwagon, there's only one other major industry trend that the Italian giant has yet to announce its approach to: the demand boom from the developing world. And just like that, Paul Tan reports that Fiat is planning a new entry-level world car to be released by 2010. There's speculation that it may not be branded as a Fiat (no word on whether the boffins think an entry-level car would hurt the brand, or visa-versa) but the Torino firm could pull out the old Uno or Palio badges too. With its close ties to India's Tata Motors, Fiat could be placed to compete in the nosebleed market. We'll be watching.

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) kicks off its annual conference today in Detroit. To raise awareness among those of us who know that "Spring Break" has nothing to do with metal fatigue, the readers and editors of SAE's Automotive Engineering International have dubbed GM's Tahoe/Yukon Hybrid the "Best Engineered Vehicle of 2008." "General Motors has significantly re-engineered its class-leading full-size sport utility vehicles – the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon – with the first application of groundbreaking hybrid technology," fawns AEI editor Kevin Jost. Actually, Jost could have gone one step further: other than Chrysler's Aspen, the General's hybrid utes are the only current application of the overcomplicated, expensive two-mode system developed jointly with BMW and DaimlerChrysler. While car folks (like us) blame the two-mode Tahoe variously for GM's downfall and early-onset buyers remorse, engineers apparently only care that it's… overcomplicated. On the other hand, at least the tens of millions that GM dumped on dead-end two-mode technology has finally impressed somebody.

Lithium-ion batteries are great for mobile phones and laptop computers. They charge quickly, last [kinda] long and have a good energy-storage-to-weight ratio. However, they also have a worrisome tendency to overheat and burst in flames. Car companies toying with the idea of using electric propulsion to save the world have been trying to get around the problem by walling off individual battery cells or including expensive cooling systems (the Tesla Motors approach). According to TG Daily, German researchers have succeeded in making a non-flammable Li-Ion battery, by replacing the flammable organic electrolyte with a polymer which keeps its solid form. The Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research will present a prototype by the end of the month at a conference in Germany. But the inventors caution that it will take three to five years to bring the new lithium-ion technology to maturity– and a few years after that before you see them in electric or hybrid cars.

The print edition of Auto, Motor und Sport (March 13, 2008) carries an interview with GM Car Czar Bob Lutz. Regarding February sales, Maximum Bob told the German car mag “everyone was down strongly, including Toyota;” forgetting that Nissan and Honda were both up for the month. MB also “reveals” that GM’s hybrids are selling “increasingly better” and “the mild-hybrid system in the Malibu and Vue are selling well;” forgetting that GM sold just 577 hybrids in March, less than 30 of which were gas – electric ‘Bus and Vues. Lutz also says “Hybrids are not an economic or practical solution. Driving with two power sources leads to higher costs that the buyer can never recoup;” forgetting that the Prius can recoup its premium in less than five years. Note to Bob: the truth will set you free.

Nikkei Tech-On says Toyota Fuel Cell Engineering Manager Taiyo Kawai told the NHA National Hydrogen Conference that plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) won't deliver a tremendous reduction in fuel consumption. According to Toyota's calculations, given a 20 to 40 mile plug-in range and U.S. driving patterns, "the maximum contribution that PHEVs can make in an effort to break dependence on fossil fuels or to halve CO2 emissions is a 20 to 30% reduction in energy." Kawai told the crowd that the plug-in Prius' cell system's power storage performance is "far below that of gasoline and hydrogen." Hang on. Did we just learn an inconvenient truth about PHEVs, or is this just so much pro-fuel-cell hot air?

Hertz isn't the only rental car company trying to save the planet one Buick LaCrosse at a time. The AP (via Google News) reports that Enterprise is lathering-up for a bit of greenwashing. The nation's largest rental company is opening four "green branches" in that bastion of environmental awareness: Atlanta, Georgia. In response to "consumer demand," about 60 percent of the vehicles offered in the designated green stores will be hybrids or other fuel-efficient vehicles. Experts say that rental customers looking to buy a hybrid are driving current demand (so to speak). No surprise there; rental companies charge a $5 to $15 a day hybrid premium. Enterprise, Hertz and Avis have about 10k hybrids in their fleets. With over 1.8m vehicles in rental fleets across the nation, Cobalts, Corollas and Elantras are destined to remain the rental companies' bread and butter vehicles– even as they put their green creds on the line.

Say what you want about Chrysler's new marketing slogan, at least their name isn't Build Your Dreams. Automotive News (sub) reports that the Chinese manufacturer showed their potentially game-changing plug-in, parallel/serial "dual-mode" drivetrain at Geneva, where the reaction was so strong that several European distributors are now negotiating for rights to the brand. Besides operating in parallel and serial hybrid modes as the circumstances require, the drivetrain's recorded 110km range on a plug-in charge is nearly five times the rumored range of the yet-to-be-released Prius plug-in. Plus, BYD has a 248-mile range, all-electric version of its F6DM sedan currently plying the streets of Beijing in taxi form. Of course, as with the development of any new, high-tech drivetrain, the cost is excessive– try a nearly $8k premium over sticker price. BYD says that European distribution depends on finding creative ways to cut costs, and since parent BYD Group has battery manufacturing plants in Romania and Hungary, Euro-market BYDs could be made somewhere in Eastern Europe. European distribution is targeted for 2010, unless of course it is all just a dream.

Those of you in Chicago, Dallas, or Boston who are anxiously awaiting your Chevy Volt can just keep waiting. In an email to the Detroit Free Press yesterday, the Volt's pater familias Bob Lutz revealed that if when it (finally) goes on sale, it'll be distributed first in California, then in Washington D.C., Florida, New York and "elsewhere on the East Coast." Apparantly the rest of the country gets whatever's left over. However, he warned "that's only current thinking, and the plans could change." Given the rate at which they've changed their minds on everything about the Volt from the styling to the release date, you can count on the final distribution plan looking nothing like he described.

In our latest editorial on Australia's tanking car industry, I noted that a government report emphasizes future production of large vehicles with green powertrains. The Australian reports that the Aussie government's half-billion dollar green car manufacturing fund could be used to lure production of the next-generation Toyota Camry hybrid down under. Toyota Australia VP Dave Buttner says ToMoCo had been pushing to build a hybrid car here for five years but "policies conducive to investment" (a.k.a. public money) were vital to the plan. The plan seems to convenient to avoid: Aussie politicians get to check of the box next to "build large, green cars" on their bureaucratic checklists, and Toyota gets enough money to offset Australia's high labor costs and strong currency. Oh, and Toyotas actually sell well in the land of Oz as well, especially the Prius, who's sales rose 63 percent last year. So who loses out in all of this? Just Toyota's competitors and Australia's taxpayers.

Since Bob Lutz revealed the Volt concept that made the rounds at the auto shows is more aerodynamically efficient going backwards than forwards, we've known there was much work to be done in the wind tunnel (and no, we don't mean the marketing depatment). CBS auto beat reporter Jeff Gilbert got a look inside the Volt development center, and brings us some of the first images of a camouflaged one-third scale model of what just might be the production Volt. Gilbert doesn't think the model is "all that exciting," saying it looks like little more than a Pontiac G6 or (inexplicably) a Chevy Camaro. But lack of enthusiasm for the mock-up doesn't mean Gilbert won't regurgitate GM's lies marketing playbook verbatim, incredulously spouting such obvious untruths as the long-abandoned $30k pricetag. In fact the "GM wants to sell 100k Volts at $30k by 2010" pablum comes immediately after GM's chief engineer for hybrid electric vehicle programs refuses to say that things look good for the 2010 goal. "Well, it's very clear what our target is, and leadership has asked us 'what do you need to make it happen?' and we have not been turned down once," says the sultan of sliderules. Gosh, that sounds like the development process of every $30k car, doesn't it?

Audi may be right on target with their plans to import diesels . A study by J.D Power (via the Detroit News ) shows diesels and gas-electric hybrids will have 17 percent of the U.S. market by 2015. Surprisingly, Power thinks diesels will outsell hybrids because of the higher cost of admission to the hybrid club; they predict by 2015 hybrids will increase to seven percent of the market (from the current 2.2 percent) while diesel vehicles will make up ten percent. Sales of four-cylinder gas engines are also expected to rise sharply as the automakers scramble to meet the new 35mpg CAFE standard. They don't think hydrogen fuel cells and pure electric cars will have much impact as they won't be available in any significant numbers during the years covered by the study. But what about E85? The proportion of vehicles available that can run on corn squeezin's will nearly double but few of them will be using it because it still won't be available in most places. That won't matter to the manufacturers, though, if the new CAFE standards have the ethanol loophole the current one does.

We've been flagging the fact that the sexy (to some) prototype electric – gas plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt failed its wind tunnel test by a mile. In other words, it will NOT look like the chopped roof show car still trotted-out at auto shows and featured heavily in GM's ads. (TTAC ME Frank Williams is convinced it'll look like a squished Malibu.) The Detroit News reports that "Larry Burns, GM's vice president for research and development, said that aspect of the vehicle's development is officially complete. But a group of reporters and analysts from around the country who will converge in Warren today won't likely get to actually see the car's design, even though they're in town for the latest news on GM's ambitious attempt to build an electrically driven car for the masses." Go on, give us a clue… "Designing the Volt was especially tricky because GM needed to fit a battery pack 'the size of a linebacker' into a car essentially the size of a Chevrolet Cobalt, with enough room for four passengers to fit comfortably inside, Burns said." Another one! "The finished Volt will bear a 'clear family resemblance' to the sporty vehicle initially shown at last year's Detroit auto show, Burns said. 'But it won't be a twin.'" TTAC will pay $500 for an exclusive first picture of the new Volt.