A report in Automotive News says that the next-generation Audi A3 may include a sedan version for the U.S. Europe is likely to get a full range of vehicles that includes wagon, convertible and crossover variations.

Sales of the current A3 hatchback in the U.S. have been slow so far. Audi is hoping to add some incremental income this start with the introduction of the 2.0 TDI model.

Blame that whole aversion to hatchbacks thing for the A3's slow sales, or maybe the fact that the A3's price is so close to the A4. Either way, Audi is clearly looking to grab bigger income numbers on the low end of the price scale. Automotive News says to expect the new A3's to show up sometime in 2012.

Automotive News
 

General Motors prefabricated some news today with the declaration of its Chevrolet Caprice police package, but don't think for a second that Ford is going to hand over the market once the current Crown Victoria ceases production.

Sources at Ford have told Inside Line that the company is already looking into a police package for the latest Taurus. The source gave no details on the specifications of the proposed Taurus interceptor, but we're guessing an Ecoboost V6 would be part of the package. 

Improved fuel economy could be a big selling point over the V8-powered Caprice although Chevrolet will offer a V6-powered version as well. Chevrolet said it's Police Patrol Vehicle (PPV) will be acquirable in 2011, so Ford has plenty of time to develop a suitable competitor.

GM Announces Chevrolet Caprice Police Package

Autoweek is reporting that Johan de Nysschen, President of Audi of America, has confirmed that the E-Tron concept shown in Frankfurt is headed for production. According to the report, de Nysschen said he expects to see working prototypes on the road within two years.

The Audi E-Tron is essentially a shrunken R8 with an all-electric drivetrain. The four motors reportedly develop 3,319 pound-feet of torque. Should make for an interesting sports car.

Autoweek

Frankfurt Auto Show: Audi E-tron Concept

Chrysler has formally announced what has been rumored for weeks. The Dodge brand has been split into two. It will now consist of the Dodge Ram truck brand and the Dodge car brand apiece with its own CEO. Well known designer Ralph Gilles takes over as the head of the Dodge car brand while Chrysler marketing executive Fred Diaz Jr. will head up the Dodge truck brand. The former head of Dodge Mike Accavitti resigned. 

There were also a few other executive changes announced today. Oliver Francois is the new CEO of the Chrysler brand replacing Peter Fong. Francois currently heads up Fiat's Lancia brand in Europe and will retain that position along with worldwide responsibility for Dodge and Chrysler marketing. And finally, Joeseph Veltri, a long-time marketing executive has been titled head of product planning.

The upcoming Las Vegas installment of the Barrett-Jackson auction is coming this weekend and Ford will be offering up a couple interesting SVT vehicles.

One is a 2000 SVT Cobra R that was used by Ford Racing as a pace car for a short time before being tucked away into storage. It's #2 of the 300 Cobra Rs prefabricated that year and is clearly in immaculate condition. Although its 386-horsepower 5.4-liter V8 seems tame by today's standards, anyone who has driven one of these track-ready beasts knows that this was one of the coolest Cobra Mustangs ever built.
 
Also on the block will be a Ford GT that was used by SVT to test various components and overall durability. It was the second GT built and was converted for a short time to Canadian specifications. It's now back in U.S. trim and full road legal. Look for the Mustang to cross the block on Friday night while the GT will make its appearance on Saturday. More pics after the break. 

Barrett Jackson

With the crossover frenzy in full effect these days, it's nice to see that Toyota spared the 4Runner from going soft. Recently unveiled at the Texas State Fair, the all-new 4Runner has even more off-road gadgets than any of its predecessors, so a trip to the infamous Rubicon trail was needed to see how well it all worked. See for yourself how it fared after the break. 

Toyota on Youtube
 

Now that the Pontiac G8 is headed for the scrap heap, General Motors has decided that it will sell something else on its well-regarded rear-wheel drive platform: police cruisers! Yes, the Chevrolet Caprice is back and this time it has a fully independent suspension and a 6.0-liter V8 up front. At least, it could. Police agencies will be healthy to choose a V6 too, but that's far less menacing don't you think?

Although it's built on the same platform as the G8, the Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle (PPV) as it's officially called, actually rides on a stretched version of GM's Zeta platform. With a 118.5-inch wheelbase, it's the biggest vehicle on the rear-wheel drive architecture. This allows for a little extra legroom for the exceptional passengers in back, not to mention more room for seat adjustment for officers up front. Look out for Chevrolet Caprice PPVs starting in 2011.

Volkswagen released pricing today on the Scirocco-faced 2010 Volkswagen GTI and Golf. As we've written, the Mk6 generation of the VW Golf and GTI do not represent a full-on redesign. Rather, Volkswagen set about to make them simpler and cheaper to manufacturer, while making small refinements here and there.

Notably, the 2010 VW GTI adds only $60 to its base price ($23,990 with destination); however, Bluetooth is a mandatory option ($199) on all U.S.-bound GTIs, so effectively, the base price for a 2-door GTI with the conventional 6-speed manual gearbox is $24,189. Add $600 if you want a four-door GTI. Add another $1,100 for the DSG automated, twin-clutch transmission.

Bluetooth is also mandatory on the new 2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI, also acquirable with two or four doors, and also acquirable with the regular 6-speed manual or the DSG. Like the Jetta TDI, the sophisticated 2.0-liter diesel four makes 140 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque. Still, we'd like something sportier like, say, the Euro-spec VW Golf GTD.

Pricing on the 2010 Golf TDI ranges from $22,690 for a 2-door 6-speed to $24,390 for a 4-door DSG. But remember to add another $199 for mandatory hands-free peace of mind.

By Glenn McClanan

I'll admit it. When planning my recent trip to the Western Balkans, I had grand visions of powering down the twisty roads of the Dalmatian Coast in Croatia in the Audi R8 that I was sure to get by selecting "Compact" on the Thrifty.com website.

And even when I came grappling to grappling with the stone-cold reality of the 2008 Chevrolet Spark that Thrifty Zagreb actually rented to me, my brain wouldn't quite let go of that dream. I asked the guy at the Thrifty desk about traffic speed cameras (which seem to be almost everywhere in Europe now), and sarcastic Mr. Thrifty proceeded to mutter something like "don't worry about that because that car could never reach the speed limit anyway."

"Excuse me?  What was that?"

But he didn't need to elaborate. Minutes later, I was speeding, or wishing I was speeding, down the highways of Croatia (which, by the way, place the decrepit I-5 in California to shame). Even in the world of tin cans, this tin can feels underpowered. I could in fact get up to the 130 km/h (80 mph) speed limit if I held it at full throttle for roughly a day. But based on the tortured sounds coming from the 51 hp 0.8L, I realized how much the Spark preferred an amble to a sprint, so I generally kept it 10-20 km/h under the speed limit. 

To be clear, I didn't choose the Spark specifically. That's the kind of car you get when you choose the cheapest option on the cheapest car rental website. Mr. Thrifty sheepishly admitted that it was actually a rebadged Daewoo Matiz, which is known for its tall roof relative to its size. Its size is somewhere between a Hotwheel and a Honda Fit.  

The high roofline actually did make a difference for a 6'4" driver like me.  Yes, after long stretches of driving, like 7 hours from Ljubljana to Zadar, I was ready to get out and stretch my legs, but it wasn't horribly uncomfortable.  The cushion of the seat was pretty thin, but still more comfortable than a well-equipped 2007 Scion tC I recently took a similarly long drive.

And where did I take Sparky? I covered four countries – Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, and Bosnia i Herzegovina – in five days. My route started from Zagreb, passing through Ljubljana and Skocjak Cave in Slovenia, then down to the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia, where I visited Zadar, Split, and Dubrovnik.  The route from Zadar from Dubrovnik is one of the nicer coastal drives in Europe. I then dipped down into Montenegro to see the Bay of Kotor, then headed north up into Bosnia-Herzegovina, with stops through Sarajevo and Mostar in Bosnia. Bosnia was definitely where you see the most reminders of the recent war, but it was still a place worth visiting. 

I wouldn't want to stereotype or generalize about Balkan drivers… Wait, after five days of dealing their insane-o driving, I actually do want to stereotype and generalize about them.  What we American drivers think about Italian drivers must be how Italian drivers think of Balkan drivers. They emit this weird combination of speed, aggression, and profound optimism about the Laws of Physics. On numerous occasions, I drove around a blind corner only to find an oncoming car speeding toward me, with little urgency about returning to its own lane. And they were prone to do this on the high cliff-side roads of the Dalmatian Coast. 

Upon returning the car, Mr. Thrifty #2 at the counter, did a double take upon seeing the kilometers I had added to the odometer in a mere five days of travel: 2,100 km.

I hastily explained that my goal was to do the "sampler platter" trip, seeing a wide variety of places in the Balkans, so that I could someday return and do a "main course" trip by focusing on one or two specific places. Maybe they don't have sampler platters in Croatia.   He didn't get it and thought I was crazy.

In the end, I don't care what Mr. Thrifty thinks of me. That's what unlimited miles are for.  And I got a great trip out of it.

So would I go out and buy a 2008 Chevrolet Spark? Um, no. (Though I sort of did buy it temporarily…When I rented the car they actually authorized the full cost of the vehicle on my credit card for insurance. ) 

Would I rent one again? When travelling on a budget, sure.  It's a cliche, but the car did get me where I wanted to go, and that's what really matters.  

Want to know what people in Sarajevo are listening to? Click the Sarajevo Radio Video below.

So the 2011 McLaren MP4-12C is supposed to be the most cutting-edge sports car on the planet. At least that's the hope of McLaren Automotive's Ron Dennis.

In any case, you can explore this interesting supercar proposition and literally take the MP4-12C apart, all the way down to its MonoCell carbon-fiber chassis, on a nifty animated website McLaren has set up.

Alas, the "Configure" (er, "build your own") function is still "in development," but the site is still worth 5 minutes of playing around.

McLaren Automotive

First Look: 2011 McLaren MP4-12C