(October 23, 2008) - While Audi's two-week, 4,888-mile, 93 hour total drive time, 23-TDI vehicle excursion from New York to LA took the headlines, the subtext was clear enough: Diesel is coming to the states, but government needs to meet halfway by reducing diesel tax rates.

After previous delays, Audi of America plans to begin emissions certification for the 2009 Audi Q7 TDI as soon as next week and will announce a firm date to begin selling the model early next year during the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

"If you looked back two years ago, no one would have believed this was even possible," said Wolfgang Hantz, head of Audi AG Powertrain, at the conclusion of the marathon pointing to the display of diesel vehicles that had crossed the finish line. 

Despite the massive juggernaut of TDI and the logistics machinery to support a two-week drive, Audi spent the last two weeks seeding the market with the Audi Mileage Marathon in somewhat guerrilla or viral fashion. The automaker sought and received 8 proclamations from mayors across the country decreeing "diesel awareness day" when the fleet drove through town. And Audi officials held dozens of TV, radio and print interviews with local media and attracted plenty of curious onlookers asking "when can I buy this car?" None of that may sound significant, but given the word-of-mouth nature of interest for diesels, it may be the right marketing approach considering the anxious buying public and so far niche-nature of diesel buyers.
 
"The whole mileage marathon created a wonderful platform to talk to local media, local politicians and local customers in a much more comprehensive way," said Johan de Nysschen, EVP Audi of America, at the completion of the efficiency event. "We could not have done this with a traditional advertising campaign."

de Nysschen is not-so-subtly lobbying lawmakers to overhaul the taxation policy on ultra low sulfur diesel. The existing taxation regime on diesel fuel dramatically increases the price depending on where it is sold geographically, which ususally puts diesel on uncompetitive footing with gasoline.

"All we ask is a level playing field that gives consumers a choice," he said.

Stefanie Brinley, an analyst with consulting firm AutoPacific, expects Volkswagen and Audi will dominate the market despite earlier diesel entries from Mercedes and BMW. But ultimately, Auto Pacific still pegs the US diesel market around 5-7 percent interest level compared with 30 percent interest for hybrids.

Brinley also competed in the AMM, which included pre-production Q7 TDIs and Euro spec Q5, A4 and A3 TDIs - each piloted with a pair of journalists and/or analysts.

In the final stretch from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, Dan Edmunds of Edmunds.com and Jay Kavanagh of Inside Line easily won the Q7 TDI group. Covering a distance of 954 miles in the stage, the two managed 30.2 mpg and an average speed of  49.8 mph. 

In the A4 TDI class, Larry Edsall, of iZoom, and Jaime Gabaldoni, of Terra Networks USA, reached 37.7 mpg and 46.8 mph averages.

In the A3 TDI class, it was James Bell and Ron Doron with the final wave win of 40.1 mpg and 47.4 mph averages during the three days of driving.

Finally, Michael Kirchberger and Dr. Peter Gebhard rounded out the winners group with 33.2 mpg and 47.1 mph averages in the Q5 TDI.

Here are the average overall numbers for each vehicle class:

Audi Q7 TDI
Average consumption: 27.6 mpg
Average 1 tank range: 729 miles

A4 TDI
Average consumption: 36.2 mpg
Average 1 tank range: 622 miles

A3 TDI
Average consumption: 44.6 mpg
Average 1 tank range: 643 miles

Q5 TDI
Average consumption: 31.8 mpg
Average 1 tank range: 631 miles