The 2008 International Engine of the Year Awards are announced and some very efficient engines are among the winners.  The Toyota Prius hybrid power-plant, BMW's 2.0L twin turbo diesel and Volkswagen's 1.4L TSI four cylinder were all chosen by the 65 person jury for Engine Technology International magazine.

The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup kicked off this weekend with 30 race prepped clean diesel Jettas taking to the track in Virginia.  The TDI Cup cars are all running with full diesel after-treatment systems and averaging 25mpg under racing conditions.

Volkswagen and Arciero-Miller racing are preparing  a new race truck powered by the 6.0L V-12 diesel that has been shown recently in the Audi R8 V12 TDI Le Mans concept. The Touareg trophy truck will use the production V-12 diesel destined for the Q7 V12 TDI later this year rather than the racing engine in the Audi R10 Le Mans prototype.

Volkswagen is announcing the completion of development of its BlueTDI system at the Vienna Motor Symposium in Austria. The first production application will go on sale later this summer in the US market as the Jetta TDI. The new diesel Jetta will be legal for sale in 50 states and have 12 percent better fuel efficiency than the previous Jetta TDI.

The Society of Automotive Engineers is holding its annual gathering of scientists, engineers, and managers from around the world April 14-17, 2008 at Cobo Center in Detroit MI. The theme for the 2008 SAE World Congress is A Climate for Change, with many of the discussions revolving around alternative powertrains, new fuels, and ever increasing demands for reduced emissions and fuel consumption.

Mercedes-Benz has a trio of redesigned four-cylinder diesel engines that will debut in the C-Class this fall. The new engines produce up to 25 percent more torque than the previous units while emitting 13 percent less carbon dioxide.

Powertrain engineering consultancy FEV joins forces with Mahindra & Mahindra on development of a diesel hybrid drivetrain to be used on the Scorpio SUV and Appalachian pickup truck, which sees its public debut at the 2008 SAE World Congress in Detroit this month.

Leading up to the start of its new entry level racing program Volkswagen has selected the 30 drivers who will participate in the inaugural season of the Jetta TDI Cup. A qualification event took place at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix, AZ from April 3-6 2008 in the new all diesel race program.

Diesel Forecast spent a few hours motoring around southern Germany in the latest diesel hardware from Ingolstadt. The test drives included Audi's A4 3.0 TDI, which may be coming to the US market as soon as 2009 - depending on fuel prices.

India's Mahindra and Mahindra is on track to be the first manufacturer from that country to enter the US market when they launch diesel and diesel-hybrid pickups and SUVs beginning in 2010. Diesel Forecast has learned that the diesel-hybrid will be shown for the first time at the upcoming SAE World Congress in Detroit.