CAFE won't change Porsche's U.S. plans

Although Porsche hasn't come out with the brusque attitude of Lamborghini, it doesn't think the new fuel standards will affect its U.S. product line-up in any significant way. More fuel-efficient engines will be developed, but diesels aren't in the cards and it won't shrink its cars either.

The U.S. market is very important to Porsche, with 39% of its global sales going to American homes. But diesel isn't the right solution according to Porsche Cars North America CEO Detlev von Platen. Despite the rest of the German makers diving into the deep end on diesel, Porsche will stick with gasoline models for its U.S. lineup, reports Automotive News.

Though European buyers will have the option of a diesel-powered Cayenne in 2009, a hybrid Cayenne SUV built in conjunction with VW and Audi is expected to hit U.S. streets by 2010. The hybrid Panamera is also due around that time. The standard version of the sports-sedan will arrive in 2009, however. Still, the addition of hybrids won't be enough to get the company over the 41.3mpg hump set by the new CAFE standards. That figure would have to be reached by 2015, but at its current 26mpg average, Porsche says it's just too optimistic a goal.

Just last week Lamborghini said it would not sacrifice its exhaust note for emissions, though CEO Stephan Winkelmann was responding to EU standards in his statement. Though Porsche's stance isn't as extreme as Lamborghini's, the two makers announcements highlight the escalating conflict between performance car manufacturers and government emissions requirements.