Audi is getting ready to unleash its 2012 A6 Hybrid on Europe. It was originally due late this year, but now looks like it won't be on sale across the pond until early 2012. But the U.S. is still at least two years away from the hybrid--if we ever get it.

Some reports, like the one from Inside Line, indicate there are no plans for bringing the A6 Hybrid to the U.S., but with our preference for hybrids over diesels and toughening CAFE standards, it's more likely than a diesel sedan...and Audi already sells diesels here. So we're not counting the U.S. out. Yet.

Why should you even care if the A6 Hybrid does come to the U.S.? Because it's a turbo 2.0-liter TFSI engine paired with a 45-horsepower, 155 pound-foot electric motor and a 1.3 kWh (read: tiny) lithium-ion battery pack. Despite the small purse of electrons, the A6 Hybrid can travel at speeds up to 62 mph on electricity alone. It's estimated to get 38 mpg. And it still packs the punch of a torquey 2.0-liter turbo. What's not to like?

Wrap it in the updated 2012 A6's comely skin, and we are a bit miffed we have to wait, in an unofficial limbo, to get the car. What's wrong with the U.S., Audi? What makes you think a hybrid can't command a premium here? Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, and BMW all disagree. So do we.

[Inside Line]