By Diana T. Kurylko, AutoWeek

Audi hasn't decided whether to bring the compact Q3 crossover to North America, but it could happen in three years after a midlife freshening, said Johan de Nysschen, president of Audi of America.

"We have to look at the economic feasibility, and it has to hit targets. We have to overcome certain challenges," de Nysschen said at the Frankfurt auto show.

One big obstacle is price. It must be low enough to attract buyers but high enough to make a profit, he said.

By Rick Kranz and Diana T. Kurylko, AutoWeek

The sleek Volvo concept unveiled at the Frankfurt auto show is headed to production, said Volvo Chairman Li Shufu.

"The board has approved production of the concept, known as You, but the timetable has to be finalized,'' Li said during an interview at the Frankfurt auto show. He said it will be "somewhere around 2015."

It's part of the plan by Chinese owner Zhejiang Geely to move the Volvo brand upscale.

By Luca Ciferri and Bradford Wernle, AutoWeek

The Ram brand will get a commercial van based on the Fiat Ducato large paneled van, supplier sources said at the Frankfurt motor show.

Chrysler plans to build 30,000 a year in Mexico, the sources said. Chrysler already builds Ram heavy-duty pickups in Saltillo, Mexico.

The van will fill a hole in Chrysler Group's commercial vehicle business that was created when the company stopped selling the Dodge Sprinter vans, produced by Mercedes-Benz, after the DaimlerChrysler divorce in 2009.

By Greg Kable, AutoWeek

Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler and its alliance partner Renault-Nissan have signed off on an extension to their existing part-sharing agreement that will see the Infiniti brand use the Mercedes-Benz MFA (modular front architecture) small-car platform that underpins the redesigned B-class as the basis of a new crossover vehicle scheduled to go on sale in 2014.

The platform-sharing agreement, expected to be made public at a joint Daimler and Renault-Nissan press conference planned for the Frankfurt motor show on Sept. 14, follows an earlier deal for four-cylinder and V6 diesel engines developed and produced by Mercedes-Benz to be used in the Infiniti M sedan.

By Justin Couture, MSN Autos

There’s no doubt about it: When it comes to throwing a pre-motor show bash, Volkswagen Group certainly knows how. After all, the Frankfurt show is on VW’s home turf, so if there’s any show to pull all stops out at, it’s this one. It certainly doesn’t hurt that it’s also the world’s largest.

By Michelle Koueiter, AutoWeek

The car-airplane-motorcycle fusion on display at Opel's stand for this week's Frankfurt motor show is actually a tandem-two-seat electric-car concept.

The battery-powered EV gets 100 km for $1.36 (or 100 kilometers for one euro). Opel says the concept--it hasn't disclosed a name yet--is one-third the weight of a modern small car. It reaches a maximum speed of 120 km/h.

By Greg Kable, AutoWeek

Audi has officially confirmed plans for a lightweight, electric successor to the A2--six years after the first-generation model ceased production.

Previewed by a four-seat concept car set to make its world debut at the Frankfurt motor show this month, the four-door hatchback retains the distinctive one-and-half-box silhouette, short overhangs and shallow greenhouse treatment of the original A2--still considered one of the most advanced small cars ever put into large-scale production because of its lightweight aluminum spaceframe construction and 1,973-pound curb weight.

By Greg Kable, AutoWeek

Audi is set to build on its existing performance-car lineup with the introduction of four all-wheel-drive S models, all running the company's latest twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 direct-injection engine developed in partnership with Bentley.

Scheduled to get their first public airing at the Frankfurt motor show in mid-September, the quartet of new S models include successors to the S8, S7 and S6 sedans and the S6 Avant. Everything but the S6 Avant is coming to the United States, with launches set for late spring 2012.

By Greg Migliore, AutoWeek

The Defender is instantly recognizable the world over as an icon of military-inspired styling and off-road capability. Today, Land Rover is previewing what form the classic vehicle will take as it evolves for the future.

The next generation of the Defender will arrive in 2015, and Land Rover is suggesting a potential design with the DC100, which will be revealed in September at the Frankfurt motor show.

By Greg Kable, AutoWeek

Peugeot has revealed a six-seat concept car for the Frankfurt motor show that hints at a dramatic new range-topping model tentatively planned to step into the French carmaker's fold as a replacement for the 607, which ended production at the end of 2010.

Called the HX1, the four-door luxury car is being used to showcase Peugeot's latest design lineage while providing a platform for new ideas under a project it calls "metamorphosis." The project shows Peugeot's desire to alter its existing lineup with contemporary new models that buck rigid convention for head-turning good looks, including a new six-seat flagship that promises to challenge the best from its German neighbors.