Honda Motor Co. Ltd has canned its plan to release a diesel-equipped Acura TSX in the U.S. next year, Ward's Audio reports, confirming last week's rumor. Meanwhile, a separate report in the Japanese business daily Nikkei News today said Honda will delay launching a diesel engine in the U.S. until at least 2010, if not later.

Honda had first announced its plans to bring a diesel car to the U.S. back in the first half of 2006, and later revealed it would be the i-DTEC turbocharged four-cylinder diesel block currently available in Europe. However, rumors continue to circulate that Honda has canned the diesel because it couldn't pass emissions when mated to the car's automatic transmission, which would affect the vast majority of sales in the U.S.

Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the non-profit diesel-advocacy group, Diesel Technology Forum, expressed surprise in the article at the notion Honda did not foresee problems with passing emissions requirements. "In terms of performance and emissions achievements, we've seen data presented at technical conferences that (Honda) could make this system work," Schaeffer said in the report. "People don't make those kinds of announcements without expecting to meet emissions standards."