VW Aims at 200-mpg Car, Again

If you thought the media hysteria surrounding high-efficiency autos was something new, you’re mistaken. Five years ago, Volkswagen took the wraps off its “1-Liter Car” concept that could get 222 mpg out of a meager 8.5-hp diesel engine. Now the company is rethinking the frugal concept, as the cost of parts now looks to be substantially less than it was in 2002. We won’t hold our breath that a new “1-Gallon-Car” is arriving anytime soon, but it’s still something to think about. 

[Volkswagen Revives 200-mpg Car Project, Jalopnik]

Comments

Cool.

I want one. Bring it on V W .

As Americans. we could decrease our dependence on foreign oil if more technology went into fuel saving vehicles than into the modern designs that we see pacing the roads everyday.
Vehicles should be about getting people from point A to point B safely and efficiently.
The importqnce of whether a car can go from 0 to 60 in a quick time whould be the least important in the intial design of a vehicle..
What should be important is how safe a vehicle can be made and how for a vehicle will go on a gallon of gas or diesel or what other type of fuel that might be available.

One of the worst ideas is to turn corn into fuel for vehicles when there are other options.
When you turn food products into a fuel product, then everyone pays thru the nose for something to eat while still having to pay high prices for fuel to power their vehicle.

I know. V dubs are some good ass cars, and this would hit the spot.

Now....it SHOULD be cheap, too, if it only has 9 hp!

I know. V dubs are some good ass cars, and this would hit the spot.

Now....it SHOULD be cheap, too, if it only has 9 hp!

You need something practical too. This is the problem of Smart car and the first Honda hybrid. Expensive and not practical. Do you want to go the highway in a cheap plastic skate?

Diesel all the way, you can make it of anything.

It should be cheap because it only has 9hp? It gets Over 200 MPG!!!!

Lol.

Who wants to be in an accident in that thing. SUV-1, VW-0

OKAY now I don't care about gas mileage that much maybe 50Mpg and a little bigger.

"One of the worst ideas is to turn corn into fuel for vehicles when there are other options.
When you turn food products into a fuel product, then everyone pays thru the nose for something to eat while still having to pay high prices for fuel to power their vehicle."

Uh Tommy, we're paying farmers NOT to plant crops to keep prices low. Wouldn't you rather keep them working AND lower foreign oil dependence?

of course, if oil prices DO go up it would make it worth while to convert the oil sands of Canada to gasoline. But every time Oil hits $75/barrel they turn the taps back on. Hmmmmmmm?

anyone else think that this looks like an ovoid Isetta?

It is the typical argument about food converted in gas. You can make fuel or biodiesel of almost any plant, not only the ones used for food.

(In the European Union, farmers are 5% of the population, but they get 50% of the European budget, and some of this subsides are for not cultivating or for cultivating something they don't have to harvest, like sunflower)

kc, I think it looks more like a Mesherschmidt (sp?)

I like it. I have to admit I chuckled a bit when I saw it, but then I thought, why not? It's perfect for getting around in the city, and think of how easy to parallel-park.

I'd say expand it to a 2-seater, give it some kind of hybrid drive system and a beefier motor (I mean, c'mon, at least 20 HP) and you may have a winning combination.

I can't use a roller skate, even at 200 mpg. I need a Suburban that gets 30 mpg.

that is pretty cool. 8.5 hp is not alot though, so it would only be for strictly citiy driving.

if they could find a way to make a 3 cylinder engine that got 72-100 mpg, and about 70 hp, and had more than two seats, then they would sell like hot cakes off the lot. even if the cars were over 25K or 28K, they would still sell like mad.

It's dark, it's raining, and the guy's driving a black car with a lower profile than a bicycle. If he turns on the lights, does the mileage drop to 160 mpg or does the car just not accelerate?

Long winded response:

We own a CR-V and a VW Cabrio. Despite the rise and fall and rise again and fall again of gasoline, we're aiming for two daily drivers that get in excess of 30mpg at vehicle replacement time. If either of us switches jobs from our current 10 min commute (we choose to live in a small town) we'll replace one of the vehicles with a VW TDI. Eventually we might add a 3rd vehicle (Eurovan Weekender) to the lineup for out of town trips when we feel ready to trade frugality for passenger space. This vehicle will likely only see a few thousand miles per year. We're also keeping our cars past the 200K miles mark. That requires careful use and careful maintenance of the vehicles so they last without costing a fortune in the meantime.

What I'd like to see would be more frugal small cars on the road (aka Rabbit/Golf/Focus/Civic/Versa) used for commuter cars with larger vehicles reserved for when it is really necessary (whole family shopping trips, out to dinner, off to see grandma). I'm all for free choice too so hopefully as time passes people will change their ways on their own. We choose to live by example, not by browbeating anyone to change their ways.

I once thought a tiny European city car would be the answer (I mean Fiat 500/Smart car) but few of us stay strictly on city streets. I think most Americans spend at least some time on the interstate during their daily miles and these cars are TOO small for the interstate. Great if your daily circuit is at speeds of 45 mph or less though.

Another idea: strictly limit the speed of the big trucks on the interstate to 55 mph. Around here I-40 is a race track with the big trucks running faster and faster each year. Why does a 60,000 lb truck need to run 80 mph while mixing with passenger vehicles? I'll gladly pay slightly higher prices at retailers if their freight travels at slower speeds (if those two things are even related).

Solar: add a few solar panels (x4) to every rooftop and see the load on the utilities drop and thus prices (and prob people's consumption would go up again). Of course their consumption would go up with less pollution being created to make the power... TVA wants to build dozens of new nuke plants to counter the electrical load across the TN Valley. Why not add some solar to those millions of rooftops and negate the construction pollution created by hauling those materials in to build the nuke plant, the fuel in, the waste out, and 35 yrs down the road the waste created by tearing down that same nuke plant when it is declared obsolete...

No one solution is the whole answer but dozens of small changes will make a difference.

Chris in Cookeville, TN