Futurist Volkswagen XL1 gets 261 miles a gallon

[chicot60]

By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY


http://i.usatoday.net/communitymanager/_photos/drive-on/2011/01/26/volksx-wide-community.jpg
Delivering both stunning looks and high fuel economy, Volkswagen has unveiled a streamlined diesel plug-in hybrid XL1 concept in the Mideast nation at the Qatar Motor Show.http://i.usatoday.net/communitymanager/_photos/drive-on/2011/01/26/vwx-inset-community.jpg


Volkswagen has revealed this futurists' high-mileage car. The fuel mileage works out to about 261 miles a gallon, says Automotive News. VW calls it the most efficient car in the world.

The new Volkswagen XL1 combines light weight and a low aerodynamic drag to get the most out of its hybrid system. The system has a two-cylinder diesel engine and a seven-speed transmission.

Although the car has amazing looks, VW insists its also practical. It has side-by-side seating, gull-wing doors and has lots of carbon-fiber parts.

It can accelerate from a stop to 62 miles an hour in 11.9 seconds and has a top speed higher than 85 miles per hour.


http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/01/futurist-volkswagen-xl1-gets-261-miles-a-gallon/1?csp=hf

[TLG]

it will be interesting to see the price of it..
the problem with a lot of these high milage cars is thier price tag
some of them, given their price tag, are actually pricier than what they save over their lifetime...

i would like to see programs put in place which would make these cars both a senceable alternative
and also affordable

[JCO]

Lets not forget that if its like a chevy volt. The dont count the power used to charge the battery from the power grid in the miles per gallon equation..A volt does not get 200 miles per gallon if it...

[TLG]

oh yeah!!! you got it JCO <br />
<br />
people may not realize the amount of fossile fule it takes in electricity to charge up the volt!! <br />
it's 6 of 1 or half dozen of another!! <br />
<br />
I don't think we are ahead...

[doggy10]

this car will never come out. it will be too expensive for them to produce. also hybrids are no better for the envierment then anything on the road now. where do they think all these batteries (fuel cells) are going go go when the cars are scrap? also until they they bring the cost of a hybrid down so the average or even below average worker can buy on, they will never take over the auto industry. its all a gimic. i work in a plant where we build award winning cars and we were just told we would get a hybrid version of one of the cars we build next year but it will be a low volume car. if you are wondering what cars we build, just look up what car has won the most awards.

[TLG]

well said doggy

we are behind in alternative energies....
the only alternative enrgy that makes any sence is "solar power"
but we have mountains to climb before we totally understand how
to harvest "solar energy" and use it's potential....

there is a company in australia,, who is building boats that run on solar energy
which are amazing... and very efficiant,, maybe they can build a car....

Nasa is experimenting on different options but they are still far away....

"one solar flare, which happens once every 8 minutes, can power all of the
United states for 20 years!!'

and that is the power of solar energy!!

[chicot60]

The new Volkswagen XL1 combines light weight
I think that this will be the other aspect that will concern buyers if a vehicle such as this would come out on the market and that is the safety factor. This car looks like it would fold like an accordion if it came in contact with anything.

[Night Prowler]

I think the technology is there........it's the retooling of manufacturers to mass produce that is the hindrance.....:noidea:

[TLG]

nah!! safty is the least of the concerns ... i have seen video on "you tube" of a
smart car, where they run it into a wall at 80Kms/hr and the car disintigrates
but the drivers cage stays intact ,,, they build them along the same principales
as the F1 cars....

besides consumers protection would want the car to equal or surpass safety protocals
that govern all other north american cars

[SpaceCowboy]

The most popular Hybrid car is the PRIUS. Still, it has some problems. The perfect, Efficient Green Energy Cars may appear in about 20 yrs from now. I would like to see American made Hybrid Cars take over the market, But I don't think it will happen in the near future. American car manufacturers have mental blocks for the Green Energy cars!

The new VW, XL1 might get 261 miles per gallon but it accelerates too slowly, then max. speed is about 80-85 miles. American consumers are different than the European consumers; We love fast cars, regardless our ages... if some one spends 25-30 grands for a car He/She would like to have a car which will not drive like a turtle....:-)

It will take some time to educate ourselves that speed and comfort are not always the options!!! Until than, I can not see myself in a car takes off slowly, made out of thin matterial, and coast fortune......

As usual this is my opinion, some people may not agree with it!