AutoblogGreen

YES! Way to go Volkswagen. We desperately need all cars to get much better fuel mileage. Let's hope VW brings a diesel hybrid to the U.S. that gets around 100 mpg. I will be in line to purchase one of those vehicles.

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Interestingly enough, the Automotive X PRIZE has its final race at the end of 2009. Just in time.

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Have y'all *seen* the 1L/100km VW? It's a technological tour de force; it's also an 8.5 HP toy car that is not very practical. It would be a sitting duck in a world of SUVs driven by cell-phone-talking soccer moms, no matter how advanced the technology and crash simulations. Cool, yes - practical, no.

Here are a couple of links with photos & descriptions:
http://www.greatchange.org/footnotes-1-liter-car.html
http://www.seriouswheels.com/cars/top-vw-1-liter-car.htm

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How can I register for this this blog?

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Please contact me by email.
Thanks

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We've got to stop making the test for all cars "can it survive being run over by a soccer-mom in a giant SUV." Most crashes involve a single vehicle, and size of vehicle is not a good predictor of survivability. The kind of head to head contact where relative size of vehicle matters one of the rarest types of accidents.

Besides, this is a kind of self-defeating argument "gee, I'd buy a smaller car , but there are big cars on the road so I have to buy a big one." There are semis out there, too. Should we all try to match them? Heck, a Durango will be toast against a Kenworth, time to upgrade!

No. Small cars are just as safe as large cars.

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Actually, NHTSA will tell you that larger cars are safer than smaller ones, which is why frontal crash tests are not directly comparable between vehicles of different weight classes. Momentum: p=mv.

But OK, assuming that this is an absolutely bulletproof machine, it's still of very limited usefulness, at least in the countries that could afford to be that concerned about fuel mileage or "carbon footprint". I think it's cool that VW is working on neat stuff like this, but if I was a shareholder I'd be pissed. Piech let loose some pricey engineers to play with their geek toys and that's about it. I view this in much the same fashion as VW's GX3 motor-trike thingie that the Germans-on-a-junket-in-Malibu came up with, but at least that would be fun to drive.

The vehicle they presented three years ago is a toy that is impractical for anything other than riding to and from work, as long as you require nothing more than than a briefcase/computer and perhaps an overcoat. A single guy would have a tough time fitting a weekend's worth of beer in the passenger seat.

I'd vastly prefer to see VW (or anyone else) using their know-how on something that can carry someone to work efficiently *and* carry home some groceries (more than a small sack, that is). And yeah, I'd like to see it be able to survive being run over by a Chevy Subdivision driven by the President of the Homeowner's Association. ("Over The Hedge" reference, if you missed the movie.)

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See http://www.loremo.com/index_en.php

It looks possible that there may be some competition in the over 100 MPG car field, but "I don't see no steenkin hybrids."

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your website is very interesting and it is with mixed emotions that I found out here about the VW 1 liter car. We are working on a car (4 seats and diesel electric) which looks like a big brother of the vw. Our goal was just to break 100 mpg and have some fun. Normally we work on racing projects. Then came along the X prize about which I found out 10 days ago. I was very excited. Now I have to say I feel quite put in my place.
I think we will keep working on though... (our car does address the mass deficiency in the event of an accident...) but the VW is right on.
Regards It is all good for the world. Oliver Kuttner Charlottesville VA (FordGTTV.com)

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