VW planning 117mpg smart killer

[JBC]

I would love this car for my daily commute.

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/11/06/vw-planning-117-mpg-smart-killer/

 

[CentralFloridaTDIguy]

how about this....

make a version of the rabbit with lightweight materials and aluminum 1.2L TDI engine.... I would like a fuel efficient car (60 mpg) but still have room for just me and another person

 

[oilhammer]

Hehe, my 2-ton Passat TDI can just about get what the US-spec gas Smart gets MPG wise, so my guess is VAG already has a 'Smart killer' LOL

 

[jimlockey]

Pie in the sky. VW can't get their new TDI'S to dealers in numbers yet and even if they do the dealers gauge the heck out of us.

 

[newbury]

Great -
117mpg/3m round trip commute = 39 commutes/gallon
Average 4 commutes/week = ~10 weeks/gallon or about 5 gallons/year.

Nah, I don't need a car for commuting.

/edit - I need a car for FUN
hopefully soon to be a salsa JSW.

 

[QSHIPWAGON]

Pie in the sky. VW can't get their new TDI'S to dealers in numbers yet and even if they do the dealers gauge the heck out of us.

2009 TDI Sedans are pretty plentiful around here and can be had for below sticker.... pie's on the table, ready to eat. Not so yet for the Sportwagen, but they're getting there, and I know of two that have gone for about $500 under sticker (ordered early like mine).

 

[mrchill]

Now THATS what I'm talkin' about! I could store this in the back of my truck and use it like a dinghy!....or tow it behind my other Tdis..... so many options.....

 

[cptmox]

Will that thing ever make it to NA?

The magic 8-ball says: Outlook Not So Good

I'll try again:
Don't Count on It
Very Doubtful
My Reply is No
Reply Hazy, Try Again
My Sources Say No

I'm not optimistic we'll ever see that thing on a showroom floor.

 

[Rob_from_Elkmont]

I like it!!

Now THATS what I'm talkin' about! I could store this in the back of my truck and use it like a dinghy!....or tow it behind my other Tdis..... so many options.....

 

[Powder Hound]

...The magic 8-ball says: Outlook Not So Good
...

My ouija board said the same thing, something like, "Right after the Polo, you moron!"

Oh, sorry, my mistake. That was from the phone call to VWoA.

 

[zanakas]

Why not just bring the Polo, or the Fox?

 

[Thunderstruck]

With gas below $2 a gallon in a lot of places, who needs one? They should have had this when gas was $4 per gallon. I saw a report today that Edmunds says there has been a surge in people researching SUV's and trucks, so I wouldn't be surprised to see more guzzlers being sold in the future.

 

[shagin'wagen]

Damn it! I want a Polo TDI!

 

[Nutsnbolts]

Great practical little car! Thus, we'll never see it here. Then again, that's what I thought about the Smart. So it might be available in the future, but only in gasser version.

-Rich

 

[JBC]

With gas below $2 a gallon in a lot of places, who needs one? They should have had this when gas was $4 per gallon. I saw a report today that Edmunds says there has been a surge in people researching SUV's and trucks, so I wouldn't be surprised to see more guzzlers being sold in the future.

I really hope this is not true...if people think the oil will remain low they are naive.

 

[zanakas]

I really hope this is not true...if people think the oil will remain low they are naive.

Economic theory dictates that people won't think about the price, but will base their purchasing decision on present price.

Then, in two or three years, when fuel goes up, they'll scramble to sell them again.

We'd have the Polo if fuel prices would have remained high long enough for the Polo to be Americanized...unfortunately, the government is doing whatever it can to ensure the economy keeps running, including keeping gas down.

 

[Dooglas]

With gas below $2 a gallon in a lot of places, who needs one? They should have had this when gas was $4 per gallon. I saw a report today that Edmunds says there has been a surge in people researching SUV's and trucks, so I wouldn't be surprised to see more guzzlers being sold in the future.

GM has virtually destroyed the one-time biggest automaker in the world with this kind of fuzzy thinking. (Hey, let's ramp up production on the Hummer!)

I still want to see the diesel Polo (1/3 the fuel consumption of a hunk of Detroit iron is 1/3 the cost no matter where the price of fuel goes tomorrow)

 

[Thunderstruck]

I agree. GM doesn't deserve to die, but the management there does. They are so out of touch it's laughable. Whatever goes down will eventually go back up, oil prices included. I'd love a car that gets 117 MPG, but my first line above reflects the sentiments of the average joe. They are so stupid they would not see the 117 MPG, all they'd see is gas is $1.99 and diesel is $3. Never mind that to get a comparable cost per mile your gasser would have to get almost 80 MPG at 1.99 per gallon. It's an impossible sell to the uneducated masses.

 

[yoseppi]

Seriously, did you just say that? Is this country so ****ing dumb that people don't realize this is just a temporary relief in oil prices because the economic system is falling apart in the US.

With gas below $2 a gallon in a lot of places, who needs one? They should have had this when gas was $4 per gallon. I saw a report today that Edmunds says there has been a surge in people researching SUV's and trucks, so I wouldn't be surprised to see more guzzlers being sold in the future.

 

[kooyajerms]

I also heard the same thing on NPR. The auto companies are already looking into increasing production of suv's and trucks. They are very fickle. I just don't get what market research does for these companies. Real research moves you ahead of the pack, but instead they just like to respond to the joe six packs.

It's too bad many of them don't do their research on this site, or we would be much more fuel efficient. Maybe, Gasp, even innovate!! no way, not AMERIKAZ.

http://wot.motortrend.com/6321295/industry-news/theyre-baaaack-with-gas-prices-falling-truck-suv-sales-start-to-rebound/index.html

Yes, the general public just don't get it.

 

[Gkopp]

Thanks VW

Good to see VW looking ahead to prove that fuel economy above 100 mpg is possible without a hybrid. Yes, it's a smaller vehicle. And even we Americans will take notice, when the coming recession leaves us with tighter budgets. Cheaper gas would really boost our US economy right now, but won't help fix our addiction to big cars, SUV's and light trucks for basic transportation. We should have enough of those sitting around to take us into the next round of high fuel prices. GM and other US automakers should be cutting back on the guzzlers, and working on cars that can compete in mpg with VW.

 

[BRUSSELS BELGIAN]

The Fuel Price Roller Coaster

If it was not for the credit crunch, folks would be out there looking at trucks again. Yes, they are that stupid. Ironically, it was Pat Buchanan who (about 10 years ago), proposed an adjustable tariff/federal tax on oil. Here's how it would work: the tarrif on imported oil, and the federal fuel tax, would constantly adjust so that the price of gasoline and diesel would rise gradually and predictably over a period of several years. This would give consumers, energy producers(conventional and alternative) and auto makers a certain amount of predictability and ability to make LONG TERM decisions. Just imagine if Detroit DOES produce a whole slew of new,more efficient vehicles:just in time for the proles to stampede right past them at the dealership so they can buy an SUV! Of course, doctrinaire free traders and "magic of the market" cool-aide drinkers(the folks who gave us free trade and 4 million vanished jobs)will tolerate no government guidance in long term sociatal goals. This means, of course, no long term energy policy. I'm holding on to my (temporarily) "hammered" energy stocks until the American SHEEPLE bail me out with another orgy of energy consumption.

 

[12MPGHWY]

117mpg is amazing, the new diesel powered military motorcycles only get 96mpg, at 55mph.

http://www.hdtusa.com/models.htm

 

[jrivers804]

Detroit likes SUVs because they have higher profit margins. There have been no major new discoveries of oil, no big increase in refining capacity, so YES, the price of fuel will be going back up when the global recession, economic slow down, or whatever you want to call it ends.
Detroit has spent decades marketing their gas guzzling yuppie trucks and though not usually a fan of big government, IF DC is to approve more handouts to Detroit the strings should be for development, building and sale of fuel effecient vehicles.

 

[Bob S.]

Now THATS what I'm talkin' about! I could store this in the back of my truck and use it like a dinghy!....or tow it behind my other Tdis..... so many options.....

I like your thinking.

 

[MatteoB]

Volkswagen actually produced a version of the Lupo ( the car that came before the Fox) as a concept car which did 100 mpg. It had a three cylinder 1.2 litre all aluminium TDI but never saw production.

I think VW will certainly make this car for Europe and would go down a storm with our high fuel prices and also the CO2 based road tax here in the U.K. However at the moment the 1.4 TDI in the Polo, Skoda Fabia etc is good enough. Great little three cylinder, only 80 bhp but 60 mpg can't be bad. had one as a courtesy car not s long ago:sweet little engine, like the sound of the three pot, shades of modern Triumph motorcyle....

 

[CentralFloridaTDIguy]

really....

Seriously, did you just say that? Is this country so ****ing dumb that people don't realize this is just a temporary relief in oil prices because the economic system is falling apart in the US.

look who got voted into larger majorities in the US Congress and Presidency..... the majority of people in this country can be led by a smooth talking personality...

looking forward to elections in 2010 and 2012 when Republicans if they can get the right people and message after the Democrats over-reach on their supposed 'mandate' for change.....other than New York and California, Democrats did not win by many votes

 

[ccvdubs]

i could sell a few,imagine double the power, maybe a 1.9 swap? hello 12's

 

[Thunderstruck]

i could sell a few,imagine double the power, maybe a 1.9 swap? hello 12's

i could sell a few,imagine double the power, maybe a 1.9 swap? hello 12's
__________________
03 ALH 171K AVERAGE 188 HP/ 335 TQ AUTOTECH L/W REAR BAR ,DG SHORT SHIFT

You've got a diesel with 188 HP? Holy cow! What kind of mileage does it get?

 

[TeeDeeRedEye]

American Lemmings

With gas below $2 a gallon in a lot of places, who needs one? They should have had this when gas was $4 per gallon. I saw a report today that Edmunds says there has been a surge in people researching SUV's and trucks, so I wouldn't be surprised to see more guzzlers being sold in the future.

So sad, the masses with no long term memory - looking for a new gas guzzler. The oil companies and commodity traders will manipulate the price again and again, like the pusher to the junkie. Until such time that we truly have a domestic, renewable energy stream we can expect uncertainty in both price and supply of oil. Plus, the billions of dollars we send to the middle east doesn't help our balance of trade deficit.