Volkswagen's 250+ mpg concept car

[abumbyanyothername]

http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2012/08/scoop-volkswagen-super-efficient-xl1.html

. . . In concept form, VW said that the electric motor could work either independently of the TDI engine or in tandem when accelerating - something we don't see changing on the launch model.

According to the automaker, in pure electric mode, the XL1 can reach a top speed of up to 35 km (22 mph) before the diesel engine kicks in. Accelerating from rest to 100km/h (62 mph) comes in 11.9 seconds, while the electronically limited top speed is 160 km/h (99 mph) – keep in mind that all these performance numbers are for the concept and not for the final production model.

Volkswagen had said at the time that the XL1 study returns a fuel consumption of just 0.9 lt/100 km, equal to 261 mpg US and 313 mpg UK while emitting a mere 24 g/km of CO2.

[Mopar151]

1. VW continues to lead on this technology

As they have since the 50's.

[Tigress DEM]

2. I want one!!

[roody]

3. I want it!

I drive a 2004 TDI Golf.

[BlueStreak]

4. Yawn. This story has been going around for 8 years.

Same damn vehicle. Not one step closer to production.

There will not be a breakthrough of that magnitude in a single vehicle. The change will come incrementally. With Prius, were were at 40 MPG for 10 years, now 50. With plug-in hybrids, we're at the equivalent of about 70 MPG for people whose lifestyle has mostly short trips. There is no order of magnitude improvement coming on aerodynamics or internal combustion engines. It will be small incremental changes.

Battery technology can still improve, and might get us to the equivalent of 90 MPG for a broader swath of the market in a few years.

250 MPG is bogus.

The breakthroughs would be things like:

- Magnitude reduction in battery cost, weight and mass

- Magnitude improvement in battery recharge time

- Widely accessible charging infrastructure

- A different power source (fuel cells, e.g.)

VM has no special magic in any of those fields. Indeed, they are 15 years behind Toyota and 8 years behind Detroit because they put so much emphasis on "clean Diesel" while poo-poohing hybrid control systems.

[Mopar151]

5. If VW is so far behind

Howcum real-world performance from a TDI VW = Toyota Pious (if not being aided by plug-in or hypermiling)?

[BlueStreak]

6. Passat TDI is 35 MPG (combined) on Diesel fuel Prius is 50+. Volt is effectively 70.

Diesel fuel has more energy per gallon and costs more. 35 MPG on Diesel is equivalent to about 30 MPG on gasoline.

VW really isn't in the game at this point with any real products.

Lots of future marketing.

I think they are on the right track, after wasting a decade denying that hybrids were important. A hybrid Diesel makes great sense because you can use a relatively small Diesel and relatively large electric motor to give really decent performance with great economy. But that's a future concept, nothing you can buy.

And this 8-year-old concept that periodically keeps getting recirculated is also a good idea. It is a very small vehicle that is very low slung. That will maximize economy, but some people may not feel so safe being in such a small, low vehicle. In any case, 250 MPG in an EPA-style test is bogus, even for the concept. But they could break 100, and that would be a very nice achievement.

[Kennah]

7. Look! A rabbit right out of the hat!

VW is well behind the power curve on building more efficient cars. For better or worse, the American people have said no to diesel but VW persists. I'm no fan of the PM issue with it.

Just build some fucking hybrids, then transition to plugins, then start building EVs, which are our future. Enough with the diesel already.

[BlueStreak]

8. I have mixed feelings about Diesel

The two big characteristics of Diesels are

a) Lots of torque, not so much power and acceleration

b) Most efficient when running at a steady speed, relatively slow compared to gas engines.

These characteristics are not ideal for the most common hybrids (parallel) where the engine directly drives the wheels. But these are very good characteristics for a serial hybrid like the Volt. where you can switch on the engine and run it at constant speed to recharge the battery. If GM had expertise and manufacturing capacity for a small TDI Diesel, this would have been the obvious choice for the Volt.

But in a Prius-style hybrid, I'm not sure that is such a great combination. It will probably be OK, and should bring the highway numbers up a bit.

I'm really surprised nobody has followed GM's lead with Serial hybrids because that is exactly the system you need to jump to fuel cells. Toyota says they are going there, so we'll see.

I'm not sure that Americans are turned off on Diesels. It may simply be a case that there has been no compelling reason to go there. By the time that the TDI Diesel worked well enough to sell here in volumes, Toyota was already selling loads of Priuses.