Car of the future?

[Nana]

(Note: posted for John Luciaino)

If you could go to Shanghai for a vacation, buy two or more of these cars, one for your wife and one for yourself, and one for each of your kids,

have them shipped to Canada and still spend less money than if you bought a car in Canada. Getting the car(s) into USA , still an ordeal.

This is not a toy, not a concept car. It is a newly developed single seat car in highly aerodynamic tear-shape road-proven real car. It is ready to be launched as a single-seater for sale in Shanghai in 2010 for a mere RMB 4,000 (US$600)!

Interested? Wait till you learn that it will cruise at 100-120 Km/Hr with an unbelievable 0.99litre/100Km (258 miles/gallon) !!

Impressed? Totally, after you have read all the details below about the hi-tech and space-age material input into this car!!!

The Most Economic Car in the World will be on sale next year

Better than Electric Car - 258 miles/gallon: IPO 2010 in Shanghai

This is a single seated car.

From conception to production: 3 years and the company is headquartered in Hamburg , Germany .

Will be selling for 4000 yuan, equivalent to US$600..

Gas tank capacity = 1.7 gallons

Speed = 62 - 74.6 Miles/hour

Fuel efficiency = 258 miles/gallon

Travel distance with a full tank = 404 miles

[evileagle]

Those tricky Germans VW with a modern version of the old Messerschmidt SWEET

[Gorilla]

very interesting. can't wait to see how this gets to this country if at all. EPA/Safety issues. No bumpers etc

[John Luciano]

Thanks Nana good job. I couldn't fig. it out. Oh yea if it gets here ever it will be $10,000 . and $10,000 mandatory life insurance policy to reg it.

[BlueTrinity]

Officially, it is the Volkswagen 1L. It’s so named because it is rated to consume just one liter of fuel in 100 kilometers.

VW spokesmen have said it will meet all US safety standards and while it is expected to go on sale in 2010, there are no projections as to when they will have a US model available.

[John Luciano]

DAve you think it will hit the streets at under $2,000

[BlueTrinity]

John, I doubt there's much chance of that. My best guess is that by the time they mett all the US safety and environmental requirements, it will be closer to 5 grand MSRP for a bare bones unit.

No one here is going to buy this enclosed pressure cooker without air. By the time it gets here, it will have AC, sound system, ABS, air bag and other creature comforts that Americans will demand.

The bigger question is when. It won't come until VW is convinced the market demand is there. I imagine they are watching the success that their Daimler friends have with the SMART car as a gauge of whether there is enough economy consciousness to get large numbers of Americans to move to micro vehicles. These aren't built for the motorcycle market, they're aimed at the younger consumer generation, and so far the acceptance of SMART and others has been far less than overwhelming.

I think we are several years away from the US version and by them you’ll have to lay out $8,000 to $10,000 for one.

But then, I’ve been wrong before and will probably be wrong at least one more time before I die.

[The Wolf]

Stick to a smart car. Cheap to run (not the brabus sport) easy to insure and a hoot to drive

[robandlyn]

Hmmm ....
Looks like a coffin with wheels !
No Thanks .... :no::no::no::no:
Rob .....

[John Luciano]

Smart car has been overly accepted from what i heard they sold more than expected . We have 4 or 5 in town

[tis]

It appears to have just Three wheels, and the price they state is cheaper then a bumper with lights that Motor Trike or Lehman put on there kits. Go Figure.........

[John Luciano]

Looks like auto tranny. Knob on right is P R N D The one on the left is lights I think and the far left looks hike heat and air.

[BlueTrinity]

OK John, here may be your answer on price. We were all way off bases. Autopia, a site by WIRED! did the following write-up on the L1. Its lengthy but interesting...and hold onto your wallet!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Volkswagen’s had its super-thrifty One-Liter Car concept vehicle stashed away for six years. The body’s made of carbon fiber to minimize weight (the entire car weighs just 660 pounds) and company execs didn’t expect the material to become cheap enough to produce the car until 2012.
But VW’s decided to build the car two years ahead of schedule.

According to Britain’s Car magazine, VW has approved a plan to build a limited number of One-Liters in 2010. They’ll probably be built in the company’s prototype shop, which has the capacity to build as many as 1,000 per year. That’s not a lot, but it’s enough to help VW get a lot of attention while showing how much light weight and an efficient engine can achieve.
VW unveiled the slick two-seater concept six years ago at a stockholder’s meeting in Hamburg. To prove it was a real car, Chairman Ferdinand Piech personally drove it from Wolfsburg to Hamburg. At the time, he said the car could see production when the cost of its carbon monocoque dropped from 35,000 Euros (about $55,000) to 5,000 Euros (about $8,000) — something he figured would happen in 2012. With carbon fiber being used in everything from airliners to laptops these days, VW’s apparently decided the cost is competitive enough to build at least a few hundred One-Liters.
VW’s engineers — who spent three years developing the car — made extensive use of magnesium, titanium and aluminum to bring it in at less than one-third the weight of a Toyota Echo. According to Canadian Driver, the front suspension assembly weighs just 18 pounds. The six-speed transmission features a magnesium case, titanium bolts and hollow gears; it weighs a tad more than 50 pounds. The 16-inch wheels are carbon fiber. The magnesium steering wheel weighs a little more than a pound. How much of the concept car’s exotic hardware makes it to the production model remains to be seen.
Low weight only gets you so far in the quest for ultimate fuel economy; aerodynamics plays a big role. The One-Liter is long and low, coming in at 11.4 feet long, 4.1 feet wide and 3.3 feet tall. It features an aircraft-like canopy, flat wheel covers and a belly pan to smooth the airflow under the car. The engine cooling vents open only when needed, and video cameras take the place of mirrors. The passenger sits behind the driver to keep the car narrow. The car has a coefficient of drag of 0.16; the average car comes in around 0.30 and the Honda Insight had a Cd of 0.25.
As for the engine, the concept had a one-cylinder diesel engine producing 8.5 horsepower and 13.5 foot-pounds of torque. Car says the production model will use a two-cylinder turbodiesel for a little more oomph. Doubling the number of cylinders is sure to cut fuel economy, so VW may install a diesel-hybrid drivetrain. The engine turns off at stop lights to save fuel, then automatically restarts when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal.
(Update: The car reportedly has anti-lock brakes, stability control and airbags. According to Canadian Driver, "Volkswagen says the One-Liter Car is as safe as a GT sports car registered for racing. With the aid of computer crash simulations, the car was designed with built-in crash tubes, pressure sensors for airbag control and front crumple zones.")
What’s it gonna cost? Car quotes "one well-placed insider" who says the One-Liter could have a sticker price of anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 Euros (about $31,750
to $47,622). That’s a lot of money. But then, the One-Liter, despite its diminutive size, is a lot of car.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[ben721364]

(Note: posted for John Luciaino)

If you could go to Shanghai for a vacation, buy two or more of these cars, one for your wife and one for yourself, and one for each of your kids,
have them shipped to Canada and still spend less money than if you bought a car in Canada. Getting the car(s) into USA , still an ordeal.

This is not a toy, not a concept car. It is a newly developed single seat car in highly aerodynamic tear-shape road-proven real car. It is ready to be launched as a single-seater for sale in Shanghai in 2010 for a mere RMB 4,000 (US$600)!

Interested? Wait till you learn that it will cruise at 100-120 Km/Hr with an unbelievable 0.99litre/100Km (258 miles/gallon) !!

Impressed? Totally, after you have read all the details below about the hi-tech and space-age material input into this car!!!

The Most Economic Car in the World will be on sale next year
Better than Electric Car - 258 miles/gallon: IPO 2010 in Shanghai
This is a single seated car.
From conception to production: 3 years and the company is headquartered in Hamburg , Germany .

Will be selling for 4000 yuan, equivalent to US$600..

Gas tank capacity = 1.7 gallons

Speed = 62 - 74.6 Miles/hour

Fuel efficiency = 258 miles/gallon

Travel distance with a full tank = 404 miles

"Will be selling for 4000 yuan, equivalent to US$600.. "
I believe this is either an error or wild speculation. <g>