#182 – Equal time for foreign auto makers
August 30, 2010 by admin
Filed under Automakers
I’ve taken some heat for criticizing American auto makers for their vapor cars that we’ll never see in large enough quantities to make one damn bit of difference. Well, here is proof I am not entirely biased toward foreign automakers. It’s clear that they too can be bought for a price.
I watch a program about the american goverment and the germans scientists and them saying the badge isnt a v and w its two vs intrinde which stands for 66 something to do with the devil
“Well, it seems that VW wasnt done talking about the L1 concept as they have recently let us know that they expect it to enter production right around the same time as the E-Up! (sometime around 2013) and that it will get 170MPG. This goes along with the previous statement that the L1 will travel 100 kilometers using just 1.38 liters of diesel fuel.”
The 3L was a test bed and that went into production so i see no reason it will not as long as it is priced so that it s viable for VW to sell, according to the reports form the Frankfurt motor show it is nearly production ready.
the l1 is designed to be as save as a GT race car.
it is probably much safer than any SUV
It’s a prototype and mainly a test bed for new technology.
They are not planning to put it into full scale production even in Europe, let alone America.
VW mexico may take it on as unlike the USA they have the bluemotion range
as its not right or left hand drive being a single seat widths people will just import them. Its not that hard to order one jump on a train to Germany to pick it up from the factory and drive it back to the uk, You could drive a 3L back to the UK in a little less than a tank so a 1L would be nothing. The demand has to comes from the public in a serous way and i really cant see people in the USA changing their attitude towards everything over night. Its a cultural thing not just VW
will be sold to the public, you would also need to loose weight, an ultra light car like the L1 is not going to achieve anywhere near what it should if it has a huge amount of weight in the form of a person. the seats will also not accommodate such huge people. Now i know not everyone is huge in the US but it could cause complications that an auto maker just does not want to contend with. I am still not sure if we will get the L1 in the UK but it will be a silly move if it is not taken on
and i dont think there is much chance in coming out alive in a head on between a fiat 500 and Q7 size just wins over. Quite simply you would have to be insane to drive some of our small cars on your roads but the L1 forget it you would have to have a death wish to drive it among all the huge SUVs. Can you imagine the lawsuit if someone was killed in one of those things in a low speed crash. You need to transition away from the ‘bigger is better’ culture culture before anything like the L1
The average car here is tiny in comparison to you average cars / SUVs many of your SUVs and trucks are bigger and hugely more heavy than many or our commercial vans. A 1L would probably be crushed instantly by an SUV hitting it despite the fact it is designed to be strong and safe. The safety areas will be designed the avarage over here, the audi Q7 is among the biggest cars we have over here, the fiat 500 is a 5 star in the euro NCAP but it is totally destroyed by a Q7 hitting it
We didn’t get the Lupo 3L here in the UK when i did a bit of digging i found it was upto VW UK what cars they did or did not sell so it will be the same in the US it is VW USA that will make the choice of what cars they do or do not sell. It is not also just down to VW USA as they may wish to take a car on but it will not meet certain criteria. In this situation it could be safty, In Europe we have euro NCAP ratig but in the US its IIHS.
Then, try to flat a quality tire with an 838lb car…
It seems like the rear wheel can be reached by removing a panel? Else, why make the wheel shape there on the outside anyway?
Distributors of big companies are not new to this attitude. European distributors, for instance, have decided to not offer the Gary Fisher mountainbike brand, AT ALL for 2010. It’s a huge hit in the US, gaining popularity with their state of the art 29″ wheeled bikes for some time. Europe decides to run behind.
I’m not being sarcastic about a lack of spare tires, just the design that (at least seems for the look of it) prevents one from being able to easily change a rear tire, should one carry a spare of their own.
Nice. “No user serviceable parts inside?” So what do you want for $600?
The Volkswagon L1 has a really smart feature where the cover up the rear wheels so that it’s impossible to change a flat tire.
Might have to. :-
Z do you want me to save you a seat on the boat to Europe? I’m getting the distinctive feeling that we are soon going to have to go there to get the vehicles and other goodies we want. I gave up on North American car manufacturers when they killed the Rav 4 ev and the EV1. Cheers
Here is something to think about. I used to drive a semi for a living that got about 10 mpg. That was considered good by trucking standards. Now for my job I drive a Ford f350 that is 1/8 the weight, 1/10 the rolling resistance, and 1/5 the wind resistance and when you add it all up I manage to get 14MPG. WOW!!!. If I pull a loaded trailer, it is no better than the semi I used to drive pulling 80,000 pounds. Definitly Something to think about.
??
Opec probally paid VW to keep that model out of America same as they did the new Ford that gets around 60 plus miles.
Well perhaps here in Brazil we could stand to much HIGHER and thus more pleasant standards if we weren’t supposed to pay U$30.000 in taxes for a car you can afford by less than U$10.000 in US. A Honda Civic costs R$60.000,00 here – aproximatedly 30.000 dollars; A Hummer costs R$250.000 or 120.000 dollars… nonetheless, despite that awlful political matter, that’s not my point: what i meant is that we pay for the ‘same’ car and it comes with shitty/malfunctioning components.
that was six words. : )
No flames here. That is a really EXCELLENT point!
Not to start a flame war, but if motorcycles can be viewed as legal, i see no reason how this concept vehicle could not. Yes risk is assumed any time you use any vehicle, as long as the vehicle isn’t posing a huge unnecessary risk to other vehicles and their passengers the risk is no higher than a bike.
Side Note: half my buddies and some of my family ride bikes, i have nothing against them. I would even like to own one once im a little more settled.
Not the three words i would have chose, but you will receive no heat from me on this subject
5* s