A 42-mpg VW Diesel Roadster As Sexy As It Is Efficient

[antimatter98]

Source: WiReD

The mid-engined sports car made its world debut at the Detroit auto show, and although it's just a concept, there's no reason why VW couldn't - or shouldn't - build it. The car gets 42 mpg and emits about as much CO2 as a Toyota Prius, and it is emissions-legal in all 50 states so even car-crazy Californians could buy one.

BlueSport relies upon three technologies VW believes will become more prevalent as the auto industry develops cleaner, more fuel-efficient cars: turbocharging, automatic start-stop technology and regenerative braking. "The future of Volkswagen belongs to cars like this," company chairman Martin Winkerhorn said as he unveiled the car, which could appear in showrooms in 2011.

Read more: http://blog.wired.com/cars/2009/01/vw-42-mpg-diese.html

[boobooday]

1. Damn that's cute. n/t

[KansDem]

2. Nice looking car...

[w4rma]

3. I drive a VW. Love it. (nt)

[n2doc]

4. Another unavailable yuppie toy

2011. Why not 2015? Next year the same cars will be trotted out with a "2012" "availability" date. These things always, without exception, are "sometime in the future". And it will undoubtedly be priced in the mid 30K range or higher.

[One_Life_To_Give]

5. 50 State Legal?

I thought Diesel Cars were illegal in MA?

[WriteDown]

7. The US's reluctance to diesel vehicles...

was a very foolish decision in hindsight.

[Lance_Boyle]

10. 50-state legal.

Bluetec. <--http://microsites.mbusa.com/microsite/bluetec/index.jsp

[Robb]

33. I was in MA over the weekend

...being driven around in a diesel VW station wagon. :shrug:

[notadmblnd]

6. looks like an Audi

:shrug:

[Lost-in-FL]

9. VW own Audi, Lamborgini and a few other brand of Eurocars...

so I am not surprised if it looks like an Audi.

[Lost-in-FL]

8. Let me see...

only to be sold in Europe right?

[liberal N proud]

11. NICE!

With diesel being more expensive than gasoline, is 42 mpg high enough to more than offset the cost?

Granted most sports cars don't have any fuel efficiency in mind. Just wonder if 42 mpg is enough to offset the higher cost of diesel

[MaineDem]

12. Too bad it's just a concept car

I hope they build it.

[blendermax]

13. I don't know how much sense this car makes

a 2 seat convertible for 30 grand? Not very practical for most. And I don't think people who have the money to splurge on a toy like this are going to be very concerned about fuel economy.

[LostinVA]

17. Wanna bet?

I've always wanted a roadster, even since I was little, but even if I ahd the money I probably wouldn't because of fuel economy. If I had the money and there was something like this or a hybrid roadster? I'd buy it in a minute.

[blendermax]

18. But you don't have the money

and if you did, you would then be a lot less concerned about fuel economy.

[LostinVA]

25. No, I certainly wouldn't be less concerned with fuel economy

:eyes:

[bstender]

14. color me punch-drunk

it's a car folks. cars are a scourge on this planet. everyone in their personal little transport is a jetson's fantasy trip only available to the spoiled first-worlders who have learned the art of blinding themselves to the costs of their lifestyle. CARS are the epitome of that lifestyle, but it extends to super market, the mall, the suburbia and so on.

get off it. cars are not the future. we need rail and we need density and we need real meaningful activities for ourselves. but instead we'll get a grand shell-game stimulus package so we can keep the same corporate dead end program on track for a few more years.

google the carbon footprint of any automobile's lifespan (hint, the gas usage is a small percentage). google the death toll from cars, or land use/destruction, or public costs, or community destruction for starters...(if you dare)

[zipplewrath]

15. Think "individual transport"

As long as people have traveled by anything but foot, they have sought, and found, individualized transportation. The horse, donkey, bicycle, or the car, people have wanted/needed individualized transportation. It's current form is the car. Even in the densest urban areas, cars are still sought and used. You can invent something new, but in all of history, man has had some form of individualized transport, and generally one that could haul some groceries too.

[bstender]

22. seriously incredible inventions, indeed...a pity

like nukes in a way

[Herman74]

41. Think MORE DEEPLY about individual transport

"It's current form is the car." -- Tell that nonsense to all those who commute by bicycle each week. I mean, besides me, even when it's -5 C, as it will be on Friday.

"Even in the densest urban areas, cars are still sought and used." For what, to belch harmful filth into the air for people to breathe??? Or to cause global warming??? I anxiously await your answer.

"man has had some form of individualized transport, and generally one that could haul some groceries too" -- when humanity gets as excited about the latest developments in cargo bikes as some alas are about air-polluting, global-warming, people-killing, junkyard-filling cars, then I'll know humanity has progressed.

Until that time, you might want to think a little bit less about the INDIVIDUAL, and a little bit more about SOCIETY. Outside the bike, the best way to get people around is the subway, as New Yorkers have found out. The subway, people working together rather than fighting each other both in snarled traffic and for almost-nonexistent parking places.

[CRF450]

45. Got an alternative for us with jobs that REQUIRE a car or truck?

Or how about an affordable place to live in close to our jobs? Nope, cars are here to and I wont be giving up my two rides anytime soon.

[zipplewrath]

53. I'm speaking to realities.

"It's current form is the car." -- Tell that nonsense to all those who commute by bicycle each week. I mean, besides me, even when it's -5 C, as it will be on Friday.

Are you 62 with arthritis? People want and need individual transport. The form it can take can vary quite a bit, but it will vary and tend towards versatility and convienence. You can hope that 5000 years of human history will change, but I tend to be a tad more pragmatic than that.

"Even in the densest urban areas, cars are still sought and used." For what, to belch harmful filth into the air for people to breathe??? Or to cause global warming??? I anxiously await your answer.

For individual transportation, which is why there are so many taxi cabs. It saves time and allows for the transport of more than just your person. It also allows for flexibility. Individual transport can come in many forms, currently the auto is the most common. Scooters are probably a current close #2 (especially if grouped with full bore motorcycles).


"man has had some form of individualized transport, and generally one that could haul some groceries too" -- when humanity gets as excited about the latest developments in cargo bikes as some alas are about air-polluting, global-warming, people-killing, junkyard-filling cars, then I'll know humanity has progressed.


Cars replaced bikes (and horses, you should see the environmental/disease problems THOSE caused). I don't expect mankind to go backwards. Forwards yes, to noncarbon base transportation. But it will rely upon nonhuman energy sources.

"Until that time, you might want to think a little bit less about the INDIVIDUAL, and a little bit more about SOCIETY."

I'm sticking to REALITY, for the time being. Like the 5000 years of human history kind.

"Outside the bike, the best way to get people around is the subway, as New Yorkers have found out.

So there are no taxis or cars in NYC? Or they are all used by "non New Yorkers"?
Subways only work in the highest of densities. Even then, the typically are only favored because of
increase convienence and the high cost of individualized transport in dense urban areas.

" The subway, people working together rather than fighting each other both in snarled traffic and for almost-nonexistent parking places."

There is a tremendous amount of parking in NYC. It's all expensive, but over a weekend on can park a car relatively cheaply. Subways work because in the highest densities, individual transport in the form of the personal auto is expensive and difficult. However, cabs still abound.

[blendermax]

19. The oil and auto lobby are the scourge of the planet

they destroyed mass transit in the US a long time ago

[Psephos]

32. The "scourge of the planet" finger waggers are the scourge of the planet n/t

[LostinVA]

16. I have a VW Golf TDI -- I get 50+ mpg on the highway

LOVE IT.

[liam_laddie]

21. Way back in 2000, in Germany...

I rented a Golf TDi wagon, 1.8 or 2L automatic, IIRC, and in two weeks, about 1400 miles (2/3 autobahn cruising) usually 100 mph, sometimes 125 mph bursts, I got just under 40 MPG. When I did the metric-English conversion, I was flabbergasted! Terrific power train...eight years ago! Never figured out that complex Euro radio, though. Wondered why they didn't import them at the time; maybe emissions, although that's now been solved. If only I could afford a new Jetta...sigh...
The fastest cruisers were Audi A4 wagons; sometimes a big BMW or Mercedes would charge by, but the A4's were always running really fast!

[A-4300SX]

30. You did better than I did!

I rented a Passat in Munich - small-engined, gas - and had to stand on it all the way from Garmisch-Partenkirchen back "down" to Munich - to see 200 km/h; but it was worth it. What the rental Passat lacked in engine it made up in chasis.

[Ian David]

20. Sexy? I wouldn't fuck it, unless you got me drunk first.

Now, a Chevy Blazer... THAT is sexy...

Drunk Man Arrested For Having Sex With Chevy Blazer (Video not safe for work)
http://jalopnik.com/5050010/drunk-man-arrested-for-having-sex-with-chevy-blazer

[bunnies]

34. OMG! Was that even HIS car?!

:spray: :rofl:

[JerseygirlCT]

23. That's cute!

Much cuter than the "new" bug, too, I'd say.

[HopeHoops]

24. The stats are good, but it looks like a lump of clay on wheels.

Back to the drawing board, VW.

[A-4300SX]

26. No doubt, you're not a fan of the Smart Car then...

Goofy styling and bad stats, all in one package...

[AlCzervik]

27. Paddle shifters-blech.

i own a vw, i hope that car comes out with a stick shift.

[Realityhack]

46. I would prefer ring shift.

But stick or paddles are fine by me.

[A-4300SX]

28. 'been a VW fan ever since...

As a 3-year-old, I could comfortably sit in the small space behind the back seat of the neighbor's bug...

As a 4-year old, enjoyed a delicious chocolate shake for the first time in my friend's mom's VW micro bus...(we were tossed around the back like rag dolls - no seat belts for us - and Charlie's mom was just learning stick-shift - fun!)

As a 22-year old, had a VW Rabbit that broke down - and was rescued by someone who is now my now wife of 25 years...

As a 40-something, with a Jetta turbo, still havin' fun after all these years...


<Woops - sorry for the nostalgia> Thanks for listening!

[Mika]

29. Takes chutzpah to make a convertible diesel.

Not even MB dares that move.

[Lance_Boyle]

38. oh, please - modern diesels are not the soot-belchers of old.

Have you not encountered a diesel vehicle made in THIS century?

Looks at Mercedes' bluetec vehicles - yes, even the cute little convertibles. :eyes:

[LostinVA]

40. I have a diesel car -- and, it is NOT a soot-belching vehicle

Great car, 50+ mpg on the highway. Very low maintenance.

[Realityhack]

47. What vintage is that car... Revving on the start line at an autocross?

Modern diesels are cleaner and gas or diesel your exhaust goes mostly behind you.

[Realityhack]

49. Actualy they did plus BMW makes several, VW made one in 95.

The CLK 320CDI

[snooper2]

52. BMW has

Exciting news for our European friends: BMW has announced the unveiling of BMW 320d Convertible at the Geneva Auto Show in February. The best part of this new 3-series diesel convertible is the fuel-economy, supposedly 44 MPG.

The BMW 320d will be powered by a 2L single-turbocharged diesel engine producing 177hp with a peak torque of 258 lb-ft. Of course, BMW's new technology, Efficient Dynamic, will be featured in this new model.

Available in both SE and M Sports trim level, the BMW 320d is priced at £33,110 OTR and £35,735 OTR respectively. Both models go on sale in March 2008.

We're still waiting for a 3-series diesel version in the U.S, but so far, we have only heard of a 335d being scheduled to be released this in the States.

[sofa king]

31. Ah, concepts.

I always like looking at concept cars because they usually say a lot more about the present than they do about the future. They're all about granting wishes--fake, often nonfunctional wishes.

But once in awhile, you'll see one that for one reason or another gets enough traction to become a truly iconic mass-produced vehicle without major cosmetic changes. Examples might include the Dodge Viper and the Audi TT. And then there are the butt-ugly runts that should have been tossed off the bridge but grew up to be shitboxes.

Look at enough of them long enough, and you'll see the future, but you'll never know which future it is until it gets there.

[CRF450]

44. The production Camaro is very close to the concept.

The exterior remains mostly the same, the interior though loses alot of the flashy looks it had in the concept. But still keeps the exact lines.

[Realityhack]

48. Oh man... the fun we had razzing the sales people over the aztec at the auto show. n/t

[bunnies]

35. Diesel is the most expensive gas 'round here.

And isnt the point to get OFF of gas? Thanks anyway.

[Lance_Boyle]

39. diesel is not gas

it is a different type of fuel. Yes, mostly made from petroleum. But biodiesel is more and more available every day, and yes, these engines can run it with no modifications.

[Realityhack]

51. The national year round average is close to the same.

Diesel has a different seasonality as it is NOT gas.

[Javaman]

36. Any idea how much it will cost? nt

[JeanGrey]

37. Too small for me.

[JCMach1]

42. too bad VW quality sucks swamp water these days...

[CRF450]

43. 42mpg, is that HWY or city driving? The Corvettes get 30mpg HWY.

And average in the low 20's most of the time.

Sweet looking car though!

[roody]

50. My VW TDI Golf already gets more than 42 mph, highway.

[merh]

54. I hate diesel

and 42 mph is not efficient enough mileage for a new car or worth having to put up with a diesel - I get about that with my Cabriolet - with proper tuning maintenance. Also have more room for passengers or to haul stuff. I had a truck before this car and its hard to get used to not having one.