TDI diesel-electric plug-in hybrid AWD with off-road capability and twin electric motors. 302 HP, 516 lb-ft of torque, moving the 4100 lb stump puller to 62 mph in 6.5 seconds. Top speed 137 mph. Still capable of 131 mpg on a European test cycle.
VW Cross Coupe at the Geneva Auto Show
And they are NOT gonna build it.
VW really pisses me off with their concept cars.
Probably because in classic engineering speak, 'it would cost too much...'
It does sound pretty freakin cool, tho.
Im still waiting for the XL1 so i can replace my 11 yr old Insight with something that's actually BETTER. lol
Vigo wrote: Im still waiting for the XL1 so i can replace my 11 yr old Insight with something that's actually BETTER. lol
I hear ya. I'm now looking at running my TDi for nearly forever since the one vehicle I was hoping to replace it has gone bust (Aptera).
Not attractive.
And, can manufacturers STOP using the coupe moniker on vehicles with four doors. Uggh, marketers!
Ian F wrote: Probably because in classic engineering speak, 'it would cost too much...' It does sound pretty freakin cool, tho.
That's not classic engineering speak, that's classic accounting speak. 
bravenrace wrote:Ian F wrote: Probably because in classic engineering speak, 'it would cost too much...' It does sound pretty freakin cool, tho.That's not classic engineering speak, that's classic accounting speak.
No... it's the engineering speak for when something will be a PITA while offering little reward, "it can be done, but it would cost too much..."
Kind of like the twin charged 1.4L that makes 170hp and gets nearly 50mpg. Why won't they bring that here?
16vCorey wrote: Kind of like the twin charged 1.4L that makes 170hp and gets nearly 50mpg. Why won't they bring that here?
Americans don't like efficient powertrains 
SVreX wrote: TDI diesel-electric plug-in hybrid AWD with off-road capability and twin electric motors. 302 HP, 516 lb-ft of torque, moving the 4100 lb stump puller to 62 mph in 6.5 seconds. Top speed 137 mph. Still capable of 131 mpg on a European test cycle. VW Cross Coupe at the Geneva Auto Show And they are NOT gonna build it. VW really pisses me off with their concept cars.
Almost everybody talks about how a Volt is WAY too expensive. Now imagine the markup from Chevy to VW (aka: German Tax), the additional cost of the TDI (aka: Diesel Tax), and the cost of selling it to our market (aka: Homologation Tax). You'd be looking at a VERY expensive car, especially since the more expensive it gets, the fewer will sell, and the fewer that will sell, the more expensive it gets...it's a viscious cycle!
I like diesel electric hybrids, I work with them every day...but diesel and electric powertrain cost/complexity stuff adds up faster than most imagine.
Bryce
Oh, with that said, I should note that the whole point of concept cars is to get people thinking. If the audience responds extremely well to a concept, the concept gets a big boost towards likelihood to see further investigation (use the Volt example above for a very good example of this). That doesn't mean that very powertrain/concept will get pushed, but one that is similar might. For example, maybe they decide that VW will be ony diesel hybrids for minimum fuel consumption (lower performance than the concept, reduced cost/complexity) because they heard of so much interest in their concept, while Porsche gets the absolute in performance hybrids, etc. So, if you like a concept, TALK TO YOUR DEALER. If a lot of dealers all say the same thing to the OEM at the next dealer meeting, the OEMs will certainly listen more than if it was a couple of message board posts on the internet.
Bryce
Yeah, the straight truth is, at least as far as fuel efficiency goes, not enough people put their money where their mouth is to really make a value proposition to the manufacturers.
Take the 1g insight, which Nashco and I have both owned (secondhand, which is important in this context..).. They built around as many Insights as they did Plymouth Prowlers.. and how often do you see something like that come out of an OEM? If you think about that, you start to realize why we are just now getting back to within 10-15mpg of what the 1g insight got more than a decade ago. Because people didnt vote with their wallets.. and even LESS would actually try to send their desires up the chain by talking to a dealer like Nashco suggests.
I could be wrong (I often am) but using the Insight as an example of folks not wanting to "vote with their wallets" is a bit feeble. How many folks wanted a small, low slung, 2 passenger econo car...much less one that uses batteries to extend it's mileage? Yet, look how many more Priuses were sold than Insights...not all those Priuses were sold because of their Toyota badges.
The Prowler isn't a better example, either. It looked like a custom hot rod, but had no manual transmission...or WORSE, no V8 engine.
if you REALLY want to be mad at VW, get mad at their lame-brained idea to sell the EOS here, instead of the Scirocco. At least the Scirocco has an available TDi, does the EOS?
they can't get the electricals on a base Jetta right.....that vehicle in the first post would have to be at the dealer every DAY for warranty repairs!
In reply to Nashco:
Bryce, I get where you are coming from, and certainly agree that concepts are leads to future cars that do get built, but VW is NOTORIOUS for bringing wild ideas out in concept that they NEVER do anything with.
I am not aware of anyone who is better at this little tease than VW.
How many folks wanted a small, low slung, 2 passenger econo car...
CRX.... nay, ALL CIVIC HATCHES EVER. Unless of course you would seriously buy any of those as a 4 passenger vehicle (you wouldnt).
The Prowler is an example of an OEM doing something out of left field, and i think it's a fine example of that. The fact that almost as many people ponied up for v6/auto/useless (also low slung and 2 passenger) 'hot rods' as for a car that was SHOCKINGLY economical (and surprisingly practical) just proves that the all-knowing 'market' has shown the OEMs that catering to the efficiency-minded crowd made about as much business sense as building an underpowered (14sec..), useless hot rod, at least until recently.
Bryce, I get where you are coming from, and certainly agree that concepts are leads to future cars that do get built, but VW is NOTORIOUS for bringing wild ideas out in concept that they NEVER do anything with. I am not aware of anyone who is better at this little tease than VW.
Well, at least as far as the XL1 was concerned, it was a showcase of VW's investment in mass-production carbon-fiber technology, which is a very real investment, even if we havent bought the vehicles yet.
SVreX wrote: In reply to Nashco: VW is NOTORIOUS for bringing wild ideas out in concept that they NEVER do anything with.
Case in point!
irish44j wrote: they can't get the electricals on a base Jetta right.....that vehicle in the first post would have to be at the dealer every DAY for warranty repairs!
nailed it
I thought this was what pissed people off about VW:
Bobzilla wrote: I thought this was what pissed people off about VW:
I owned a 99 Passat for 6 years and for as much as I bitch about that car - the CEL never once came on (and no it wasn't burnt out) except for the start-up to confirm the light worked.
SVreX wrote: Why does VW piss me off so much?
It's probably the CEL. That's what does it for me.
VW built the Concept 1 which became the New Beetle. They realized they had a gold mine built around a 'cutesy' car and they were right.
They also built it so cheaply that it was a royal PITA to try to get straightened out. Oh man, the tech bulletins... for instance they were building them so fast the assembly line guys could not be bothered to clean the paint off the wiring harness ground points. So they sent them out for the customers/dealerships to debug and then RAPED the dealerships over the repair costs. Even though they ADMITTED the cars were complete crap.
That's what pisses ME off about VW. And is also why I will never work for them again if I can possibly avoid it.
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