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Has anyone heard about a new VW concept car that is supposed to be available in about a year;   got an e-mail from a friend about it,   it is a single seater, will get over 200 mpg.  I can forward this e-mail to anyone that wants it.   Article said it would probably cost around $600.00.    The pictures showed the word "WOB  L1" on the front and back on some kind of plate.   Sounds too good to be true, but I already want one and would like to get in line if it is true.    Has anyone heard anything like this?  

Sure... the L1 concept. Don't hold your breath though. =)  

I think I found a picture of it:

 

Do a search for "VW L1".  It was first shown in 2002 and I believe the plan is to start selling them in China in 2010.  As far as I can tell most of the Internet postings about a $600 price tag are probably a translation error.  From what I could find I think the 660 is the weight and the real price in US $'s is about $31K-$45K.  The frame is lightweight magnesium and the body is carbon fiber and each of those probably costs about $600 alone.  A lot of postings talk about "gas" but they're really run on diesel.  The SMART car in Europe has a diesel option that gets upwards of 80mpg but isn't available in the US.  In fact when the SMART car was finally "spiffied-up" for the US market (and to meet the US Goberment requirements) it gets only 40-45mpg compared to something like 50-60 in Europe.  Expect that if the VM L1 ever gets to the US it will be gas powered, dragging another 1000lbs of junk and get about 45mpg.  I'd love to have one though! Better mileage than my motorcycle and all weather riding.  I could give up my roll-cage (car) that I keep for bad weather driving.  

The "some kind of plate" is in fact a completely normal German license plate: WOB= Wolfsburg (ie the city that the car's registered in and, incidentally, also the city where the VW headquarters are), and then a combination of letter(s) and numbers... and yes, they did pick those to match the model designation.  

Huh. Well I guess a new, drivable, gas-friendly $600 vehicle is a bit much to ask for, would have been nice. Still could be cool, I guess.  
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currently looking for scion tC rims, help?

I don't know about that pipe dream, but I did want to share a VW related story. On a recent trip back to Louisiana I swung into the rest stop near the Texas border and noticed a car I had never seen before. (Shocking I know) It looked German from the get go but had no model designation whatsoever, although I did eventually see Audi rings on the grill. It looked like an Audi A6 fastback. Somewhat Merkur Scorpioesque.. It seemed to look larger than an A6 but that could have been an optical illusion from the large rear hatch. It did have Michigan 'manufature' plates on it and a man sleeping inside so i presume it to be either a magazine cross country test drive or manufacturer shakedown drive.. Or it could have been a UDO, and I'm crazy. Either way it was cool seeing something not yet retailed..  

That looks an awful lot like the Isuzu Vehicross to me...