VW's XL1--into the Future.

Scissor doors open.

I swear, scissor doors are like catnip to guys.  You wouldn't believe how much attention we got driving VW's XL1 in midtown on December 11th.  Men behind the wheels of their Maximas and Bimmers grinning from ear to ear; workmen jumping out of their trucks to ask about the car.  "How much is that car?,"  one asked.  "$145,000, but for you, $138,000," I quipped (and I hope it is not too egotistical to say I quipped).  My colleague had a bus driver stop his bus in the middle of the street, open the bus door and start asking questions about the car--while he was on his bus route with passengers in the bus!

The XL1 looks like a space ship that was inspired by a mango--in our case a bright white mango.(VW says it's a dolphin.)  The vehicle uses everything in the automotive design and engineering toolbox to get 261 miles out of it's battery/diesel powertrain.  Carbon fiber, no mirrors mounted to the doors--these are replaced by small cameras known as e-mirrors (digital outside mirrors) that send images to two displays inside the vehicle, rear wheels fully covered to prevent turbulence, while airflow around the wheelarches is optimized by small spoilers in front of and behind the wheels.  Polycarbonate side windows weigh about a third less than conventional windows.  This two-seater can drive up to 31 miles as a zero-emissions electric vehicle.

Patrick, who showed me around the car clutching a part made of carbon fiber described the car as a technological guidepost for VW's future.  Interesting then, that it has no Nav system (it uses a Garmin--again to save weight and probably money) and it has roll-up windows.   The XL1 weighs only 1753 pounds, has exceptional aerodynamics, and has a low center of gravity. That allows the XL1 to  cruise at  62 mph using  8.3 horsepower. In all-electric mode, the XL1 requires less than 0.1 kWh to cover more than 0.6 miles.

Take a class on graceful entry and exit before getting in the car.

This is the third generation of Volkswagen’s 1-liter car strategy.   The XL1’s plug-in hybrid system consists of a 48-hp two-cylinder TDI® Clean Diesel engine, a 27-hp electric motor, a seven-speed DSG® dual-clutch automatic transmission, and a lithium-ion battery.
The 5.5kWh lithium-ion battery supplies the electric motor with 220 volts of electrical energy. The electronics system manages the flow of high voltage energy to and from the battery or electric motor and converts direct current to alternating current. Battery regeneration occurs when the car is slowing down and when the car brakes, at which point the electric motor acts as a generator. The XL1’s 12-volt electrical system is supplied via a DC/DC converter and a small auxiliary battery.  The lithium-ion battery can be charged from a conventional household electric outlet.

As well as boosting the TDI engine under hard acceleration, the electric motor can also power the XL1 on its own for a distance of up to 31 miles. The driver can choose to drive the XL1 in pure electric mode, provided that the battery is sufficiently charged, by pressing a button on the instrument panel is pressed.
Restarting the TDI engine is a very smooth process. While driving, the electric motor’s rotor is sped up and is very quickly coupled to the clutch in a process known as “pulse starting”. This accelerates the diesel engine to the required speed and starts it, so the driver hardly notices the transition. In certain operating conditions, the load of the TDI engine can be shifted so that it operates at its most favorable efficiency level. The gears in the DSG transmission are also always selected with the aim of minimizing energy usage.

 It's a two-seater cabin with only one airbag (weight savings again)  The passenger's seat is as far back as it can go so that in case of an accident there would be no chance of hitting the dash or the windshield.  Still, it's a no-no in the U.S. so the car won't be sold here.  Here the XL1 is an idea --it shows the direction VW is headed technologically.  Just 250 XL1s will be produced at the Volkswagen factory in Osnabrück, Germany.

The XL1 utilizes lightweight and extremely strong molded, carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) construction for the monocoque, meaning the exterior skin provides the main structural support, all exterior body parts, and components such as the anti-roll bars. CFRP parts are as strong as comparable steel or aluminum parts, yet the exterior skin of the XL1 is just 0.05 inches thick.
  A total of 21.3 percent of the new XL1, or 373 lb, consists of CFRP.   Just 23.2 percent (406 lb) of the car being constructed from steel and iron.

In a collision, the extremely strong CFRP monocoque provides an impressive survival cell for the driver and passenger. This is achieved by intelligent design of load paths, including the use of sandwich structures in the monocoque, while the front and rear aluminum crush structures absorb a large share of energy in frontal and rear collisions. The CFRP doors have aluminum impact beams to absorb crash energy and the door frame also minimizes intrusions into the safety cell. A great deal of attention was also paid to extricating occupants in the event of a rollover collision: pyrotechnic separating screws are used to simplify opening of the doors, which ordinarily open upwards.
Compared to manufacturing CFRP in a pre-preg process, the RTM process is more economical—with lower costs at higher volumes—because it can be automated.  Lots of very interesting ideas here for the future.

Fun to drive.  Carbon brakes make noises reminiscent of dentist..

The XL1 uses scissor doors that are reminiscent of a high-end sports car’s. Because they are hinged low on the A-pillars and just above the windshield in the roof frame, they swivel upwards and slightly forwards as well. The doors also extend far into the roof. When they are opened, they create an exceptionally large amount of entry and exit space.  But because the car is low to the ground you better have carbon fiber knees and a sprightly back to enter and exit.  You also need to take a class on entering and exiting the car so that you look really cool instead of old.

Is it a mango or a dophin?  Send your votes.

The design takes an entirely new path at the rear, but the brand values of precision and quality are clearly evident. Four characteristics stand out: First, there is the dolphin body form that narrows towards the rear with highly defined trailing edges, for optimal aerodynamics. Second, there is the coupe-shaped roofline that doesn’t have a rear windshield. Merging into the roofline is the large rear trunklid/hood that covers the drive unit and4.2 cubic feet of luggage space. Third, the strip of red LEDs frames the rear section at the top and on the sides and incorporates the reversing lights, taillights, rear foglamps and brake lights. Fourth, a black diffuser exhibits a near seamless transition to the full underbody.

The car is also designed to reducing rolling resistance, with friction-optimized wheel bearings and drive shafts, as well as ultra-low rolling resistance Michelin tires, sized 115/80 up front and 145/55 R16 at the back. But all this efficiency isn’t at the expense of safety: the XL1 has an anti-lock braking system (ABS) and a stability control program (ESC).

VW Jetta Hybrid

It's a hybrid!  No, it's a turbo!  No, wait, it's both!

Subtle.

VW’s Jetta Hybrid doesn’t broadcast itself as a hybrid except for the

moniker on the rear of the vehicle, so it’s easy to forget this Jetta is a hybrid. The 2013 VW Jetta Hybrid comes with a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder and a 20kW electric motor, a combination good for 170 hp and 184 pound-feet of torque. Power is fed to the front wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch automated manual transmission.

The electric motor alone can power the Jetta Hybrid for almost a mile at speeds up to 37 mph. VW says the Jetta Hybrid can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in less than 8.6 seconds.

According to the EPA, the Jetta Hybrid will return 42 mpg city/48 mpg highway and 45 mpg combined using required premium fuel.  At speed you wouldn’t know you’re in a hybrid Jetta unless you check your exceptional 45 mpg gas mileage at every stoplight.  The only other clue is when all goes quiet at stops.   When I took my foot off the brake, I noticed a slight lurching possibly caused by an enthusiastic electric motor.

Shift

I am reminded it’s a hybrid when I try to stuff many bags into the trunk—batteries take up a lot of space.  I get most of my belongings in the trunk with a bit of cramming.  Still it has 11.3 cubic feet of space in the trunk.

The cabin—including the back seat––is sedan roomy, again posing as a normal car and not a hybrid.  The driving dynamics feel dependable—it takes off from a stop brightly and corners well.  It comes with an excellent safety profile as one would expect from VW.

GirlDriver, USA really likes VW interiors, but the interior of the Jetta hybrid doesn’t have the sharpness of other VW models.  It was a little disappointing, more ordinary than VW’s usual executions. There's a lot of cost in mechanics of this car, which is probably why the interior is a little toned down from VW's usual.

It has a touchscreen stereo interface (standard in all SE and SEL models) and also a dial knob so you can choose how you want to access your tunes.

Base model starts at $24,995 and runs up to $31,180 MSRP.

VW Passat TDI Clean Diesel Gets 84.1 MPG with Hypermiling Taylors

If you're on the fence about clean diesel, here's more cool news from VW:  The car costs $26,765 including destination charge and is rated at 43 MPG.  But mileage experts John and Helen Taylor just completed a 1626-mile drive in Chattanooga-built Volkswagen Passat TDI®—without stopping for fuel.   Here are the details.  Twenty-six grand for this lovely package?  I'd buy it in a heartbeat over the Volt.  But that's just me.

• Record set using a stock 2012 Passat TDI SE with six-speed manual transmission
• Average of 84.1 miles per gallon during three-day trip
• Shows mileage benefits of VW Clean Diesel technology

The world’s most fuel-efficient couple has done it again. John and Helen Taylor were determined to break the record for the farthest distance traveled on a single tank of fuel. They decided to attempt the record in the U.S. with a stock 2012 Volkswagen Passat SE TDI Clean Diesel vehicle equipped with a six-speed manual transmission. The previous record for the most miles covered on a single tank of diesel was 1526.6 miles, achieved with a VW Passat 1.6 BlueMotion® diesel in Europe.

The result? A new record of 1626.1 miles, achieved on one tank of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel under real world driving conditions. That’s an incredible 99.5 miles better than the old mark. Over the course of three days and driving through nine states, the couple averaged 84.1 miles per gallon, spending only 4.65 cents per mile. The three-day drive commenced on May 3, 2012 in Houston, TX and ended on May 5, 2012 in Sterling, Virginia. To make the drive as realistic as possible, the couple included 120 pounds of luggage and drove during daylight hours to experience normal traffic situations. Additionally, the couple took turns driving and didn’t travel more than 14 hours per day.


The Passat’s 2.0-liter TDI Clean Diesel inline four-cylinder engine produces 140 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque and with a manual transmission delivers an EPA estimated fuel economy rating of 43 mpg on the highway. The TDI engine is equipped with a Selective Catalytic Reduction System (SCR) that fulfills emissions requirements in all 50 states. The Passat—built at the world’s only LEED Platinum certified automotive factory in Chattanooga, TN—was named Motor Trend’s 2012 Car of the Year.

Prior to the drive, the speedometer and odometer were calibrated by a state certified testing station in Houston, Texas. Law enforcement officers from the city of Houston, Texas oversaw validation of mileage, fuel fill-up, and gas tank sealing at the beginning of the drive. A Loudoun County, Virginia Sheriff’s Deputy verified completion of the drive and mileage prior to removing the fuel tank seal.

The Taylors have made a career out of driving efficiently and conducting workshops globally on fuel-efficient driving techniques. They have collected more than 90 world fuel economy and vehicle-related records from drives around the globe.

VW's Partnership with MOMA's PS1

The Museum of Modern Art draws a cool crowd.  Even cooler is PS1, MoMA's exhibition-only space in Queens that is dedicated to contemporary art, experimental and adventurous work. It's the place where the "beyond edgy" happens.  Last week we attended a press conference about an upcoming VW-sponsored exhibition.

The evening included a sampling of the Kraftwerk Retrospective 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, which was also sponsored by VW.  It was great fun to listen to the music of this influential electronic band, who were pioneers in technopop. I was with two Kraftwerk enthusiasts.  One friend, Fred Staab, had actually done a recording session with the band.  We stood in the dome outside of the museum and listened to the music, and were surrounded by big screens that displayed incredible Kraftwerk graphics.  The retrospective took place on eight nights in April at PS1. It was an exciting evening, listening to music in this portable dome and following room by room the incredible range of art installations by artist Lara Favaretto.  Favaretto has a playfulness and a seriousness about her work that is impressive--worth the trip to see the automated car wash brushes expand and contract in a syncopated ballet of movement.  Making me think harder about opening that carwash, drive-in thing I've been thinking about. 

PS1 is working on a major survey of international contemporary art, called "New Information: Art at the Beginning of a New Now" that is scheduled to be presented in the spring of 2013 and will tour the globe.  VW is sponsoring this major undertaking. "New Information," says Klaus Biesenbach, Director of MoMA PS1 and Chief Curator at Large of MoMA, "is an exhibition engaging artistic practices that are dealing with the aesthetic, political and ecological challenges between the wish to innovate and the wish to preserve."  I think the underlying core of this exploration is the our age of too much information.  For the first time in history, we're asking, "how do we manage TMI?"

 

VW also sponsors MoMA's online courses.  Beginning June 4, you can take Experimenting with Collage, Materials and Techniques of Postwar Abstract Painting, Modern Art, 1880–1945, Modern and Contemporary Art: 1945–1989.  These courses cost $300/350 for an eight or ten week course with access to other students and instructors, weekly online discussions and forums or $200/275 for self-guided, which you can access at anytime.

There are free course for teens but they are held at the museum. I wish they had free online access for the teen programs.  I know so many kids who can't get to NYC who would benefit from these classes.

 

 

VW's New Plant in Chattanooga

Despite all our problems, including an endless parade of deviant "foppervs" (my coin) like Anthony Weiner, we are still a great country.
Know how I know? I go see it quite a bit. Last week I was in Chattanooga, a place I’ve never been. Plunk in the middle of a former military facility where dynamite was once stored is a stunning new auto plant, built by Volkswagen.
If you look at the design and the flow of the plant, it is pure German engineering—stark, simple, efficient. Touring a modern auto plant, reveals how clean, automated and green manufacturing can be. In fact, Volkswagen views the Chattanooga plant as a benchmark against which other VW plants will be built.
Mostly Americans work there, local Chattanoogans, transplants from other manufacturers and some Germans. The plant, so far, has employed 1,800 people. As the line ramps up, more jobs will be filled. The employees go through testing and more testing and once hired, they attend the Volkswagen Academy, which teaches them to build cars according to VW standards. Right now they are building the 2012 Passat, the first vehicle to come off the Chattanooga line. There are about 60 cars a day coming off the line now but the goal is to produce up to 230 a day by the end of June and they are confident they will get there.
Coming from New York State, which is so anti-business you couldn’t build a toothpick factory, I never ceased to be amazed at what the Southern states have done to build their economies. Need to remediate wetlands? Sure, let’s get the environmental department together with the construction people with the Governor and not only remediate wetlands but add to them. No problem down south. In New York, we’d lose the business before we sat down and had a conversation about what’s possible. But don’t get me started on that.
More on the car in the next installment. But I will say that VW is on a roll. In May, they achieved their best market share since 1981—that was 30 years ago. They had their best May since 2002. They sold more than 30,000 vehicles for the first time since August of 2003.
Car companies go through up and down cycles. They just do. It’s part of the business. And VW is on an upswing.