Volkswagen
To date, Volkswagen has stayed out of the hybrid game, choosing to focus on bringing several new diesel-powered cars to the market. Still, with much superior fuel economy, diesels may not be enough to help VW get a bigger piece of the market, thus the automaker may have to try a different approach.
Enter the hybrid diesel Golf.
At the 2008 Geneva Auto Show, Volkswagen took the wraps off of a concept Golf that will feature a 1.4L 3-cylinder powerplant and an electric battery. This unusual diesel-electric configuration could give the car the world’s best fuel mileage, reportedly as much as 69.9 mpg.
Various bloggers and wire reports are suggesting that the car is more than a concept, that it will actually enter production perhaps early next year.
According to Autoblog, the car brings together a 74 HP 3-cylinder TDI, a 27 horsepower electric motor and a 7-speed DSG to average 69 mpg (3.4l/100km) in the European cycle with carbon dioxide emissions of just 90 g/km. The electric motor is powered by a trunk-mounted NiMH battery.
I don’t have a photograph of the concept yet, but I’ll post one when I find it on Volkswagen’s media site. I could swipe it from another site, but that isn’t the way that I do things.
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