I don't believe the $600 garbage. Maybe more like $6000 I would believe. If VW can build a car like that in China, why can't they build something comparible here in the US?

Volkswagen's main site shows a similar car, says it will be very economical, plans to release it in December. Whoever imagined it would be $600 is dreaming. But maybe at $6000 it would be snapped up by the many people who need an economical commuter car. Carbon-fiber body makes it a great deal safer than one made from the usual car materials.

I'll just keep my 30 miles to the gallon car and spend my $26000 slowly, in comfort and safety.

Not until they make a pickup version of it. Without any guilt at all, I will continue to enjoy the comfort of my 20 mpg Ford F-150. Crash survivability is probably as much fiction as the $600 price tag. This little car will probably survive a crash about as well as a bug on my windshield.

Right
600$ not going to happen they would loose 8000 per car. Sheez where did this stupid rumor start get real 23000 not going to happen. It's all bs

when is it releasing,would it be able in Pakistan????what would be its price in Pakistan
this is how ever of very cute look.

wow when i first saw this car i was amaze and i like the look at it its cute but the issue is the gas the auto parts and how reliable is this car anyway..i dont think it gives us good performance

for $26K, i can put gas in my existing car many times...i think i will. vw...i won't bend over that far for you.

It's one passenger limit will stop it from ever having much of a market in the U.S.A.; a two passenger model would make it much more desirable. But it's incredible gas mileage, if compared to a 50 mpg vehicle - which is not far off for the American market; means that it saves you 5 times the money in the cost of gas! At a comparative price of $2.50 a gallon, you would be paying .

So what do I do from there. Also, the link directs me to this link rather than the one I see when I hover over your link above. I am sure I am doing something silly or obvious to everyone else, so I’m very sorry if I am asking you to state the obvious, but I’m anxious to do this on my own site, and worry others will have the same occur and I won’t be able to direct them properly…help!

So what do I do from there. Also, the link directs me to this link rather than the one I see when I hover over your link above. I am sure I am doing something silly or obvious to everyone else, so I’m very sorry if I am asking you to state the obvious, but I’m anxious to do this on my own site, and worry others will have the same occur and I won’t be able to direct them properly…help!

$600.00 would be fantastic but I think the others here are right. No way. Now $26,000.00 Way too much for a super compact. Cars now-a-days cost way too much anyway. Somewhere around $6,000.00 you will see these selling all day long. A manufacturer with some sales savy could make a killing selling something like this for 6 Grand. People would line up to buy one.

That's where our interest should lie.
This "something for [next to] nothing" mindset is becoming difficult for realists to bear. Please try to think about EROEI for all the components to build even a simple, stripped-down vehicle.

Now, where the "rubber meets the road" is in this single-cylinder diesel! There's a design worth much more than gold, and retrofit-able for multiple purposing. (And kinda why I find comments about engine modification foolish, and well beyond ridiculous. Those who espouse these things have absolutely no idea of the energy depletion that's headed in our direction. Fantasies are fine while asleep, but "$600 cars" can't exist in the wakeful world.)

400-600 dollars for the engine and transmission? Absolutely; it's a DIESEL; think about it...

this car will probably sell for 13 gran. still worth it tho because that is how much a smart car cost,

By the time this car got through all the California restrictions it would have the price tag of a new Honda Civic and the delivery charge alone would be close to $600.00.
Sounds like a nice concept as gas prices reach $5.00 a gallon, but like they say, if its sounds to good to be true.
$600.00 just may get you a Beach Cruiser with a Whizzer gas motor, but that may not include the tax and handling charges.

The price $26,000 is, I think, fair for me. Many will still take it if it will be available.

No, I would not pay $26,000 when you can buy the Chevy Volt for $33,500.
A true electric car with more space, acceleration, and street legal and available in the US.

The Tata Nano sells for 100,000 rupees in India, which is about $2300. Adding EU and US safety features is going to up the price to possibly double.

I can imagine VW selling for $600 inside China, which could be a combination of local costs and government subsidies, but as others have mentioned, in the US it's not likely to be less than $6000.

The Truth or Fiction article referenced above is based on a 2004 article, so it is out of date.

Wow what a mark-up?!! O.K. I may have bought into the concept of a $600.00 car... so yeah I got snookered. I even emailed VW and they eventually got back to me, saying no way would this car come to the U.S. anytime soon. It will however be manufactured in China. So they get the car, and I guess our armpits stink? But for what it does, and how much fuel you can save, $26,000.00 is too steep. Half of that, and it would be a bargain. Everything is a composite and could be switched out easily if and when it wears out. IF VW intends on selling this baby over in China for $600.00, they better not try and sell it for anything more than that HERE! Why does prosperous CHINA, get the breaks. Especially since all of our jobs were sent there and to India?
I think the car should be manufactured where it will be sold, so let's get a campaign going and get VW to bring a plant or two here, and manufacture the VW L-1 here. If China gets a break on the car's price for manufacturing the car over there why not here? I've seen uglier cars by the way. Remember the Corbin Sparrow, it was a one seater electric car with the top speed of 72mph. But the range was low around 45 miles. Well it looked like a shoe with three wheels. Anyway... Maybe the price of this VW diesel version of the shoe may come down?

Come on! If you are dumb enough to believe that a major car manufacturer will sell a car for $600...then you are dumber than a crash test dummy. A set of tires alone will cost more than $600! An Iphone will cost $600! The Ford Model T cost $600 back then! LMFAO. Come on people! I can't believe there are people out there today who will believe in this kind of bullshit. Pathetic!!!

Sorry, not interested at any price!
Think about what's included. A new airbag alone costs more than that.
The lowest price "Street legal" motorcycle is going to cost in the neighborhood of $5,000.
Even a minimal ventilation system adds cost. Even China can't build that vehicle that cheap.

No - why would we pay $26,000 for a $600 car? Where can I get one of these for $600? I'll buy it today.

I'd buy sometime like this for $10,000. if it was a VW and not directly tied to China (made in China). I like the March 13, 2011 comments by Ron Filardi. Also, with the iPhone, iPod, iPad and similar devices we don't need cars loaded with gadgets. We can bring our hand held devices with us.

What numbskull really believes that you can get a new car for 600 bucks? A 50 cc motor scooter is over 2K.
At 26K, could you afford to have a short commute car only? What about the trips to grandma's? If you are hot for ultra efficiency, go buy a Leaf' if you only need a few miles of travel.

No, I would not purchase one of these unless China would meet the USA's safety/other import requirements and not try an end run around us through Mexico. We have enough trade deficit already to China, why take on more and totally destroy our economy.

At $600 each, the export/import markup, shipping, dealer preparation, tags and license would bring it up to just about that much. But, for $600, I'd buy one for each family member...

Charles

I'll need two, please - One for a commuter and one to stuff a blown Hemi into (just because I don't know if I can wait for them to show up in the wrecking yards). I agree with whoever posted above that if VW really wants to wallow in corporate greed, they could sell billions of these for cheap, ala WalMart, make more money than God AND be declared heroes for saving the world.

I've been preaching about just such a car for decades. Maybe the market is finally ready. We'll see. I'd probably cough up the $26K if I had it, but I don't, thanks to corporate bedding with politics = outsourcing, NAFTA, etc, etc, etc. I lost everything two years ago and am trying to start over from scratch. This car would be a big help to me and millions of others in my shoes.

Okay, if not a Hemi, maybe a turboed Mazda Wankel, or one of Jocko Johnson's 500 HP disc engines? Every land speed racer would want one of these bodies, if nothing else...

$2,600... maybe.

I agree with many of the ideas presented her. $600 - NO WAY, Make it 3 wheel to fall as motorcycle and you could have an awesome car available for under $10,000. If you want a car like this now and are a reasonably good craftsman, build one!!! Look up the tri-magnum on google. That's my dream car (I will build it some day)

for a two seater for teenagers? And one that will be crushed in any accident?

Not me!!

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/v/vwl1.htm

This is too good to be true. However, at a decent price of $10,000.00 and 3 wheels instead of 4 (for reasons of fed. reg. for a motorcycle, hence lower costs) this would take the world by storm. An option for a larger version with a rear single seat making it a 2 seater would be even better. It can be done but is it really going to be in production or just a pipe dream. It could alo be sold factory direct with warranty work done by regular VW dealers!

Lets face it if it gets produced and is eventually comes to the states the most it should sell for is 10 times the price in China and it is worth $6000.00 and I along with quite a few others would buy it.

The big 3 automakers would cry, and cry for the wrong reasons all they see is dollars they don't care about the planet. With gas prices and the poverty level on the rise , When do we say that's enough for the best intrerest of America and the planet...
Sell the car here, keep the price low and make the big three automakers sell their own versions of the car.
( not the smart car ) This would stimulate the economy, put people who could work a better job if they had better transpotation, other than buses that often fall short of the destination, for better empoloyment.
I would like to drive one today.
VW please send me one for free so my friends and I could test drive and share, write reviews, and suggestions for you.
This is what the Earth needs and at the right price.

Yeah, I'd buy this car for $600. But for 26 grand. I wouldn't be caught dead in the stupid thing.

As a person who drives 20 miles round trip each day to work on surface streets, this would be ideal for me, but it should be re-designed as a 3 wheeler so it can be marketed as a motorcycle, and bypass all the federal regulations required for automobiles. $600? You can't provide the federally mandated air bags, bumpers, seat belts, and other safety features for that price. But as a motorcycle, it could probably be produced for much less than our current sub-compact vehicles... certainly less than the Smart car. Using a fiberglass body instead of the carbon fiber one could hold down the cost without sacrificing too much fuel economy.
The concept is great, but $600? Never happen anywhere! Not even China.

Think about it - all composite construction ? Nothing to rust away into oblivion. Whats to replace as it wears out ? A few bearings, bushings, tires, worst case: the whole 299 cc engine / tranny ? (which, if its a reasonably well-built diesel, should run a LOT of hours before its worn out anyways)

You betcha.

Yes I would. No hesitation. Both economic and Eco friendly.

Where can I pre-order one? Please!!!!

Yes I would. I need a car. Both economic and eco friendly. No hesitation.
Could I get one ?... Please!!

I dont see why they wouldnt make it $600. Yea its amazing on gas but not too many people are going to agree with the design. And to the volkswagen executives, take a different approach like wal-mart did. Sell the product at a low price & watch billions of people hop on the offer. Sell billions & make billions even if the profit margin is a couple hundred, your still lookin at a rediculous profit. Coming from a 20 yr old with no car, this would be a dream not only for myself but millions of others. Take it into concideration & test a market that would benefit the less fortunate & would benefit the volkswagen team.

If this was FACTUAL then I would buy 2 without hesitation just for going into town for groceries, but I think it a fantasy car cause only a bird brain would pay the real price of 26,000 for it! A real shame cause just think of the impact it would have world wide, first of all they wouldn't be able to keep up with the demand and build enough of these smart cars, then jobs, jobs jobs all over the world, imagine how it would effect the demand for oil which would be reduced considerably although china would still be on a rising plain because as everyone now knows CHINA now controls the world market and the USA may become a "Republic of China"

Sold for $600.+ tax + + + + + + + + + ++ + + + + + + + =$26,000= lol.But I will buy it for $600.

I'de pay $5000..but now one dime more.... this is a commuter vehicle plain and simple... as usual the american automotive industry is lightyears behind foreign competition in both size and fuel economy.

I've been saying for the past decade someone needs to invent a single seater commuter car for those who just drive with one person in the vehicle 80% of the time to and form work. This is a phenomenal answer. but will have to keep prices down in order to appeal to the "green" folks and the rest of the consumers who can't really afford a second vehicle at an exhorbitant price.

hello admin, I found your blog from yahoo and read a few of your other posts.They are awesome. Please keep it up!!!!

C'mon... no way $600...that things gotta cost at least as much as a decent bike... probably in the range of $15 grand or more. Like everything else the car will be 'market priced' otherwise know as "what the market will bear'. The rice burners maybe make a 10/th of what you make... and they will probably pay roughly 1/10 the price... but you won't be able to buy one cheap in China and bring it here in a container.

If all fails the to protect the domestic auto market the government ( and they have some pretty high stakes in the auto industry right now) would put up trade barriers to prevent such a inexpensive car from being sold in the USA or Canada. Years ago Hyundai sold their little "pony' in Canada (Ford didn't like the name either) at a steep discount from similarly priced cars... Screaming unfair competition and at the behest of the big 3, the Canadian Government slapped on special taxes to force a quick price hike.

Not withstanding the Government technical and safety crash test approvals... if they even happen, the new car will likely be sold to the niche techno/early adopter market at a premium price.

$600 or even $6000 is a gas pipe dream.

Nope!

I would DEFINITELY pay $600... not sure about the $26,000 but maybe. If you drove it 5000 miles per year it would pay for itself (at today's gas prices) in two years. That's pretty good!

I would love to try out one of these cars. I drive alot by myself and having a one passenger compared to a 5 passenger SUV would save a lot of gas. I want one.

If the vehicle could protect you in a crash, and it was used primarily off highway. it would be an excellent alternative vehicle for some folks. It's one passenger limit will stop it from ever having much of a market in the U.S.A.; a two passenger model would make it much more desirable. But it's incredible gas mileage, if compared to a 50 mpg vehicle - which is not far off for the American market; means that it saves you 5 times the money in the cost of gas! At a comparative price of $2.50 a gallon, you would be paying .50 per gallon by driving this vehicle. If nothing else, this would be an excellent transition vehicle for the market to purchase until the next generation
hybrids come along, or a cost effective electric is developed.

I'd pay $600.00, but would never pay $26,000. I don't know how $600 got in the price. The car is kinda cute, perfect for me. Oh well, I dream a lot.

Of these cars just because of the street cred!

Ill stick to the usual new volkwagen cars

Wow what an amazing car and it will be great if this car will be offered in 600 dollars. But Volkswagen's uber-fuel efficient Smurf car isn't even in production yet when its production will start and when will it be launched in the market. Anybody have any more details about it.

David Mayer

Wow what an amazing car and it will be great if this car will be offered in 600 dollars. But Volkswagen's uber-fuel efficient Smurf car isn't even in production yet when its production will start and when will it be launched in the market. Anybody have any more details about it.

David Mayer

I want one. How do I get one in the US?