Volkswagen's uber-fuel efficient Smurf car isn't even in production yet.

One look at this car and we were excited - at last, a real car (albeit a small, smurfy one) for only $600 that gets 200+ miles per gallon!

According to the e-mail (below), the new Volkswagen L-1 gets 258 miles per gallon, can travel at 62+ miles per hour, is actually safe, and will be sold in China. 

For 600 bucks we don't mind getting passed by cement trucks, risking our lives on the freeway, or being outrun by golf carts and people with emphysema, but unfortunately, the $600 price tag is fiction. The Web site  Truth or Fiction  investigated and reports the following:

 If it is produced, the car will have a price tag of $26,000, not the $600 touted in the e-mail below.  Contrary to the e-mail's claim that it only seats one person, Truth or Fiction says it carries two passengers, has a carbon fiber body, a 299cc single-cylinder diesel engine, anti-lock brakes; airbag and an electronic stability program.

Wow. A one-cylinder engine with less displacement than a dirt bike.  A standard muffin toaster has more horsepower than that, and they don't cost $26,000.

For years VW has claimed that its cars deliver Fahrvergnügen (that's German for "driving enjoyment"), but for $26K we have to wonder if they're Fahrvern Crazy.

But it sure is cute, isn't it?

Anyway, enough said. Smurfs need cars, too,  you know.  

Auf wiedersehen.

Here's the original e-mail:

Volkswagen's $600 car gets 258 mpg -- It looks like Ford, Chrysler and GM missed the boat again!

China launches $600 car that will get 258 mpg

This $600 car is no toy and is ready to be released in China next year.

The single seater aero car totes VW (Volkswagen) branding.

Volkswagen did a lot of very highly protected testing of this car in Germany, but it was not announced until now where the car would make it's first appearance.

The car was introduced at the VW stockholders meeting as the most economical car in the world is presented.

The initial objective of the prototype was to prove that 1 liter of fuel could deliver 100 kilos of travel.

Spartan interior doesn't sacrifice safety.

The aero design proved essential to getting the desired result. The body is 3..47 meters long and just 1.25 meters wide, and a little over a meter high.. The prototype was made completely of carbon fiber and is not painted to save weight.

The power plant is a one cylinder diesel positioned ahead of the rear axle and combined with an automatic shift controlled by a knob in the interior.

Safety was not compromised as the impact and roll-over protection is comparable to the GT racing cars.

The Most Economic Car in the World will be on sale next year:

Better than Electric Car - 258 miles/gallon: IPO 2010 in Shanghai
$600 car gets 258 mpg

This is a single seated car.

From conception to production: 3 years and the company is headquartered in Hamburg , Germany ..

Will be selling for 4000 yuan, equivalent to US$600..

Gas tank capacity = 1.7 gallons

Speed = 62 - 74.6 Miles/hour

Fuel efficiency = 258 miles/gallon

Travel distance with a full tank = 404 miles

Volkswagen 258 mpg car on sale in 2010
 
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