xl1

Volkswagen jumped on the plug-in bandwagon and will produce a range of plug-in hybrid vehicles starting in 2013. Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn made the announcement at the Vienna Motor Symposium this week, but he didn't specify which vehicles will get the plug-in power-train.

"The plug-in hybrid offers precisely what many customers expect: unlimited internal combustion engine performance combined with attractive electric mobility ranges in everyday driving," Winterkorn said. The company acknowledges that electric vehicles will play a large role in the automotive future, but finds plug-ins to be a happy medium until infrastructure, technology, and consumers make … Read more

Every time I see a concept car, I wonder why, many years later, I have still not seen anything like it on a road.

Every time I see a hybrid car, I wonder why, many years later, they are still on the road.

Thankfully, VW seems to have a psychic link to some of these concerns. For last week at a glitzy show in the motoring hotspot of Qatar, the company unveiled the Formula XL1.

If you look at this fine, silver object of grace, it is as if John DeLorean was gazing on the world from heaven and channeling … Read more

What with gasoline prices at the pump well past $3 a gallon--and edging ever higher--drivers understandably are pining for the day when technology will come to their rescue.

If you're willing to wait a couple of years, Volkswagen may have what you're waiting for.

At an auto show in Qatar this week, Volkswagen showed off a proof-of-concept car that will get 261 miles to the gallon. The XL1, a two cylinder, two-seater made from carbon fiber, is expected to go into production sometime in the next two years. If the auto's fuel efficiency lives up to the advance billing, VW likely will be able to say it makes the world's most economical car. … Read more