Apparently, the highly efficient, 313 mpg Volkswagen XL1 has been banned in the USA for being, well, too efficient. Because oil profits are so high in the U.S., the government doesn't want such an efficient car to make customers aware that it's possible to spend a lot less on gas than they do. Our sources claim that the Volkswagen Jetta TDI BlueMotion is also banned in America, even though it is built here. This particular version of the VW Jetta comes with a fuel economy of 85 mpg. Again, this is too low for a market that's oriented towards high oil profits. Apparently, the government's excuse for not allowing VW's XL1 and Jetta TDI BlueMotion on U.S. streets is that they didn't meet the crash test standards. Apparently, the U.S. authorities have never even tested them.
Well, they're good enough for the European market and we doubt the American crash standards are as high as the EU ones.
The Volkswagen XL1 is powered by an 800cm3, 2-cylinder turbo-diesel engine that's good for 48 PS and 120 Nm of torque. Its electric motor outputs an additional 27 PS and 100 Nm of torque. Even though this doesn't seem like much, the VW XL1 is able to reach a top speed of 100 mph and it needs 11.9 seconds to reach 62 mph. It can run on electricity only for around 25 km and it has a maximum range of 550 km.
[Source: SecretsOfTheFed]
