The Volkswagen XL1 - The Carmudgeon Show feat. Jason Cammisa and Derek from ISSIMI Ep. 55
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- Опубліковано 25 сер 2024
- In this episode of the Carmudgeon show, part-time ambulance chaser Jason Cammisa befriends some forbidden freeway fruit in form of the Volkswagen XL1 - a car that hardly exists at all, let alone on a California freeway at 11 PM. Jason recounts his seat time in the mirrorless, peak-Piëch Bugatti Veyron of MPG and how its small-footprint journey across the US makes for a large-footprint cause - more on that below. Side effects may include a string of broken-necked Bolt drivers and/or a stay in your local hospital.
Derek and Jason make some other low-drag comparisons, such as the ill-fated GM EV-1 and original Honda Insight.
Jason recounts vivid childhood memories of a 1975 Chevy Impala wagon and a GM hotline that served solely to feed his growing curiosity of facts and figures.
This somehow leads to a discussion (and confession) of the different terrible and elaborate ways that rental vehicle customers can cause havoc. Have you ever pulled a 6-liter Vortec out of a U-Haul and returned it with a lowly 4.8? Perhaps you’ve rented a Toyota Tercel and returned it within an inch of its life.
We won’t judge you. Maybe.
A special shout-out to Jim Magill (@thealso) who drove the XL-1 cross country to raise money for Alzheimer Research. Click the link here to donate to the cause: www.justgiving...
The Veyron comparison is apt. This is a super car, not because its mid-engine or futuristic, but because it truly has world shattering performance. 280 miles per gallon…. As a road car that isn’t stripped down, its the most capable
With the microphone positioned higher, Jason looked like he was about to kiss a woman taller than himself.
Aren't all women taller than Jason?
Dont think he kisses women of any height
@@cayman9873 I was about to say that lol
He always seemed taller in movies
A wise man once told me that some things are worth the climb
This is amazing. What a cool story of how you came to spot, the get in contact with the owners, and then DRIVE an XL1. This is outstanding.
As. Corrado guy, former TDI geek and with a mom suffering from Alzheimer’s this was one of my favorite shows. I hope they make it home safely.
I always loved the design of this car. VW also made a wide bodied version powered by a Ducati Superbike engine. Sadly it didn't make production.
Revelate the XL1!
It's a shame that the auto industry didn't pursue the ultralight & aero hybrid path (or wasn't able to due to boring crash safety requirements).
The XL1 did have a turbo, it was half of the 1.6TDi from the base Golf of the era
That's not correct.
The Golf at that time had an engine from the ea288 family: 1598cm³ CLHA.
The XL1 had a CSCA 830cm³. It was from the same family, but with a larger bore, 81mm vs 79.5mm.
Derek's face when he finds out the price is completely priceless. And I fully agree with him.
Did you hear about the VW Lupo 3L? This was a 2.9L/100km car. 3 cylinder 1.2 TDI with an not conventional automatic.
And also the great A2 3L!
@@indiebekonn the Audi A2 right ? I’ve always loved this car with its aerodynamic aluminium body, it still looks somewhat modern
Yes, I had both. The Lupo 3L is a bit spartan but the A2 1.2 TDI is a very nice car to drive.
... And then the jokes that the Germans heard that Renault was making a 3 litre Clio and they thought they were taking about the fuel economy so they made the 3 litre per hundred km Luop/A2 😂
And were're still waiting for the Piëch episode.
"You're inside a Kazoo"
Nearly spit out my tea. Thanks Dollar Store Adam Sandler
So glad you got to meet Jim. He is a good friend and always has cool weird stuff from the Lane. He was actually going to come see me until he got sick, so you got that clean it up instead of me.
Great start to the week!
I instantly knew about who you’re talking about when you called Jim “mystery Ireland guy who knows a way to import weird cars to us and do a coast to coast trip with them”. Apparently it’s his power move.
This is by far the best episode!
My favorite thing about this show is the inserts- I hope they do a lot more of them
Gentleman please, please make an episode about Ferdinand Piech. I mean that's one of the most important people in car industry ever. He made Porsche win at LeMans and dominates it, he made Audi a premium brand producing 5 cylinders quattro group B monsters and V8 luxury limousines, not to say anything about VW Phaeton, VW XL1 or Bugatti Veyron. I know Jason has mentioned Piech many times and I think that would be one of the best episodes of Carmudgeon Show.
This is pretty much the only sexy hyper miling car i can think of.
And btw, i believe they also had an "xl sport" concept with the panigale 1199 motor
I love my G1 Insight. 2000 manual in the press-car Citrus green paint. The hybrid system is a bad gimmick - this car gets 70mpg all day even if you turn the electric stuff off (yes, you can do that). It was JUST a power adder for the gas engine.
Pretty much as efficient as a current ev.
Volkswagen doesn't like to talk about this car.... because..... die*** gate.
I'm pretty sure even the best EVs only get around 120 MPGe so it's twice as efficient
@@neoleo593 That's true, but I'm not sure there's a comparable EV in terms of what VW set out to do. Not that I can think of off the top of my head. The long range concept thing Mercedes recently did is the closest one that comes to mind.
@@mobiusflammel9372 yeah, that Mercedes-Benz EV is very interesting. Similar to this, but bigger.
@@neoleo593 Yep and those have like 300hp and weight 1.8 Tonnes.
Derek should get his pre-1957 car from Hagerty's drive share program (cough cough Turo's competitor)
Guys that table needs some more diecast cars like the three wheeled Quattroporte Jason used to demonstrate transaxle layouts back in ISSIMI days. Speaking of...it's pride month, can we get a rerun of transaxle/transverse layouts and the best transmissions you've driven? Who says Carmudgeonly talk can't be topical?
Apparently, it was turbo'ed. Maybe the L1, the original concept was NA. Getting over 70hp/litre of displacement from a diesel is nigh on impossible without forced induction.
It is a hybrid, and the diesel has less than 50hp.
@@groundzerokc4030 Exactly, turbo twin making 38 hp. The original 1 litre prototype had an NA engine making something like 8 hp.
I saw the XL1 driving Southwest on Highway 37 last weekend, and pissed off every driver behind me for a few miles while my passenger took as many photos as possible of it. What a cool car!
Great episode as always. Shame you didn't mention the Ducati xl sport which is an xl1 with a 200bhp motorbike engine. I think dieselgate killed the project
As far as the U.S. goes- the 2006 Phaeton W12 4-seater was Piech's best work. He did plenty of awesome faster cars- but none that command the highway with as much comfort at high speed.
I saw the XL1 at my local cars and coffee in Knoxville, TN a little while ago. Didn’t realize how special it was; I was more interested in a Alfa Romeo SZ.
I saw it there too!
prolly the same one.. cuz lane museum is at TN too?
@@azmainabrar697 That's what I'm thinking.
Corrado Scirocco twins!! We need a proper photoshoot sometime.
Jim and Alan are friends and lovely humans as well as the owners of multiple fiat Pandas so their mention on this podcast was inevitable
Derek, Tennessee it awesome. Great people and great driving roads. "south of mason dixon line" isn't a thing anymore.
Derek is a San Francisco bigot.
The Ferrari F40 beat the Porsche 959 in top speed when it came out (not that anyone was paying attention because RUF was at the same track when the tests were being run and their Yellow Bird destroyed both the Ferrari and the factory Porsche 😂).
The Lane is such a cool place. My dad and I did the Rally for the Lane years ago, we drove a car owned by Bridget Bordeaux, it was one of the automotive highlights of my life so far. Getting to wander around the basement of that place was awesome. I also learned there that I really want a Tatra someday.
The retail price of the XL1 was reported to be $146k USD, hence the limited sales.
Aside: I've been to the Lane Motor Museum TWICE! And charged my EV there for free. I love that place!!!
The "limited sales" were entirely due to VW only ever intending it to be a short run limited edition production car - they knew it would only be wealthy collectors and enthusiasts who would buy them. All 20 cars sold out really fast, not surprisingly. It was never about how many they could sell of this car, it was all about research and development to learn how to make all future VWs more efficient. For this reason, the $1 billion dollars spent developing this car was money well spent. Incidentally, VW typically spend around the same figure facelifting a Golf.
Unfortunately diesel gate was at the same time the XL1 came out. Diesel even now with the crazy fuel price is still more efficient over a long distant
And cheaper per litre, at least where I live.
First time I have seen photos of the car next to others for scale! I love the side profile!
Stop blueballing us, we need the Piech 10-hour extravaganza!
I love the show normally… but I didn’t get Derek’s lack of appreciation for what this car is. 240 mpg!! I believe engineering feats that push the boundaries of what is possible should be cherished. Questions like “does it handle well?” as if this is supposed to be a sports car. I just didn’t get it. I think it was super cool and glad the car was highlighted.
Look forward to seeing you guys at Radwood. Not sure I'll still have my rad car, but I will 100% be there.
So cool on the XL1 story, since I've been following along with Jim for awhile on the XL1
I love DTSs reaction to the price.. same as mine..
You guys need to interview Jim about his many other auto adventures. Won't disappoint.
I’m surprised to be saying this of Derek (of the two, I would have expected this of Jason) but, he needs to expand his definition of performance. The XL1 is every bit a high performance car as any of the piles he drives/owns. There is more to performance than speed and handling. Find what a car uniquely has to offer and figure out how to enjoy it. Thanks, [a Honda Insight 1.0 owner for 160k miles]
Still disappointed they never went ahead on producing the XL1 with ducati engines. That would have been a cool car.
Very cool story on how this episode came to be. What are the odds Jason would be on the road at the same hour as that ambulance ride!? Looks like they are still trying to figure out what is going with Jim Magill. Wishing him good health as this was a very noble endeavor. 👍🚘🍀
LOVE LOVE LOVE these!
I just can't understand how they missed that it DOES have a turbo, considering that the turbo is one of the first things you see when you look in the engine bay. It's right there in your face. Weird.
8:45 I am almost certain somebody says that here in CZ at least once a year flipping an 815 driving through the forest :D.
Best looking VW since the MKII Scirocco
It's the 8.1L big blocks that get swapped out of the uHaul box trucks ;)
I live in TN and didn't even know about the lane museum... 😂 And I work at a dealership with a bunch of car nuts... And didn't know about it... 😭🤷😂
Just looked. Found one on sale here in Germany. 125.000,- Euro So it holds its value very well....
As an idea for a future episode, automotive dance classes, a fundamental analysis of making a car dance.
For perspective, The XL1's roof is 2.4" lower than a Ferrari 488
Podcast 100: The Piechisode!
18:16 The problem is you're drinking water instead of coffee. Water will make you choke, fish swim in it for god sake. This is why show still hasn't started yet... 😅❤️
40:43 There's research about this. TLDR version is that around 9-14 years old is when your brain stops majorly developing and kinda "solidifies" for lack of a better term and things you learn at that age are freaking LOCKED in. I was obsessed with a military aircraft encyclopedia at that age and can rattle off the specs of any fighter plane up through the 90's to this day. Or Jason Cammisa is just built different bc he seems to remember everything he's ever learned no problem anyway...
Love the XL1 it's a cool car and I look forward to the Never Ferdenand episode
32:00 didn't Jason offer to buy the GMC Syclone too, that's gotta be auto too
They needed the bullshit button for this claim
Its funny he says that because if you extend the mason dixon line from PA to CA in a straight line it cuts off all but the most northern parts of cali even sacramento is south of it.
Wow, love it
Thank goodness he had travel health insurance for the US. His treatments thus far have been over $350K!
Now that hagerty made a collab with polyphony digital, Kaz should get jason and derek as narrators for the next installment of granturismo.
I saw one in Berlin about 3 years ago. My brain hurt from looking at it.
So almost a "Fugen-Ferdl" episode 😉. (Sad thing, i don't remember which manufacturers employees called him that, but i would guess Audi for the dialect)
Why would the XL1 not pass chrashtests in the US? It had to pass the european ones to be street legal here.
The carbon fibre safety cell that surrounds the occupants of the XL1 is INCREDIBLY strong - it as safe in this respect as an F1 car. Small wonder it passed the Euro crash tests!
@@edstratton Hence my question why it supposedly wouldn't pass them in the US.
@@nirfz yes, exactly! I was adding emphasis to your point.
I just caught the great luck of my 2008 prius that had the cat cut. Totaled the car.
"you can't do that in a" ... hellcat, the answer was hellcat hyphen :) ...when you two were talking about what not to park in front of the church
Diesel hybrids was the logical intermediate step between ICEs and EVs. Not mention the fact we could have had fuel containing a minimum of B20. What the hell happened to the biodiesel made from blue-green algae?????
To the Turo/rental car comments... I knew guys who would buy Nissan Altimas, use them as daily drivers, and rent an Altima to switch tires, wheels, hub caps, etc. when their cars were in need. I'm also told the best way to teach a group of people how to tint windows involves a rental car since you can tear it out and reapply as often as needed with ZERO regard to how wet the interior gets in the process. In essence, NEVER buy a former rental car!
I miss this era of VW when they sought out to achieve engineering greatness. It almost looked like they were going to continue with this idea at being the best when they had introduced the IDR. But now with them killing VW motorsport it seems that dream is dead.
I think the Lane Museum also has a Honda S660 that Jim drove around a good portion of the US and Europe
I got bitten by a spider while listening to this in bed.
Love you guys :p
Jason if you have liked XL1 you should check an Omega car build by Casey Putsch !
On first gen Insights everyone should check out Robot Cantina...
31:50 So true though :D
Tail of the dragon is in Tennessee if y’all want an excuse to go to that museum.
So is dollywood.
8:39 Peak comedy
While the XL1 did have a few production vehicles sold to the public, a variant that was only a Concept, was the XL1 Sport. It had a Ducatti 1199 Superleggera V2 making 197hp at 11000rpm. Would have been a pretty cool sports car, but i think VW never made one.
One was made, it's in the Automuseum in Wolfsburg.
Oh Hyphen and his pranks!
in the news today .... PRIUS fights back!! Squishes would be robber :)
29:26 wonder if that's why Porsche decided to make the 904 Living Legend concept out of that car
I currently drive a 2013 golf 7 with the 1.6 diesel and get 3.6L/100km (120km per day)
Not to brag but I would've identified the XL1-and then had an aneurysm.
Two things
XL1 was TDI
And Jason 'swallowed' the words that the drivers were a married gay male couple doing the good works.Kudos he offered accommodation tho.
when is the Nissan Z Icons episode coming out?
Really neat car. There is one for sale near me for 125.000€
I'm gonna cut up and upoad all the times they talk about Piëch except them going "we should do a podcast about him" . It's gonna be a race of whose procrastination is worse, mine or theirs
jason, didn't you also consider buying a syclone? that would be another non-manual
Does Derek understand that driving in the Bay Area is an experiment to see what happens if there aren't any rules?
Xl1 does have a turbocharger. It is an 0.8 TDi
Right, and as I mentioned elesewhere, I just can't understand how they missed that it has a turbo, considering that the turbo is one of the first things you see when you look in the engine bay. It's right there in your face.
14:17 what on God’s green earth possessed Derek to say this
Remove the DPF, roll coal while getting 75mpg?
Wrong! Original Insight has VTEC :)
XL1 dia have a turbo, it´s a TDI
looks more like a McLaren Speedtail
I'd be happy to take the XL1 over any EV all day long.
Well VW apparently cheated on the mileage claim. At least according to this youtube video (its all good but the key section is at 9:30 in).
ua-cam.com/video/a2BoM2qdrSw/v-deo.html
They (VW) assumed the battery was charged every 47 miles and this energy didn't count. Without charging the battery customers in the real world were getting around 120mpg (imperial, since an English video). Which seems realistic since they didn't drive like Jason.
Hellcat at the church. Duh
Jason was noticeably sedate in this. Chill with the mucinex my guy.
Didn’t Suzuki make an XL7 abomination?😂