Welcome to ecomodder.
And to this end of the Pond
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Originally Posted by rickjames8
I've recently relocated to France
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I picked up a 2000 VW Polo 1.4TDi (3 cylinder)
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Great li'l engine.
Responds well to hypermiling, and will accept running at very low rpm.
I've had my sister's Skoda Fabia with the same engine @ under 4L/100km (> 59 mpg) even without really hypermiling it (i.e. no coasting etc )
It'll do 100mpg @ 70 kph on CC ...
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Why is this engine not sold in the US???
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"No market for it", and more profit on the bigger European cars that usually are sold at a premium in the US.
Emissions in certain states that won't allow diesels in cars.
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Oddly, diesel is cheaper than gas.
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Not in all of Europe though.
Usually, it's more expensive.
Taxes on diesel are rising to bring it more in line with petrol, so enjoy it while it lasts.
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The diesel cars get much better MPG, so its a wonder they sell any gas cars at all.
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Diesels are more expensive, both to buy and maintain.
With a particulate filter on more recent diesels, only driving around town isn't recommended.
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They also have microcars known as "Voiture Sans Permis".
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They are a bit of a misnomer though.
At least in Belgium you do need a permit (for a moped, A3), unless you're born in the early 1960s - AFAIK, it's similar in France due to EU regulations.
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Unfortunately they have a stigma attached to them that they are not real cars and just little toys for people with suspended licences.
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Err ... if France is anything like Belgium - and being all to closely tied, it likely is - you can't drive these things on a suspended license, as the suspension is for all motor vehicles.
(It's the right to drive a motor vehicle that is revoked.)
What does happen is that they are driven without a license by 50+ yo people, and folks who have had their license cancelled, but don't want to redo the exams to regain their car license.
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Yessir, the other side of the pond is an ecomodders heaven. 
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You can get the more economical cars here, but you can't mod them as easily as in the US