New cars 'not green enough'

More fuel-efficient cars - producing less carbon - and they take much less energy to produce.

But the latest report on carbon emissions and the new car market isn't quite as upbeat as it seems.

Environmentalists say car makers aren't making enough progress to cut harmful emissions from their vehicles - missing their targets by a long way.

And despite the best green intentions - we're driving more than ever before.

It's a good week for clean air. As well as the demon fag being outlawed, the car manufacturers tell us tailpipe emissions have tumbled.

Some 1.3% to be precise. But with 16% more cars on the road it's evidence at least that they've got a little greener.

To herald this carbon U-turn, the motoring big boys brought their eco-friendly runarounds to town today.

First up is the SAAB 93 bio power sports wagon. It is safe and speedy.

You get up to 20% more break horsepower and 16% more torque when driving the Saab bio car than when driving normal Saab.

Next is BMW's hydrogen-powered 7 series. It's essentially a petrol car that can also run on hydrogen.

And over in corner the Honda 1.4 Civic hybrid which is cheap and cheerful.

Bio fuels, hybrids, hydrogen cars, if the auto industry is confused as to what will be the green fuel of the future how's the consumer supposed to know which car is the gimmick of 2007 and which will keep its value when they come to sell it in three or four years time.

Persuading the consumer that green is cool is a problem, especially if they're motoring's equivalent of sandals and hemp cloth.

But if an eco-friendly car goes from 0 to 60 in four seconds, and you've got a spare £50,000, the planet may just last a bit longer.

Not everybody is convinced however that the motor industry has turned over a new green leaf.

The motor industry may be jumping on the bio bandwagon but even Formula One has promised to reduce the size of its engines.

Share this article

Send this article to a friend »

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Reddit
• Facebook
• StumbleUpon

What are these?