UK consumers complain about lack of green choices
Many of us in the US, both car enthusiasts and environmentally conscious buyers, often wish we had some of the car choices being offered in the European market, but according to this article in The Independent, many UK consumers do not think a cost-efficient vehicle that meets all their criteria is available. While a number of UK politicians have recently boasted about their environmentally-conscious cars, the general feeling is only the political elite and a minority of middle class motorists are worried about the environmental impact of their cars. While a number of exotic cars are available in the UK that emit a tremendous amount of CO2, it is Britain's best sellers that are main contributors of emissions. This clearly points to some consumer resistance, with the UK emissions level significantly higher than the European Union average. A survey by Auto Express found that drivers thought eco-friendly cars were too expensive or offered too little choice. In addition, consumers have very little confidence that any positive tax incentives to buy alternative technologies would remain in place long enough to give a positive return on investment. [Source: The Independent]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Glenn A. 12:16PM (6/15/2006)
Brits can be incredibly thick (dense / stupid / foolish / ignoramises) at times.
Let's see the math.
Petrol (gasoline) is the equivalent of $6.50 per (US) gallon.
"Ummm, lessseee....shall I get a nice BMW so I can "pose" and show off compensate due to how small the male member is? Or shall I buy a Prius, which costs less money, costs way less to tax, uses less than 1/2 the fuel, pollutes 5% as much, has more room inside, costs nothing to drive in London (as opposed to $5 per visit in "conventional" cars), um, errrr.... difficult decision." NOT.
Morons.
Tried renting a Prius in the UK last year, no dice. Ended up with a clattering, stinking diesel. Diesel is $6.75 per (US) gallon. Saw about 4 Prius cars in the UK over a two week span. Saw NO Civic hybrids (distinguishable since they are Ohio made sedans, wheras "convensional" Civics are hatchbacks made in the UK) and NO Honda Insights.
Incidentally, the Prius is a "family sized car" (larger inside than most UK cars) over there.
Not to mention the fact that fully 50% of the cars sold are sold as "company cars" as perks (and you wonder why everything is so expensive in the UK?! The national average income per person is $48k plus 1/2 of them get company cars new every year paid for in full).
Reply
Glenn A. 2:10PM (6/15/2006)
This Brit car tester was impressed with the new Prius.
http://www.newcarnet.co.uk/Toyota_Prius_roadtest.html?id=444
The thousand pound ($1850) "bung" he mentions (translation: financial incentive from the Brit tax man to buy a Prius) is no longer.
Reply
itstim 9:32AM (6/16/2006)
Not surprised you saw few hybrids here - there aren't that many around. a few prii around and more and more Lexi. We've been using LPG for ages though and on average our cars are a lot more efficient than those in the US. But with such expensive petrol that is to be expected.
The congestion charge is actually 8 GBP per day or 14.40 USD. The US embassy in London have not been ingratiating themselves by refusing to pay it, earning the ambassador a tongue-lashing from mayor Ken Livingstone in which ambassador Tuttle was described as a "chiselling little cheat". It's seen as a charge for the service of reduced congestion rather than a tax, which means foreign diplomats should pay it and most do.
Reply