Contentious (to some) thread.. :)

[bpsorrel]

For the record, I'm not personally against large engine cars. It's an interesting debate that came about the other night with a group of friends, one whom brought his 750i, of which he was very proud - and very proud of it's ridiculous mpg! A sprightly debate followed and it got me thinking about V8s and V12s in general and their place in society these days. Personally, if I wasn't so keen NOT to pay a LOT of tax in fuel and road tax costs, I'd buy an AMG SL or SLK for a few miles of weekend fun, but I'm too mean I guess, so oil burners for me!

 

[RBYCC]

I'm a believer in the Abiotic oil theory..
Oil not really from "fossils" as typically thought, but regenerated from magma.

As far as CO2, the Supreme Being has already resolved that issue as we breath it out and plants take it in and give back oxygen.

Too many political scenarios to raise concern about the end of the world in order to raise taxes !!!
Naught to do with the environment.
Easily seen in carbon credit swaps...
If it's that bad, then why arrange a system of credits for polluting ???

So I'll continue to drive my fleet which contains a G55K and a CLK63 BS without any guilt or concern for the planet. :bannana:

 

[finisterre]

I don't quite get why hit the big engined cars hardest. What if I drive it weekends only? What about those that drive an older less efficient car many more miles a week? Makes no sense to me...

I think they must be taking the holistic view.

Say there are now 1.000.000 6 litre cars, and they change the rules so they are much more expensive to tax etc.

Then the chances are that the total petrol consumption for the UK will be lower in ten years time if 500.000 of the 6 litre cars have been replaced with 4 litre cars.

It does make sense if you make plenty of simplistic assumptions and you have no love of motoring.

Personally I think the polluter pays is a more reasonable method, If they want to raise a billion quid it would be more fair to add two pence to fuel duty. That would factor in the way people drive.

 

[Howard]

Unsurprisingly, alot of Russians (my in laws), especially the ones in siberia, are in favour of global warming, largely because it gets very very cold in the winter at times..

Will the permafrost not just melt and their houses disappear upto their eaves in the ground ?

 

[NOMONEYBUTAMERC]

I think you are just being contentious BP . I drive a Skoda Octavia td during the week , and my 450 SL , maybe 2000 miles in a year .At around 20 mpg , thats 100 gallons a year . I no longer travel abroad , and my next company car will be a Golf Bluemotion , which should return over 70 mpg. I did not fly to Russia for Xmas . Which of us do you suppose has the "greener " footprint?
If we all scrapped our V8 gas guzzlers , consider the fact that recycling a car has to use energy , and if we bought new econoboxes , there is more energy used to produce them . Guilty ? no frigging chance .

 

[trainer]

I dont have a V8 yet. Will a supercharged V6 do until I get one. I only drive it at the weekends now and only did 7k a year at the most when it was a daily driver.

In term of guilt don't we need the petrol companies to develop alternative fuel sources so we have something different to drive?

Can anyone tell me what fuel sources will be used to power the electricity generating stations that will be used to provide electricity for electric cars? If it's fossil where does the saving come from?

 

[Howard]

I hate the term 'gas guzzler' ..... another Americanism invented by the greenies to make us feel bad.

 

[Charles Morgan]

one whom brought his 750i, of which he was very proud - and very proud of it's ridiculous mpg!

I can understand delighting in the performance, but I can't really get my head around being excited by lousy mpg. If a car existed that could hit 150mph and do 150 mpg, then I'd go for that like a shot. I'd find tons of uses for the money saved, none of which would end up in countries with only camels, dates and sand-dunes.

 

[bpsorrel]

I think you are just being contentious BP . I drive a Skoda Octavia td during the week , and my 450 SL , maybe 2000 miles in a year .At around 20 mpg , thats 100 gallons a year . I no longer travel abroad , and my next company car will be a Golf Bluemotion , which should return over 70 mpg. I did not fly to Russia for Xmas . Which of us do you suppose has the "greener " footprint?
If we all scrapped our V8 gas guzzlers , consider the fact that recycling a car has to use energy , and if we bought new econoboxes , there is more energy used to produce them . Guilty ? no frigging chance .

See post #61....

 

[grober]

For the record, I'm not personally against large engine cars. It's an interesting debate that came about the other night with a group of friends, one whom brought his 750i, of which he was very proud - and very proud of it's ridiculous mpg!

POSSIBLE EXPLANATION

[YOUTUBE]AHo2pXO_XAI[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Benzowner]

I think they must be taking the holistic view.

Say there are now 1.000.000 6 litre cars, and they change the rules so they are much more expensive to tax etc.

Then the chances are that the total petrol consumption for the UK will be lower in ten years time if 500.000 of the 6 litre cars have been replaced with 4 litre cars.

It does make sense if you make plenty of simplistic assumptions and you have no love of motoring.

Personally I think the polluter pays is a more reasonable method, If they want to raise a billion quid it would be more fair to add two pence to fuel duty. That would factor in the way people drive.

What seems never to be taken into consideration is the lorries, coaches and buses. They usually do many many times more mileage that the average saloon car at fuel consumtions around the 4 or 5 mpg or less. Other than rush hour, buses drive around the street empty. Is there anywhere that colates the mileage of commercial vehicles and CO emissions against cars, totals not individual vehicles, would be worth a comparison.

 

[Classic_car]

Bearing in mind the rapid running down of fossil fuels on the planet and the obvious need to conserve as much of it as possible (mostly to allow time for the new technologies to bed in and work properly) do those folks driving petrol guzzling V8s, V12s etc feel in the slightest bit guilty? After all, on the roads we mostly drive on fuel sipping engines are surely good enough?

OK! I'll stand back ready for the assault from C63 owners!

Ridiculous, you spend to much time listening to the media, it seems.

The world population is too big for the planet, that is the problem

 

[Bellow]

The world population is too big for the planet, that is the problem

And as it develops they all want what we have. We are creating the template for conspicuous consumption that other countries with massive populations will follow.

This is becoming evident already in the changing diet of the Chinese and in their aspirations towards ownership of cars we regard as prestigious.

 

[Bellow]

There seems to be a believe that some magic silver bullet technology is just around the corner to save us all from fossil fuel reliance.
The optimism for this must rank with the optimism present when the quest for a cure for cancer began, without which it would never have started. However, the cure has not as yet materialised....
Perhaps we should work with what we do actually have. Counting chickens before they're hatched and all that....

 

[Bellow]

Can anyone tell me what fuel sources will be used to power the electricity generating stations that will be used to provide electricity for electric cars? If it's fossil where does the saving come from?

The electric revolution has just been cancelled. At MB at least. They expect battery prices to eventually fall from the current £260 per kW.hr, but there is no performance gain in sight. The disposal issue is also causing concern.

By complying with 2020 fuel consumption regulations, a Golf sized car will emit CO2 at the rate of 85g/km - comparable to an EV charged from a gas fired power station.

What future EV vehicles have is confined to short trip city use and low mileage 'back to base' users such as local authorities.

Well, that's what MB said as they canned development of the electric version of the B-Class.

 

[Scott_F]

Ridiculous, you spend to much time listening to the media, it seems.

The world population is too big for the planet, that is the problem

It certainly is a huge problem - so it makes sense to do what we can to mitigate against its worst effects. And that includes using the resources that we do have responsibly.

 

[Howard]

That's it , i'm convinced ....

My car is for sale , and i'm going to buy a 1.0l Micra.

 

[Bellow]

That's it , i'm convinced ....

My car is for sale , and i'm going to buy a 1.0l Micra.

Easy tiger. No need to go that far. Get the 1.1l Micra!

 

[Howard]

Will it run on lentil juice ?

 

[Bellow]

Properly sieved through a vegetarians beard then duffel coat hood, yes.