| EU 'should ban inefficient cars'
The EU should ban the sale of cars that do under 35 miles to the gallon, the ex-chairman of oil giant Shell says. Sir Mark Moody-Stuart told BBC News the motor industry would adapt to cope with stricter environmental rules. The UK Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders opposes the idea, saying drivers of the most polluting cars pay extra through road tax and petrol duty. But Sir Mark said this simply let rich people avoid taking responsibility for tackling climate change. Expanding on the views he expressed in a BBC News website Green Room opinion column, Sir Mark said: "Nobody needs a car that does 10-15mpg. "We need very tough regulation saying that you can't drive or build something less than a certain standard. You would be allowed to drive an Aston Martin - but only if it did 50-60mpg." Sir Mark's rule would apply only to new cars.
Bond News
James Bond's Aston Martin DBS is fast. Properly, shockingly, terrifyingly fast fast enough to dilate your pupils and send your heart rate rocketing. I'm riding in one down a deserted, twisting rural road near Aston Martin's headquarters in Warwickshire. As we round a bend, bodies pressed hard against the sides of the carbon-fibre race seats, I spot the next corner 50 yards away. But in the instant it takes me to notice it, the car gets there. There's a deep, loud bellow from the 510bhp, 6.0-litre V12 engine hidden under the elegant bonnet that stretches away in front of us. Suddenly, we are forced hard back, and nearly two tonnes of supercar and passengers lunge forward as if they were weightless. Inside, it's pure Aston Martin. There's original design, with carbon-and- Kevlar seats, while in no other car do you insert a crystal "emotion control unit" into the centre of the dashboard to start the engine.
Green, mean, plush plug-in machines
He designed the BMW Z8 roadster and Aston Martin's DB9 and V8 Vantage coupes. Fisker said he wanted to erase the image of green vehicles as awkward and small. "I wanted to make a real statement of how sexy a green car can be," he said. Otherwise, he said, green cars will never achieve the mass appeal needed to make an environmental difference. Fisker projects worldwide Karma sales of 15,000 a year. Fisker Automotive is talking to several companies about a partnership to distribute the vehicle and should have more details in spring, he said. "We know the system works," said Alan Niedzwiecki, a Fisker director and CEO of Quantum Fuel Systems, an investor in the carmaker. "We've had it for four years from a vehicle we did for the Department of Defense." Quantum will make a small number of that "jeeplike" vehicle for the military under a $5 million contract, he said.
'Ban all cars that do less than 35mpg'
It estimated that more than one in three models would fail the proposed fuel efficiency threshold. They include some versions of popular cars such as the Volkswagen Beetle, Citroen C4 and Peugeot 307, though diesel engined cars have lower fuel consumption than the equivalent petrol models.It is also thought that the 35mpg limit would be tougher than the 130g/km carbon dioxide emissions limit for cars proposed by the European Commission from 2012.Sir Mark, chairman of the United Nations' Foundation for the Global Compact, which raises money to improve sustainability, said: "We need very tough regulation saying that you can't drive or build something less than a certain standard. You would be allowed to drive an Aston Martin – but only if it did 50-60mpg."He said making people with less fuel-efficient cars pay more in road and fuel tax would simply let the rich avoid taking responsibility for tackling climate change.Sir Mark, who left Shell in 2001 and is now also chairman of mining group Anglo American, said of his plan: "You can buy the roomiest, vroomiest car, as long as it meets the efficiency standard.
Renault's tres bon!
RENAULT are coming out all guns blazing this year with SIX new model launches. And the French carmakers have something for just about every customer as they stretch their line-up to new levels of versatility. This year will see them move into the 4x4 market for the first time with their stylish Koleos, pictured. Its softer, curvier lines could appeal to buyers looking for a less macho 4x4, particularly with prices expected to be well under 20,000 for the entry version. But Renault’s brightest new star will be a coupe version of the Laguna, main picture - the sexiest thing to come out of France for years. This Laguna will be Renault’s new flagship and it has shades of Aston Martin in the muscular treatment of the rear. Unfortunately, the production version won’t have the gull-wing doors that were on the concept car on which it is based.
Little Fiat sexiest car ever
Top Gear magazine has voted the humble Fiat 500, which looks like a cross between a Mini and a VW Beetle, No 1 for setting pulses racing. It tops a list of 100 sexiest cars because the mag claims anyone behind the wheel looks sexually charged ? even a nun. Contributing editor James May defended the bizarre choice yesterday, saying: The Fiat 500 advertises nothing about its owner, except that its someone who doesnt need to try. Top Gears top ten sexiest cars: 1. Fiat 500; 2. Aston Martin DBS; 3. Maserati Quattroporte; 4. Chevrolet Camaro; 5. Citroen C6; 6. Lincoln Continental; 7. Bentley Continental S1 Fastback; 8. BMW M1; 9. Rolls-Royce Phantom; 10. Sally the Porsche 911 Carrera (from the animated film Cars). .
|
