[ChiragM]

According to a media report, the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show was hit by protests from environmentalists and politicians calling for a ban on all SUVs.



The report suggests that the mayor of Frankfurt, Pete Feldmann, singled out SUVs and said that the city needs more buses and trains, and not SUVs. Climate groups like Greenpeace and Deutsche Umwelthilfe have also called for a ban on SUVs to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The activists say that small electric cars should dominate automotive transport. It is also said that a week before the show, an accident involving a Porsche Macan claimed the lives of four pedestrians and this has led to protests calling for a ban on SUVs in cities.

Land Rover claims that it is the drivetrain that matters in lowering emissions and not the bodystyle of the vehicle. The company offers plug-in hybrids of some of its SUVs and the new Defender could also get a plug-in hybrid variant. PSA Group CEO, Carlos Tavares, claims that the emission regulations are pushing automakers to big SUVs, which offer a higher driving position and more rugged styling. It is said that it is easier to meet emission regulations with SUVs than with smaller cars.

The report also suggests that in the first half of 2019, SUVs accounted for 37% of car sales in Europe. However, demand seems to be slowing down as the growth in European SUV sales was just 0.7% in July. It is said that demand for SUVs may be peaking after years of growth.

Link to Team-BHP News

Source: Automotive News

[AlphaKilo]

Adding fuel to fire was an accident couple of days ago in Berlin involving an SUV (Porsche Macan/Cayenne not so sure). It ran amock and ended up killing/injuring quite a few. It is said that the driver had an epilepsy attack. The argument here is that had it not been such a huge SUV, the damage would have been far less.

https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deuts...a-1285962.html

https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/gese...a-1287131.html

For english speakers:

https://www.thelocal.de/20190909/dea...m-city-centres

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...d-in-collision

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

The argument here is that had it not been such a huge SUV, the damage would have been far less.

Now that's a valid argument. Only if the vehicle was something like a bus or a Tesla, the damage would have been negligible.

I like huge SUVs, at the same time hate the sedanocalyspe and the resultant shift to wasteful crossovers that are less efficient than cars in every way, except for the higher driving position.

But this kind of misguided eco-terrorism just reels of barking up the wrong tree.

Forced by regulations or not, the industry has never been so proactive in working for environmental friendly ways of propulsion. But this just feels like they were waiting for the slightest excuse to make into the headlines.

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by DicKy

...
Forced by regulations or not, the industry has never been so proactive in working for environmental friendly ways of propulsion. But this just feels like they were waiting for the slightest excuse to make into the headlines.

Exactly! Well, the eco-terrorists (as they are sometimes called here, to an extent rightly so!), are waiting to pounce upon every single opportunity they get to bad mouth cars or IC engines or SUVs in general. Just because, they have enough money to buy e-vehicles or afford a flat within city limits and a short run to their work, they expect the world to be in order. Nevertheless, gas guzzlers need to pave wave for future mobility solutions in a more civilized way, is my opinion.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by ChiragM

The report suggests that the mayor of Frankfurt, Pete Feldmann, singled out SUVs

IMHO, this is a stupid argument. A majority of the SUVs that sell today are "crossovers" which share their platforms with sedans & hatchbacks. They are far lighter than the body-on-frame UVs and actually have fuel economy comparable to sedans. E.g. there really isn't much of a difference between the FE of a Creta & Verna. Throw in a hybrid or a 4-cylinder diesel and these "SUVs" will throw out impressive economy numbers.

Wondering why these environmentalists always go for the easy targets? What about the 8-cylinder sedans? I never heard anyone ranting on an S500 the way they did on Hummers. Or pickup trucks & body-on-frame vans? Or high performance hatchbacks which are equal guzzlers of fuel! How about a Mustang (a volume selling coupe) or a 911 Turbo?

[ChiragM]

Here are some pictures of the protests. Protesters stood on top of SUVs in the Frankfurt Motor Show holding signs which said "Climate Killer".





Source

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by ChiragM

Here are some pictures of the protests. Protesters stood on top of SUVs in the Frankfurt Motor Show holding signs which said "Climate Killer".

Attachment 1915945

Attachment 1915946

Source

Greenpeace, that says it all, must have jetted in to protest carbon emissions or some such high minded purpose.

The sign below is telling, one line from a suicidal school girl who thinks the world is going to end in 12 years. The next says abolish capitalism, these unemployed crazies can barely think, they need to use a school girl as a shield.