[pawan]

Make sure you’re sitting down before reading this story.
There is a proposal in a report to the European Parliament calling for a ban on the making of cars capable of more than 101mph.
It's all part of a proposal to cut CO2 emissions from cars, and many of the silliest parts come from British Lib Dem MEP Chris Davies.
Davies states that 101mph is 25 per cent over the top speed limit in most EU countries.
However, according to a report by the BBC, he then goes on to note that "between 1994 and 2004 the power of new cars went up by 28 per cent, making them a lot heavier, and so increasing the amount of CO2 they put out, even though no country raised its speed limit to allow cars to use this increased power."
Now obviously this is utterly and totally wrong, but that won't prevent members of the European Parliament from voting on the proposed ban this autumn.
Obviously what has actually happened is that increased safety legislation (much of it from the EU), has increased the weight of cars. Power outputs have also increased.
Now that cars have beneficial safety features – airbags, pedestrian impact zones and the like – they are by necessity heavier than before. But what this has to do with top speeds, we're not sure, other than the fact that it takes greater effort to start and stop a heavier car than a lighter one.
But it's not just power and weight that have increased – car's braking systems and tyres have also improved (not least because EU legislation means that anti-lock brakes are now mandatory on new cars).
We're all for increased safety – such as the proposed standard fitment of ESP stability control – but to claim that banning the making of cars capable of over 101mph would create a dramatic reduction of CO2 is incorrect.
We can't help but think that, say, Mr Davies not flying from his Stockport base to Brussels every week would help a bit more.
Oh yes, and Mr Davies was also a big supporter of GM's decision to build the new Vauxhall Astra at Ellesmere Port in April.
"This is a fantastic reward for the commitment shown by everyone involved to keeping car manufacturing alive in Ellesmere Port," said Davies.
Quite right, but seeing as every single model in the current Astra range is capable of well over 101mph, if Mr Davies' proposal succeeds at the EU, there will be no new Astra.






every one start buying guns we will need it.

Autocar - Fast cars to be banned?

[low_bass_makker]

it means politicians are mad all over the world.

[1Day]

Originally Posted by low_bass_makker

it means politicians are mad all over the world.

there are a lot better ways to cut down on emissions than cars, they need to look at germeny's plan to use 33% of their power with solar energy in places where it counts the most and not automobiles..

they are just dumb ppl trying to prove a point that doesnt make sense..

[tsk1979]

Ban politicians, that will take care of 99% of all the hot air causing this global warming.

[danlalan]

Fine Ban it!!!!!!!!

We'll jus give viper a call.

[Zappo]

wherever in the world you go it is the same story. some crazynut politician trying one gimmickry or the other for some cheap popularity. god knows where this davies guy did all his research to come up with such profound theories. higher weight of the cars increases pollution it seems.

[subbarp]

please export autos to these countries. That'll save the cars for coming under the scanner for another 300 years.

[.anshuman]

Noway this proposal is going to be passed anyway and its time politicians find better ways to prevent envoirnment.

[Mayavi]

Is it April 1 already?
I'd say ban automobiles all togather, that would cut down lot of Co2 emissions and also wars.
The Queen would ride in a Stretch Rickshaw B-)

PS: I reached 102 mph in a rental Kia Rio, so which all cars are gonna be banned?

[hydrashok]

Good. Maybe that will make the better car makers to start making cars in India, and we'll have lots of real cars to choose from, for reasonable prices

[theMAG]

Instead of that, they should put road humps every 500 mts like they do in India. And a couple potholes in between. That way they ensure their cars never cross 2nd gear. After all, why should us Indians have all the fun ?!

[kurmist]

Looks like the politicians want the automotive evolution (revolution?) to go full circle.....back to horse drawn carriages.

As someone rightly said, most of gaseous (nauseous??) emissions are contributed by politicians

[mayureshmisra]

I dont see this going anywhere. The biggest, most influential automotive corporations that churn out limited edition supercars/hypercars are not going to let this pass thru.
I'd like to see how this ends. So much for gentlemens speed limit of 155mph

[zenx]

Umm, at the risk of becoming flame-bait, I'd say this isn't as mad as it appears. If the legal speed limit in most places is 60-70mph, there isn't much in having cars that do twice that, is there ? I mean yeah sure, on private (race)tracks and on the autobahns and in Montana there's no limits, and a workaround needs to be found for those who intend to drive at higher speeds there, but really, 30% over the limit does seem good enough a target.

Heavier cars, all else being equal, will surely be less fuel efficient and hence produce more carbon emissions than equivalent lighter ones.

Carmakers could instead focus on much better fuel efficiency and driveability upto that limit - esp the 0-70mph range, with smaller engines. Putting in a larger engine every year into every model has established a not very healthy trend that all automakers have to keep playing catch-up with.

Of course, the ideal solution would be to not blindly eliminate all supercars, but provide incentives to smaller lighter more "sensible" (yet capable enough under the speed limits) cars a la the keis in Japan, and make it more expensive to own larger capacity vehicles (if you can afford private tracks or love speed enough to pay for it elsewhere). The speed limits themselves would need to be looked at hard, and rationalized across. 80kmph on our expressways, for instance, is just tooooo low. The larger safety related issue here is people venturing out on high speed roads with vehicles/tyres/drivers incompatible with those speeds. Certainly the incompatibility also holds for a much larger percentage of the population (for whom public roads are designed, not just a few capable enthusiasts) above 101mph and the like.

The exact form of this law is certainly riddled with holes, but there's some direction in there which is sensible and worth pursuing. Just because we're auto enthusiasts, we must also be responsible enthusiasts.

[owaiskm]

This will never happen in Europe