The advent of changes to London's congestion charge that makes the fees based on a vehicle's carbon dioxide emissions has prompted many automakers to tweak some of their models to get their emissions down. Any car that emits less than 120g/km of carbon dioxide is exempt from having to pay the charge. The latest brand to go after that threshold is BMW with their 318d. The existing version is rated at 123g/km, so BMW will make some changes to get into the charge free band. BMW engineers feel they can meet the challenge with the 318d. The smaller 118d already achieves 119g/km with it's start-stop system and brake energy regeneration. Both cars use a 1.8L four cylinder turbodiesel. Some changes in gearing, lower rolling resistance tires and some aero tweaks may be all it takes to meet the target.

[Source: AutoCar]

We don't want to take sides on London's Congestion Charge, but we are keenly interested in what the charge will mean for the environment and motorists. Ken Livingstone claims that the charge is intended to reduce congestion and CO₂ emissions while Porsche claims that the charges are unnecessarily high and unfair. New evidence that Porsche has located, though, indicates that CO₂ emissions will actually increase if the charges go into effect as planned. In fact, Porsche claims that the mayors office was aware of this report and chose not to release it.

The report, prepared for Transport for London by King's College London's Environmental Research Group, predicted that the charges would create a "very high disbenefit" not only for CO₂ but also for NOx, NO₂ and particulate matter. The reason cited for the increased emissions is that drivers will choose to drive around London instead of driving straight through, which would be a much shorter trip. London's emissions may drop, but the surrounding areas will be disproportionately hurt.

According to Andy Goss, Managing Director of Porsche Cars GB, "We always knew the environmental impact of this unfair tax would be minimal, now we know it will make matters worse. The Mayor and TfL need to explain why this report was not disclosed and why they want to increase taxes on motorists that will increase CO₂. It seems absolutely clear that the report shows that not only have Mayor Livingstone and TfL not presented all of the information to the public about the impact of his £25 charge, but that they have also created a new tax on motorists that will do the exact opposite of its stated goal." Read more of Porsche's response here.

[Source: Porsche]

Click on the image to enlarge

Lexus would like to remind drivers who frequent the city of London that the GS450h is a credible sports sedan which falls well below the maximum penalty which will be in effect as part of the upcoming Congestion Charge. Emitting 185g/km of CO₂ will allow for a daily charge of £8, as compared to the £25 maximum penalty which many performance and luxury vehicles will be subject to.

We're not going to dispute the facts as presented by Lexus, but we'll also stop well short of suggesting that the GS 450h is the eco-friendly choice (there are certainly other options). Still, its comparatively low emissions, along with its 35.8mpg in the combined cycle, give a possible reason to choose it over some of its rivals, if for none other than to save some extra cash.

After the break, Lexus provides a chart comparing the power, acceleration, CO₂ emissions, combined fuel economy and congestion charges of the BMW 540i, Jaguar XF and Audi A6 4.2 V8 FSI against its own GS450h. Very thoughtful of them, wouldn't you say?

Click in the image to enlarge

London's Congestion Charge has drawn ire from some manufacturers, but others are doing something to help alleviate the "financial burden" the charges place on their customers. According to Jim Tyrrell, Mitsubishi's Managing Director, "The vast majority of our customers run a 4x4 for a specific purpose – not simply as a fashion item. We have worked hard to reduce the emissions levels wherever we can to help minimize any negative financial impact on the thousands of businesses that have chosen to use our pick-ups."

In line with this statement, new Mitsubishi L200s equipped with a manual transmission and not fitted with the Rallitronic power upgrade will now come with a 225 g/km CO₂ emissions rating, placing them in a lower Congestion Charge band. Before the modifications to the L200, drivers would be forced to pay £25 per day for trips into London; now the charge will be £8 per day.

The TfL Congestion Charge on dual purpose double cab pick-ups will be effective starting October 6th, 2008 and will be retroactive, meaning that older pickups will face the same penalty as brand new ones.


[Source: Mitsubishi]

By now, you're surely aware of the efforts of London Mayor Ken Livingstone to increase London's congestion charge. You're also likely know about the distaste that Porsche feels regarding these changes. Back in late February, Porsche polled Londoners themselves and found that 74 percent of Londoners think that the new £25 congestion charge is too high. Hmm... Livingstone's got his own survey too, and he says, "This robust survey provides further clear evidence of the strong support from Londoners for these measures, with 61% behind the decision to charge £25 for gas-guzzlers. Moreover, 65% say that the overall policy is good for London." Who's right? Don't know, be we do konw that someone's wrong. Unless 74 and 61 make 100 in some sort of new math.

This ongoing debate seems far from over. We're sure that more numbers will be thrown around from both camps (and just about anybody else who has an opinion) which support their viewpoints. Round and round we go!

[Source: What Car]

Lately, London Mayor Ken Livingstone has seen a great deal of press coverage regarding his efforts to increase the congestion charges in London, which caused Porsche to vehemently disagree with said charges. This is not Livingstone's only legislative issue these days, though, as he is also opposed to allowing motorcyclists access to London's bus lanes. He claims that there is "only a very small safety benefit for motorcyclists [versus] a larger disbenefit for other vulnerable road users. On this basis I do not propose to further allow motorcyclists to use bus lanes. Those who have advocated rushing though a change have clearly acted prematurely and irresponsibly. Such changes could have endangered the lives of cyclists and pedestrians."

What evidence does he point to? Transport for London's Road Safety Unit ran something is called the "Tanner Test," and the results are what Livingstone consulted. There's a looming issue about the test, though, as Chris Hodder, government relations executive for the British Motorcyclists Federation, has alleged that Livingstone's report was purposely doctored in order to remove evidence that casualties actually decreased by 42 percent when cyclists were allowed in bus lanes.

Craig Carey-Clinch, policy director for the Motorcycle Industry Association, put his thoughts very plainly into words when he said, "By doctoring the results to suit both his and his advisors' personal opinions, Livingstone has condemned cyclists and motorcyclists to greater vulnerability in London's traffic." That sounds like a very serious allegation to us. We'll be sure to keep you informed if more information regarding this case becomes available.

[Source: Motorcycle News]

Starting February, small cars will be exempt from the London congestion charge, a priviledge currently only accorded to electric, biofuel and hybrids. A study by the Centre for Economics and Business Research commissioned by Land Rover found this could result in more cars (up to 10,000 more) entering London and increased pollution in the city. You see, sales of small cars in the UK are increasing (up a third the last nine months) as people try to find ways to save the roughly £2,000 a year (£25 a day) it will cost to enter congestion zones. A Transport for London spokesman reminded everyone "one of the main aims behind the proposals is to encourage people to consider the effect of their car on the environment and to choose less-polluting vehicles." Dah!

[Source: This is London]

Perhaps my response to a statement released last week by Autocar is misinformed because there is some misinterpretation going on between my American English reading of British English words. The key is whether or not "minority group" carries with it the same connotations in the UK as it does in America. I read this line in Autocar editor Chas Hallett's statement - "Why do we need a scheme which is so expensive to administer that it has to pick on a minority group" - and thought how silly it was for him to use those words to describe people who drive the most expensive vehicles, those that are also fairly unkind to the environment. You can see what your response is by checking out the statement in full after the jump.

In any case, Hallett's point is that the proposed £25 congestion charge will not really do anything except raise £250 million for Transport for London, the "integrated body responsible for the Capital's transport system." By unfairly charging vehicles in the Band G category (those that emit more than 225 gm/k of CO2), Hallett says, the charge does nothing but punish a driver who causes "almost no harm to congestion or pollution, and helps preserve British jobs." The jobs issue is because so many vehicles by Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover are in Band G.

I understand that someone who works at Autocar isn't going to be keen on anything that, in effect, criticizes the classic UK automakers. Still, just because someone makes a car in your backyard doesn't mean they can have that vehicle emit anything they want. Some things - the air we breathe, for example - are more important than a particular vehicle or automaker. It's not like it's a secret that there are plenty of powertrain options these companies could look into so their vehicles fit into one of the less expensive Bands (see this example).

[Source: Autocar]

London Mayor Ken Livingstone is again pushing to revise the current congestion charges that drivers going into central London have to pay. Currently anyone going into the congestion zone has to pay a fee of £8 per day. Under Livingstone's plan the flat rate would change to a sliding scale based on the vehicle's carbon dioxide emissions. Annual vehicle registration fees are already based on part on those emissions with each vehicle being placed into various tax bands.

The new rate plan would charge £25 per day for vehicles in band G which is for all vehicles that emit over 225g/km of CO2. Vehicles in bands A and B which emit less than 120g/km such as the Smart ForTwo diesel and VW Polo Bluemotion would get in free of charge. Although in general the principal of charging more to the drivers of the heaviest emitting vehicles seem perfectly reasonable, AA Motoring Trust does have a point about larger families that need to use larger vehicles like vans being penalized unfairly. If there were a reasonable way of charging vehicles based on the number of passengers in addition to the emissions of the vehicle that would be the way to go. If someone has a van and a group of five or six people are car pooling, that is clearly more beneficial overall than all of those people driving their own Smart or Polo.

[Source: Times of London]

The Congestion Charge is a toll that must be paid in order to drive in a city centre. The most famous is in Central London, where it's managed by a sophisticated system of cameras that read the vehicles' license plates. It isn't cheap, either, with 8 GBP (paid in advance, 10 afterwards, which is 16-20 USD). Singapore has it too, and other places are considering implementation, such as Manchester (UK), Italy, Barcelona (Spain) and Japan. Manhattan has shelved the idea, at least for now.

Now it's time for Stockholm, Sweden's capital city. After several months of trials, those who want to drive around the city center from Monday to Friday, from 6.30 AM to 6:29 PM will have to pay depending on what time of the day a driver enters or exits the congestion tax area. The maximum amount of tax per vehicle per day is 60 SEK (roughly 9 USD).

Exempted vehicles are foreign-registered cars, vehicles adapted to disabled people, emergencies... Alternative cars, such as electrics, hybrids and E85-powered are exempted until the end of 2012.

Other ideas some cities are planning to reduce traffic problems (and probably getting money from drivers if they aren't provided an alternative), are banning old cars from city centers, creating Park&Ride spaces together with mass transit systems, favouring motorbikes and many more. What are your ideas to reduce traffic problems in cities?

Related:

• NY State legislature shelves Manhattan congestion charge plan

[Source: Moteurnature, Wikipedia, BBC]

It looks like New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan to reduce the congestion in Manhattan by introducing a congestion charge has hit a pothole in the state capitol. The state Senate didn't vote on the proposal once it became clear there wasn't enough support to pass it. The Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver wants to send the proposal to a committee that would also look at other proposals to deal with traffic in the city.

When the Mayor met with Democratic state senators on Monday he apparently got into an argument and failed to win any new support for his plan. It appears that state lawmakers are not too thrilled about Bloomberg trying to force his plans through and are playing politics. Democrats are accusing Bloomberg of still supporting Republican candidates while Republicans are upset that Bloomberg left the party.

[Source: New York Times - Reg. req'd via Autoblog]

First Portugal and Scandinavia, now it's the U.K.'s turn. Tourists, businessmen and collision survivors now have the option of renting green with the introduction of the Toyota Prius to Avis' UK fleets. In addition to being kinder to the environment, the Prius is also exempt from the U.K.'s congestion charge, making it more wallet-friendly.

Avis Scandinavia also has the pleasure of maintaining several Ford Flexi-fuel cars and 400 Saab 9-5 BioPower cars, simply because they're in Scandinavia. Lucky Swedes. Because of these efforts of Avis going green, they claim to have saved 76,500 tons of CO2 emissions. Impossible, you say? You're right, because green cars alone can't accomplish that figure, which is why Avis, in conjunction with The CarbonNeutral Company, has been planting a tree for every vehicle in their fleet since 1998. A valiant effort, Avis. Keep up the good work.

Related post:

• Avis to offer 1,000 Priuses for rent on the west coast

[Source: Avis]

During a speech he's scheduled to give tomorrow that will outline his remaining time in office, New York's mayor, Mike Bloomberg, will announce plans to charge cars entering Manhattan below 86th street an $8 congestion fee, similar to the controversial charge enacted by London's mayor, Ken Livingstone.

The charge will include existing bridge and tunnel tolls drivers pay coming in, and the plan will reportedly include exemptions for taxis and drivers who use routes that keep them away from the business district in midtown. Discounts could be offered to individuals who live or work in the affected area which, if you're familiar with Manhattan geography, is pretty huge. Commuters coming in from the north are going to be in a much better position to avoid the charge by finding parking and switching to public transportation for treks further downtown than individuals coming in via crossings in the area below 86th.

Drivers are understandably frustrated at the prospect of paying more to get into the city, and opposition groups in the outer boroughs are beginning to form up. The plan, which will need to be approved by the state legislature, is sure to spawn some political fireworks. We'll follow up on this after the mayor's speech tomorrow, when we should have all the particulars of his proposal.

UPDATE 4/22: Ahead of today's speech, WNYC (New York Public Radio) reported that drivers who use the FDR drive and West Side Highway would be exempted from the fee. The mayor stated as much in his weekly radio program on WABC. More on the proposal as we get the info.

[Source: WCBS TV, New York]

The RAC Foundation (a UK organization dedicated to "protecting the interest of the motorist") doesn't think congestion charges, like those in effect in downtown London, will help reduce driving, especially shopping trips, in the rest of the country.

This opinion is based on the results of a GfK/NOP survey of 1000 shoppers last June. The RAC announcement is after the break, and the full results will be up on the RAC website later today.

GfK/NOP found that 31 percent of the respondents said they would "drive to a different town or city centre to shop if a £5 congestion charge were introduced." And, while that's the RAC headline, almost as many, 27 per cent, said they "would choose to travel by different means." 21 percent said they would go shopping less often. The RAC Foundation's director is giving a speech at the Association of Town Centre Management annual conference today explaining the findings.

Related:

• Congestion charges to expand beyond London

[Source: RAC Foundation]

Toyota can't be the only one who benefits from the expansion of London's Congestion Charge zone next week, right? Honda is saying it expects there to be 6,500 more hybrid cars in London by 2008 (low-emission hybrids don't have to pay the £8 daily driving charge). In preparation, Honda will make available 3,000 petrol-electric Civic Hybrids in the UK during 2007.

Looking further afield, we know Honda will launch a concept two-seat coupe hybrid sports car in Geneva. Honda has also committed to making a global, purpose-built hybrid car that will be smaller and cheaper than the Civic, for sale in 2009. Whatever Honda calls it, this will be the second-generation Insight. So, just for kicks, here's a gallery of the first-gen Insight. (Oh, and Honda's press release after the jump, you know).



Related:

• Geneva Motor Show previews from Honda: FCX driveable concept, new sports hybrid concept, next-gen clean diesel
• Second-generation Honda Insight expected to be unveiled at Geneva Motor Show

[Source: Honda]