Big news: another politician has made an open-ended commitment with little way of seeing it through. In this week's episode, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown -- who previously committed to switch his Vauxhall for a Prius but then went for the V8 Jag once he got into office -- told local newspaper the Sunday Mirror that he'd give his armor-plated Jaguar the boot and replace it with an electric vehicle as his official mode of ground transportation.

Well that's nice, but we can hardly imagine the world leader being driven around in a Prius or a G Wiz, especially when a Downing Street spokesman points out that, "A new vehicle for the PM must meet security requirements like special strengthening and bullet-proof glass." Somewhere, somebody's got to be testing the impact of weighing down a Lexus LS600h with iron plates and reinforced glass.

[Source: Sunday Mirror via All Cars, All the Time]

Now that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged some £90 million for the development of clean vehicles in the U.K., General Motors is seeing plenty to like about the European market for its E-Flex vehicles. The automaker has already reversed its stance on building the electric cars in America and shipping them overseas, with the Ellesmere Port plant now being considered for Opel and Vauxhall EVs. Just how many electric cars could GM sell in Europe? According to Bob Lutz, plenty. In fact, GM believes it could move as many as 30,000 units in the first year of availability, with the worldwide figure of one million by 2020.

While those sales targets are pretty ambitious, so are the goals of Gordon Brown. If the Prime Minister has things his way, all new cars sold in Britain by 2020 will be electric. Oh, and built in the U.K. (editor's note: FAT CHANCE!), which could become a small step closer to reality if GM decides to go with the Ellesmere Port factory.


[Source: Times Online]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Opel Flextreme

Despite Carl-Peter Forster's recent assertion that Euro Volts would be built in America and shipped overseas, GM's European leader is now claiming that Europe may get its own plant. This change of heart could have something to do with Gordon Brown's recent announcement that the British government would offer £90m in funding over the next five years for alternative car projects? Why, yes, it could. Forster indicates that government assistance would play a large role in determining whether a European plant for Vauxhaull and Opel E-Flex vehicles is made and where it could be. GM execs also indicate that the surcharge for the Volt in Europe could be around £20,000 over the similarly-sized Astra.

Prime Minister Brown also laid out plans for electric car charging stations across the U.K. which could be integrated into supermarkets and retail stores. Brown considers our times as "a once-in-a-generation opportunity" for the world to push technology forward in a move to reduce the use of ever more expensive oil.


[Source: The Financial Times]

Unlike the heir to the British throne Prince Charles, new Prime Minister Gordon Brown has opted for gas-thirsty V-8 Jaguar XJ as his official car. While the Prince has switched to using diesel-powered Land Rovers and Jaguars, Brown's XJ hits the highest rank of UK emissions standards with CO2 output of 269g/km.

British shopping site GoCarbonFree.com has now given four carbon credits to the Prime Minister's office to offset the emissions of the Jaguar. Brown himself appears to be a typical politician when it comes to making promises. Last year he announced plans to exchange his Vauxhaull Omega for Prius, a commitment that was never fulfilled. Instead once Brown moved into 10 Downing St. he went straight from the Omega to the Jaguar.

[Source: www.gocarbonfree.com, thanks to Jez for the tip]

Road tax bills are now nearly double for gas guzzlers in the United Kingdom. As expected, Chancellor Gordon Brown announced increases in the annual vehicle excise duty would jump to 300 British pounds, but high-mileage vehicles will be charged 400 pounds. Owners of green cars such hybrids get a tax break with some vehicles like the Honda Insight (shown) paying nothing. Taxes on gasoline are also going up. Critics say the government is punishing large families who need bigger vehicles.

[Source: Daily Record]

With a new budget set to be unveiled by Chancellor Gordon Brown in the UK parliament this week, Saab has decided to weigh in on promoting alternative fuels. With their turbocharged engine lineup able to benefit even more than naturally aspirated engines, Saab has become a major proponent of ethanol in the last couple of years. Saab's engine management system is able to use more turbo boost and spark advance when running on ethanol to make up for the energy deficiency that ethanol has compared to gasoline.

Saab Great Britain Managing Director Jonathan Nash is urging Brown to follow the lead of other European countries and reduce fuel taxes on E85 to reduce the pump price of the biofuel. Nash also wants to see a variety of tax breaks for flex-fuel vehicles, to encourage both private and fleet purchases of such vehicles. Finally, as we have seen in the US, flex-fuel vehicles are really only beneficial if you can put biofuel into the tank. So Saab wants the government to introduce incentives to expand the availability of ethanol at the pump. The Saab press release is after the jump.

[Source: General Motors]