VW to ditch small diesels in favour of mild hybrids.

 

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/volkswagen-abandon-small-diesels-favour-mild-hybrids

 

Reflecting the initial drop off in sales, which appears to be happening.

 

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/consumer-news/94714/diesel-registrations-fall-in-first-month-of-2017

 

Edited 8 February, 20179 yr by vrskeith

If VW had gone the AdBlue route instead of the cheating one, would this question of diesel survival been raised so soon?.

Maybe there would have been at least another decade.

They can't ignore the data anymore 

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/feb/24/revealed-thousands-of-children-toxic-air-london-nitrogen-dioxide?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+main+NEW+H+categories&utm_term=214918&subid=7137672&CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2

Beware of buying diesel vehicles, Grayling warns: Minister suggests an imminent air pollution clampdown will encourage a switch to cleaner cars

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4258028/Beware-buying-diesel-vehicles-Chris-Grayling-warns.html

 

Motorists should be wary of buying diesel vehicles, the Transport Secretary warned last night. Chris Grayling suggested that an imminent clampdown on air pollution would encourage a switch to cleaner cars.  Asked whether motorists should hesitate before buying a diesel, he replied: ‘People should take a long, hard think about what they need – about where they’re going to be driving – and should make best endeavours to buy the least polluting vehicle they can.  In November the High Court ordered ministers to cut NOx levels in the ‘shortest possible time’. Mr Grayling said this ruling created a legal duty to act, adding: ‘It is inevitable over the coming years we’re going to have to really migrate our car fleet, and our vehicle fleet more generally, to cleaner technology.’  The Royal College of Physicians and of Paediatrics and Child Health warned last year that air pollution was contributing to about 40,000 deaths a year. A committee of MPs described the situation as a public health emergency. The Government is expected to publish a strategy to tackle the issue in the coming weeks. It is likely to include low emission zones in cities. Drivers of older diesels would face charges. Tax rises are also being considered, as are incentives to switch to hybrid and electric vehicles.

Edited 25 February, 20179 yr by lol-lol

The urgent need is to be rid of euro4 in particular and 5 also........6 would make a significant difference I believe.

You maybe want to read or listen to what Chris Grayling MP is saying today.

He is getting digs in at the Labour Party and Gordon Brown, but then he should include the now Peer & Chairman of the Conservative & Unionist Party that was the Secretary of State for Transport before him, because he has been involved for decades including when the Conservatives decided that Diesels were the way to go, 

that was back when Sir Patrick McLoughlin was a sidekick to Margaret Thatcher.

He had a chance while in Office to be sure that Germany & others were not allowing cheating of the Testing Systems, 

but then the UK were as bad as Germany and knew all about how bad the Diesel Emissions were in the real world.

So many cars in the last Scrappage System were replaced with high polluting diesels, small city car diesels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_McLoughlin 

Edited 25 February, 20179 yr by Awayoffski

I suspect many politicians at the time didn't realise, nor were advised, about the NOx issue.

Back then the priority was GHGs eg CO2. 

Perhaps nobody back then knew or factored in the ultimate outcome of other pollutants.

I suspect many had vested interests. 

Many in Politics and Peers of the realm that have shares and investments in many aspects of Manufacturing, Oil & Gas and the Media.

Sir Michael Heseltine owning Haymarket Publishing and having such close connections to the Motor Manufacturers and Investors would know lots, 

and owns the establishments that can educate those that need educating.  But Hey ho.  3 Monkeys rules.

.....or the consequences of humanities trained not being used to being advised, let alone directed by science.

They are going to have to get used to it to avoid even worse outcomes.

A bit of a London update 

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1110596_cities-lead-global-push-for-cleaner-zero-emission-cars

8 hours ago, Ryeman said:

A bit of a London update 

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1110596_cities-lead-global-push-for-cleaner-zero-emission-cars

 

The picture is of the cars we make (with a help from our partners CECOMP and Pininfarina)......... 

We have 500 RHD ones ready to deploy in London and we are trying to get all charging network rolled out but doing so with the 44 Met authorities is more of challenge than dealing with the unitary authority that exists in Paris where we have the best part of 5,000 such cars running around.  The chargers are the Quick charge variety and actually keep the LMP, rather than L-ion, cells simmering away at between 60-80 c for maximise performance and charge acceptance.  Best score was one of our cars being hired 40 times in one day, albeit some very short hires in the 6,12,18 minute chunks, probably going between Garde du Nord and Garde de Sud or the like.

 

Oddly terrorism has been mentioned as one of the main motivations for using the cars ie use them rather than the metro, in addition to the green credentials and convenience.   

 

Edited 24 May, 20179 yr by lol-lol

Some analysis of the statistics behind the claims re deaths due to pollution...

 

https://wintoncentre.maths.cam.ac.uk/news/does-air-pollution-kill-40000-people-each-year-uk

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1110619_ubs-study-predicts-electric-car-cost-parity-in-europe-in-2018

17 hours ago, skomaz said:

Some analysis of the statistics behind the claims re deaths due to pollution...

 

https://wintoncentre.maths.cam.ac.uk/news/does-air-pollution-kill-40000-people-each-year-uk

 

So it could be 60,000 deaths I year if I read it right?

 

I expected to see more use of population/sigma deviation statistical interpretation. Some interesting points, not sure it move us any further on than the continued push to limit all diesels without SCR from city area and eventually eliminate all combustion engines from urban environments.

 

It sounds like another cry for more research funding?   

Edited 25 May, 20179 yr by lol-lol

2 hours ago, lol-lol said:

 

So it could be 60,000 deaths I year if I read it right?

 

I expected to see more use of population/sigma deviation statistical interpretation. Some interesting points, not sure it move us any further on than the continued push to limit all diesels without SCR from city area and eventually eliminate all combustion engines from urban environments.

 

It sounds like another cry for more research funding?   

Or more like 6_000.

 

And, in this context, I've seen a claim that a heavy diesel with Euro 6 compliance emits less NOX and 2.5 particulates than a petrol Fiesta (the claim was "proof by assertion" in print media so don't ask me for more details).

2 hours ago, lol-lol said:

 

So it could be 60,000 deaths I year if I read it right?

 

I expected to see more use of population/sigma deviation statistical interpretation. Some interesting points, not sure it move us any further on than the continued push to limit all diesels without SCR from city area and eventually eliminate all combustion engines from urban environments.

 

It sounds like another cry for more research funding?   

 

Or 5,000...   or 16,000 according to the WHO...   the point of the article is that the figures have a very wide variation, have little basis, are wildly unreliable and appear to have been selectively quoted to paint a certain picture...   either way the 'crisis' is about equivalent to 1 cigarette per day in London and is vastly less than the risk from other lifestyle choices.

 

Very simple really if you read the text and don't mis-quote it - the analysis blows most of the basis for the widely quoted figures out of the water.

Edited 25 May, 20179 yr by skomaz

@skomaz Yes, at least if you have some sort of school or college level understanding of statistics; sadly many of us (including most lawyers and politicians) don't!

A technique politicians often use is underfunding watchdogs 

https://www.desmog.uk/2017/05/19/local-authority-air-pollution-reporting-failures?utm_source=dsbuk newsletter

5 hours ago, skomaz said:

Very simple really if you read the text and don't mis-quote it - the analysis blows most of the basis for the widely quoted figures out of the water.

 

 It's Lol-lol, you don't get a username like that by sticking to the facts and not mis-quoting them 

21 hours ago, KenONeill said:

Or more like 6_000.   And, in this context, I've seen a claim that a heavy diesel with Euro 6 compliance emits less NOX and 2.5 particulates than a petrol Fiesta (the claim was "proof by assertion" in print media so don't ask me for more details).

 

Is that petrol fiesta a eco-boost engine or one of the old zetec engines I wonder?  My little 900 cc 3 cylinder petrol Renault/Dacia engine is rated at 10 mg/Km so I think the ecoboost are not as good as the Renault TCE engine. Here are the UK government figures......

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vca/fcb/new-car-fuel-consump.asp  

 

Latest Fiesta                                                                                                                         NOX

1.0 EcoBoost (100PS)	34
1.0 EcoBoost (100PS) Stop-Start	41
1.0 EcoBoost (125PS) Stop-Start	41
1.0 EcoBoost (140PS) Stop-Start	32
1.25 Duratec (60PS)	28
1.25 Duratec (82PS)	28
1.5 Duratorq TDCi (75PS)	51
1.5 Duratorq TDCi (95PS)	47
1.5 Duratorq TDCi ECOnetic (95PS) Stop-Start	62

 

The UK Government even pays for films to be made to get people to move over to electric and hybrids....

 

 

Edited 26 May, 20179 yr by lol-lol

20 hours ago, skomaz said:

 

Or 5,000...   or 16,000 according to the WHO...   the point of the article is that the figures have a very wide variation, have little basis, are wildly unreliable and appear to have been selectively quoted to paint a certain picture...   either way the 'crisis' is about equivalent to 1 cigarette per day in London and is vastly less than the risk from other lifestyle choices.  Very simple really if you read the text and don't mis-quote it - the analysis blows most of the basis for the widely quoted figures out of the water.

 

From all the variety of sources of information, including the World Health Organisation, government policy is formulated at local and national level and that is resulting in taxation policy being implemented that affects us hence the UK introducing last month that only electric cars get no road tax and all other road cars will pay around £1K per 7 year, or more if it get escalated over the next budgets whereas EV pay nothing and in fact get a £5K grant from the government for purchase and installing a home charger.

 

In addition to this UK national policy there is local policy such as the London congestion charge which now applies to all cars except zero emission EVs and it is these types of policies which are pushing us to EVs because our electric officials are implementing the measures what ever the evidence is and us as consumers have the choice to go EV or stay on ICE.  VAT on fuel 20%, VAT on electricity, 5%.  At almost every point we are being pushed towards EV.  Embrace it or resist it and feel it in your pocket.  

 

   

10 minutes ago, lol-lol said:

 

Is that petrol fiesta a eco-boost engine or one of the old zetec engines I wonder?  My little 900 cc 3 cylinder petrol Renault/Dacia engine is rated at 10 mg/Km so I think the ecoboost are not as good as the Renault TCE engine. Here are the UK government figures......

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vca/fcb/new-car-fuel-consump.asp  

 

Latest Fiesta                                                                                                                         NOX

1.0 EcoBoost (100PS)	34
1.0 EcoBoost (100PS) Stop-Start	41
1.0 EcoBoost (125PS) Stop-Start	41
1.0 EcoBoost (140PS) Stop-Start	32
1.25 Duratec (60PS)	28
1.25 Duratec (82PS)	28
1.5 Duratorq TDCi (75PS)	51
1.5 Duratorq TDCi (95PS)	47
1.5 Duratorq TDCi ECOnetic (95PS) Stop-Start	62

 

The UK Government even pays for films to be made to get people to move over to electric and hybrids....

These figures are lab test results. What appears to be the case is that on the road these 3 cylinder small petrol engines are emitting far more Nox, in some cases more than some diesels.

https://www.driving.co.uk/news/eco-engines-are-among-the-most-polluting-according-to-new-emissions-index/

 

lol-lol Love the video if that was tax payer funded.

Showing hooning and ant-social driving, irresponsible driving and lack of concern for driving to the conditions offroad or on with ECO tyres that lack grip even in the dry.

15 hours ago, CWARD said:

 

 It's Lol-lol, you don't get a username like that by sticking to the facts and not mis-quoting them 

 

Just for the record my username is simply nothing to do with Three Letter Acronyms but simply a young member of my family could not say my first name and so it cam out as lol-lol, goes back about 45 years so pre-dates its usage as Laugh Out Load.

 

I am not a Dave Cameron character who was using it as he thought it meant "Lots of Love" when adding it to notes to Ms Brooks of the Murdoch empire and the like.

 

The report we are discuss is one viewpoint and to me appears very vague and I would be certain that it is going to be ignored in formulating government policy which is as I have described above governing taxation, charges, VAT etc.  Pays your money and make your choices.

 

A bit more difficult for me when I do lots of long journeys and because I get a company fuel card and fuel is effectively about 50p a litre, via BIK, but I still hope to move at least one of the fleet to EV as I believe they are nowe vaiable, particularly the R90 ZE40 Renault Zoe (not QC version oddly as 22 Kw charging is fast enough rather than 43).    

 

  

13 minutes ago, moley said:

These figures are lab test results. What appears to be the case is that on the road these 3 cylinder small petrol engines are emitting far more Nox, in some cases more than some diesels.

https://www.driving.co.uk/news/eco-engines-are-among-the-most-polluting-according-to-new-emissions-index/

 

 

What an odd report.  (It is in a Murdoch outlet though).

It does mention PSA or Renault which are two of the three largest car produces in Europe.  

 

Let us hope Ford can improve its act as it might be another nail in the coffin for jobs at Ford Bridgend if they need to redesign and Ford decide to

move the jobs to Germany or Spain and the UK is selling less cars post BREXIT and Europe needs more petrol and EVs as Angel Merkel is professing ie 1 million EV in Germany in the next 3 years.