The independent poll was referenced by Livingstone back in December when he claimed the public were in support of the new charges. According to the results, 74% of Londoners believe the increase in the congestion charge to £25 is too high, 62% think it was brought in as a way to raise revenue rather than help the environment and 81% think it will be bad for local business. According to the rules of the British Polling Council, anyone who refers to its studies in a public context must also make public the full details of the poll.
Essentially, Livingstone’s previous claims of support for the new congestion charge is based on false information and Porsche wants the London Mayor to fess up. Porsche has even gone so far to take legal action against Livingstone, requesting a judicial review of the emissions charge a government authority so that the scheme can be revised.
The charges have been designed with sports cars and SUV’s in mind however there have been suggestions that it will have little effect on overall emissions and that a greater focus on commercial pollution is needed. Sports car manufacturers will be hard hit by legislation such as this - especially Porsche, which only produces sports cars in relatively small volumes and thus relies on established markets to maintain profit.
Reader Comments
Wed Feb 27 2008 6:50 AM
BAUMM III says
Of course no one want to pay £25, Porsche do not take any risk by doing a survey on this subject!
But if it's too expensive, why to drive a so big car in town then? This is the question, Porsche is trying to put the debate on an other level than that, I am very decept by them..
If you want to pollute, you need to afford a big car, and a big congestion charge, then you can do what ever you want in peace.
Wed Feb 27 2008 7:19 AM
Raptor says
>>why to drive a so big car in town then?
Why the hell not? If someone wants to spend hard earned money on a big car, so be it. What pollution? Modern car engines produce very small amounts of toxic compounds, and with euro 5 standard it's going to get even better. Info for all tree huggers - CO2 is not polluting. And there is really no big difference if you put it it the air in London or anywhere else in the world. Is Red Ken worried about imaginary ''global warming'' ?
Wed Feb 27 2008 8:20 AM
chris says
raptors got a great point. if it gets into the air in london or some where else in england.. its still going to be around. who cares.
but i am with baumm on this one too. this is adding a small charge to a very small part of the population. I think most americans read this as london trying to make sure people dont drive SUV's in down town london. SUV's in london would be like some one driving around the streets of new york in a mack truck. for the fun of it.
point being here is that this topic upsets more americans than it does londoners. because to an american, to take away my SUV is to take away the air that I breathe.
Wed Feb 27 2008 9:30 AM
SuperSkyline89 says
In the big picture putting more CO2 in London is no different than somewhere else but that's not the point. SMOG is the point. Big cities have such a concentrated amount of pollutants that it gets hard to breath.
An example, I live in Brampton, an average city next to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Two years ago I went to Prince George, British Columbia to spend the summer with my cousins. I didn't notice the difference in air quality when I got to Prince George but when I got back home I had a hard time breathing because the air was so much more polluted around the Toronto area. If it's that different in Brampton which has a population of about 400,000 then just imagine how bad the big cities are.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not some tree hugging fool but I'm also not blinded by my love of cars. You don't need an SUV to drive around town, and no it doesn't make you look cool if you do. I love fast cars but I'd gladly buy a more economical car to drive around town with and keep the fast one for weekend fun.
Wed Feb 27 2008 11:43 AM
Gus says
You know what's interesting? I have spoken with so many people that are older (60+) and they say Los Angeles is SO MUCH CLEANER than it was 30-40 years ago.
You read that right, it's getting better here, not worse.
Now, I agree that I wouldn't want to live in the smoggier parts of town, and I live near the coast for that reason, but I guess it used to be really bad.
Ever drive around behind one of those classic cars from the 50's and 60's and 70's? Or a schoolbus from that era?
So I agree with points from all the above. People who drive bigger cars should pay more, but they already do in the form of higher fuel costs. I have a Ford Expedition that I CHOOSE to own because I CHOOSE to own a boat and other toys that I simply cannot use a Prius to mobilize. It is expensive to run, but it is my choice.
I own a Mustang. Not a V6, but a GT V8. It doesn't get the best mileage, around 20, but again I CHOOSE to own this vehicle and pay more to run it because I LIKE the power and the pure fun of it, as well as it's relative heft and safety over a much smaller car.
So it's not a question of more or less money, it's a choice. Pretty soon you will see certain vehicles banned in London outright, rather than just charged.
I guess it all boils down to choice, and freedom, which I see the Brits rapidly losing.
Wed Feb 27 2008 11:48 AM
Gus says
Oh yeah, and did I mention that cow farts are many magnitudes more damaging than car emmisions to global warming (be it a man-caused calamity or a natural earth change)?
You would do far better to take the congestion and pollution charges and use them to buy newer, less polluting mopeds for people in China and the rest of the developing world. I am NOT kidding here. Can you imagine the headlines and good will that would create? Bring your old moped into a dealer in Delhi or Beijing and London will buy you or help you to buy a newer, more reliable one that pollutes 90% less than the two-stroke you are driving, which puts out more harmful emissions than a dozen Lamborghinis...
Wed Feb 27 2008 7:30 PM
HECTOR says
1. Global warming is a lie.
2. People that drive big cars already pay more. It's called gasoline tax.
3. If you think Red Ken is bad as mayor of London imagine Al Gore as president of the USA.
Mon Mar 3 2008 9:12 PM
James says
Al Gore isn't trying to make people pay 25 british pounds extra per day for the car people drive, he had ideas to organize plans for car makers with certain deadlines so they can work on lowering the emissions of the cars they sell in a practical manner so everyone is happy, including porsche and tree huggers.
it's always good to have some idea of what you plan to talk about.
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