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Autocar Readers Defy Emissions Beliefs
90 per cent of survey respondents ‘not guilty’ about driving their cars.
90 per cent of motorists say they don’t feel guilty about driving their cars, just one of the survey findings conducted by autocar.co.uk. Despite being taxed increasingly punitively by the government and indoctrinated otherwise by much of the mainstream media the survey respondents feel that cars are here to stay and to be used.
The defiant assertion comes as part of the results to Autocar’s ‘A Future with Cars’ reader survey, conducted on Autocar.co.uk earlier this month. As part of it, more than 400 readers shared their opinions on cars, alternative fuels, carbon dioxide and emissions-related taxes.
The last in the series of ‘A Future with Cars’ articles, which inspired the opinion poll, is published in Autocar magazine today.
“The government is making unrealistic assumptions that it will somehow be able to price cars off the road to combat congestion and C02 emissions. However motorists are not going to give up their personal transport, it’s far too important to them, but our research reveals they will look at replacing their vehicles when the time is right with more efficient models.
“The government must look at tax benefits for motorists driving greener cars but not penalise motorists for driving the cars they currently own. With the economic climate many motorists will be delaying changing their vehicle. The government must work with the industry in encouraging the design and development of the cars needed to solve the congestion and emissions problems facing the world today”, said Chas Hallett, Autocar editor.
More than 40 per cent of respondents to the survey also said that, although they accept that cars do contribute to global warming, other contributors should be a higher priority for environmental campaigners.
Some 61.7 per cent said law-makers were wrong to increase purchase tax on high CO2 cars.
Readers’ views on alternatively powered cars were just as interesting. A remarkable 45.1 per cent of respondents believe that lighter cars, with more efficient petrol and diesel engines, have greater potential to check rising carbon emissions than fuel cell cars, all-electric cars or plug-in hybrids.
There’s plenty of optimism left for the average British motorist, it seems: nearly 90 per cent of respondents expect the car ownership experience in 20 years time to be broadly similar to how it is now.
And finally, it seems that you’re much more likely to be sceptical about global warming the older you get; 54 per cent of respondents over the age of 54 said they don’t believe in the link between carbon dioxide emissions and rising planetary temperatures, compared with only 15.4 per cent for those under 25.
Ends
A Future with Cars: Full Reader Poll Results
1. Do you feel guilty about driving your car?
Yes – 11.2%; No – 88.8%
2. Has your level of guilt changed since reading Autocar’s ‘A Future with Cars’ article series?
I feel less guilty – 2%
I feel more guilty – 1.2%
I feel the same – 46.2%
I haven’t read them – 50.6%
3. Which statement best describes your attitude toward cars and climate change?
Cars are causing catastrophic climate change and we should seriously consider their environmental impact before buying and using them – 2.5%
Cars are contributing greatly to global warming and need to be radically overhauled soon – 16.5%
Vehicle emissions are a minor contributor to climate change, but other sources of man-made CO2 emissions present a greater risk to the planet –
40.5%
I’m more concerned about NOx, particulates and other harmful tailpipe emissions than I am by carbon dioxide – 12.6%
I don’t believe in the link between man-made CO2 and global warming – 27.9%
4. Rank of global CO2 contributors:
63.9% of voters correctly put ‘energy generation’ top
39.5% of voters correctly put ‘domestic consumption’ in 3rd position
30.9% of voters correctly put ‘car emissions’ in 4th position
5. How important are CO2 considerations when buying a new car?
49.6% of voters put it last (7th), behind Performance and Dynamics, Value for money, Reliability, Fuel economy, Practicality, and Dealer Service (in that
order).
6. Are law-makers right to increase purchase tax on high CO2 cars?
Yes – 38.3%
No – 61.7%
7. Which policies would you most like to see encouraged?
More supply-side fiscal measures imposed on industry – 37.9%
Greater investment in low-emissions tech development schemes – 30.9%
An international carbon trading scheme established – 26.5%
More duty on fuel and tax on high carbon cars – 4.6%
8. What’s a sustainable level of CO2 emissions for cars?
Current level – 30.7%
160g/km – 14.1%
120g/km – 19.1%
100g/km – 18.9%
40g/km – 10.3%
Zero – 6.8%
9. Which of the following’s got the greatest potential to bring emissions down?
Lighter, more efficient petrol and diesel cars – 45.1%
Fuel cell cars – 14.5%
Electric cars – 13.3%
Plug-in hybrids – 10.3%
Hydrogen-fuelled combustion-engined cars – 8.8%
Second-gen biofuels – 5.5%
CNG, LPG or Ethanol – 2.5%
10. Will we still own and drive cars, as now, in 20 years time?
Yes – 89.5%
No – 10.5%
11. Age spread of voters:
26 to 35 – 30%
36 to 45 – 22.1%
46 to 55 – 17.9%
17 to 25 – 15.9%
56 to 65 – 9.4%
66 or older – 3%
16 or younger – 1.7%
12. Geographic spread of voters:
South-east England – 17%
Greater London – 11.9%
Outside UK – 11.6%
The West Midlands – 9.6%
Southern England – 8.6%
For further information and to receive the full survey results please contact:
Karen Parry
Autocar PR
0208 267 5553 / 07903 955 696
karen.parry@haymarket.com
karen@prandmediaworks.com
Autocar magazine is published weekly by Haymarket Magazines Limited. Launched in November 1895, it’s the world’s original motoring title, and currently has an average readership in the UK of 337,000 per issue and over one million worldwide. Autocar is first with news, comment, scoops and motorsport, and is read by an exclusive audience of enthusiasts and car buyers. Visit http://www.autocar.co.uk/
The truth according to Autocar
Cars are not the primary source of man made C02. They are responsible for about 10 per cent of it.
Using cars is as legitimate – ethically and morally – as any other human activity that generates C02 – such as taking holidays, playing sport, using domestic appliances or heating a home.
Every C02 molecule however it is released, has an identical impact on climate change.
Car produced C02 is not a special case and should not be treated punitively in fiscal terms under the guise of limiting climate change as happens today.
Cars today emit about 130g per passenger kilometre, compared with 100g for buses and 40-80g for trains. This will drop to 40-50g over time, at which point cars will be no worse than other modes of transport. Planners must recognise this.
Cars will not disappear when the oil runs out. They will have evolved to use sustainable sources of energy. The Stone Age did not end because the planet ran out of stone. We simply invented a better technology.
26 November 2008
November 29th, 2008 at 8:43 am
[...] to this fascinating survey, you are far more likely to be a global warming skeptic the older you get. A whopping 54 per cent [...]
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:14 am
Great post, Dr. Biggs!
I wanted to commend you on your response to Andrew Glikson at CCNET; I had wanted to write a response myself to him, since he was so clearly wrong on so many of his arguments. You did a terrific job of demolishing that foolishness!
December 12th, 2008 at 11:16 am
The theory of AGW is not true and is a ruse to tax us on the air that we breathe.
In fact it is a way of the powers that be to licence the weather to us which is as preposterous as it sounds but nevertheless true.
Water vapour is the main greenhouse gas plain and simple – the natural variation in water vapour negates any effects that co2 impact may have and according to many sources there is a ceiling to the effects of co2 anyway!
Add to this that during the Paleozoic and mesozoic periods co2 content was several thousand PPM and has steadily decreased in an almost linear fashion to present where climate is more stable than it has ever been.
If co2 was able to cause a runaway feedback mechanism then it would have done so rather than declining to present day levels and one should not that temperature has remained stable throughout these periods except for ice ages.
Any rebuttals to these simple facts are just rhetoric – people like to think of themselves as scientifically minded and always find some weak angle to find a human connection and these AGW theories are so convoluted and twisted that I am convinced that these warmist theorists are on some form of drugs!!
Those of you who may be concerned that we are running out of oil – dont be – you might possibly enjoy a book by Professor Thomas Gold called “the deep hot biosphere” which is a most interesting read and throws many geological theories out on their head. The logic is irrefutable and I have heard no convincing arguments that really stand up to what he and most Ukrainian/Russians scientists have long established as fact.
May we all continue to learn.