EU cuts Co2 Targets to help Euro car makers

In an astonishing outbreak of common sense, EU negotiators last night agreed a deal to ease the draconian Co2 targets for EU car manufacturers. Originally, EU car makers had to meet the new regulations by 2012, but have now won a concession to hit 65% of target by 2012, 75% by 2013, 80% by 2014 and 100% by 2015.

This scaling back of the targets was achieved after Germany objected to the original proposals. As Europe’s biggest car maker, and the maker of some of the highest emission cars made in the EU, the likes of Mercedes and Porsche objected to the regulations, citing their difficulty in achieving the unrealistic, and some would say unnecessary, targets. In particular they objected to the huge mountain they had to climb in comparison to Peugeot/Citroen and Fiat who already make smaller, and therefore cleaner, cars.

The EU is committed under the Kyote Treaty to reducing Co2 levels by 8% by 2012, but is aiming for a 20% cut by 2020. These targets would mean German makers reducing the Co2 output of their cars by nearly 50% in comparison to the 15% cut needed by Fiat and Peugeot/Citroen. The regulations affect all EU car makers.

I’m all for making cars cleaner. City pollution has been an issue for decades, and anything sensible that can be done to reduce the pollution emitting from cars is eminently sensible. But this isn’t about pollution. Its about the obsession with reducing Co2 output, which is far from proven to have a detrimental effect on the planet. After all, even though cars are estimated to be responsible for 10% of man-made greenhouse gasses, the total of man-made greenhouse gases is less than 3% of all greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Which means that even if we made all vehicles zero emissions, we would reduce the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by 0.3%. And by reducing the Co2 output of cars made in the EU by 2020, we will see a reduction so small as to be practically unmeasurable.

Is it worth the cost?

Even Porsche is feeling the pinch

The last week has seen a raft of reports about the slow-down of sales at the luxury end of the market. Aston Martin is suffering badly, Bentley has serious problems and Jaguar & Land Rover, both owned by Indian firm Tata, are pushing the government for a £1 billion loan.

And today comes news that Porsche is cutting production for seven days to cope with the dwindling demand for cars worldwide.

Nobody is thinking that Porsche are in real trouble yet (after all, Porsche is the most profitable car company there is and, with a controlling stake in VW, is well-placed to survive the recession). But it is a sure sign of how bad things are that even Porsche are having to slow production.

In their statement, Porsche said:

“Porsche, too, cannot escape the current downward trend in the automobile industry,” and admitted that its sales for the year-end July are down on the previous twelve months.

Paradoxically, it is probably not the ‘Credit-Crunch’ or the recession across the West that is causing this problem. It’s fear. Fear of what is still to come. Fear, to a great degree, engendered by the media. “We’re all Doomed” they cry. No we’re not; we just need to re-adjust. And frankly, if we are all doomed, I’d rather go out in a blaze of glory in a new car, than cowering in a corner waiting for the end!

Go on. Go and grab a bargain.

Porsche Cayenne Diesel - it’s official

We all wondered how long it would take for Porsche to bite the bullet and give in to the diesel bandwagon. Well, it’s happened. Porsche has officially announced today that the Porsche Cayenne diesel will go on sale in Europe in February 2009. And, surprise surprise, they’re dropping the 3.0 diesel from the Q7 in!

Although Porsche has made the announcement today, the diesel version of the Cayenne is a little less boastful about it. In fact, you’d have to lift the bonnet to have a look or hear it running to know it’s a diesel. There’s not a single giveaway on the body. No badge. No little TDI anywhere. To all intents and purposes it’s a standard V6 Cayenne.

The 3.0 diesel out of the Q7 puts out a very creditable 240bhp, so it’s no sluggard. In fact, it’s arguably a better engine than the petrol V6 Porsche already use in the base Cayenne. We’ve got a V8 Cayenne, but when we were buying that we did try out the V6. It wasn’t nice. Yet the 3.0 diesel Q7 is actually a pretty good drive. No V8 for sure, but perfectly liveable.

So, to clarify, Porsche’s press release said:

The new Cayenne with diesel drive will be available from dealers from February 2009 onwards. Equipped with the proven Tiptronic-S automatic gearbox as standard, the Euro base price will be EUR 47,250. In Germany, the Cayenne with diesel engine including 19 percent VAT and country-specific equipment costs EUR 56,436.

Now whether or not that gets any cheaper when it gets to the UK to take account of the currently miserable exchange rate, who knows. But by the time it gets to the UK in February we could well see the price in Deutschmarks instead of Euros, such is the precarious long term future of the Euro!

Porsche Boxster and Cayman updates for 2009

The world’s most successful car company, Porsche, has announced upgrades for both its Boxster and Cayman models.

New engines, revised suspension and the magnificent PDK gearbox, make these far more than just cosmetic upgrades. These are real improvements, and make the Boxster and Cayman not just more powerful, but actually more economical.

The new engines are a 2.9 and a 3.4. In the Boxster the 2.9 delivers 255bhp - 10bhp more is offered in the Cayman. The 3.4, which comes with direct injection, pushes out 310bhp in the Boxster and 320bhp in the Cayman. Very useful power increases all round. Despite the power hike, the engines offer up to 16% better mpg than the outgoing engines. The best of both worlds - more power for less fuel!

Cosmetic upgrades are more limited, with different headlights and air intakes, and that latest trend - LED running lights (which the Cayman also gets at the back).

When the Cayman first came out, every motoring journalist realised that, with the right engine, the Cayman was probably capable of giving the 911 a real run for its money. Well, the new Cayman S, with the optional launch control, will now do the 0-60 run in 4.9 seconds, which is quicker than the bog-standard 911. Which makes it look an even more enticing prospect than it was.

The new Cayman and Boxster are due to be in the showrooms in the UK in February, with the Boxster starting at around £34k and the Cayman S from £45k.