new car vs old car

nickj_2

would the pollution / carbon and energy involved with production of a new car , and i'm including everything from the mining / production of raw materials , eg steel , rubber , plastics etc far outweigh the pollution of a car that is already on the road .
therefore would it not be appropriate for the car tax to be reduced on older cars , rather than new ones .

Cardew

I think you are looking at the 'problem' from the wrong end of the telescope. You have put forward a case for the tax on new cars to be increased; not reduced on older cars.

But why confine your idea to cars?

Why not put extra tax on new kitchen appliances, Computers, TVs etc.

My wife and daughters throw out perfectly seviceable clothes/shoes/handbags simply because they are out of fashion; why not put extra tax on anything new that takes resources to manufacture to provide an incentive to keep old goods.

tr3mor

Cardew wrote: »

I think you are looking at the 'problem' from the wrong end of the telescope. You have put forward a case for the tax on new cars to be increased; not reduced on older cars.

But why confine your idea to cars?

Why not put extra tax on new kitchen appliances, Computers, TVs etc.

My wife and daughters throw out perfectly seviceable clothes/shoes/handbags simply because they are out of fashion; why not put extra tax on anything new that takes resources to manufacture to provide an incentive to keep old goods.

Shhhhh, you'll be giving Gordon ideas! :eek:

Cardew

tr3mor wrote: »

Shhhhh, you'll be giving Gordon ideas! :eek:

Wasn't he Chancellor some while ago?

tr3mor

Cardew wrote: »

Wasn't he Chancellor some while ago?

I bet you 20p he'll still have his grubby fingers in the budgets til Dave kicks him out!

PS, Huzzah for interweb in my new house!

Elliesmum

Cardew wrote: »

My wife and daughters throw out perfectly seviceable clothes/shoes/handbags simply because they are out of fashion; why not put extra tax on anything new that takes resources to manufacture to provide an incentive to keep old goods.

Another shhhh - I don't *throw out* perfectly serviceable clothes/shoes/handbags etc I'd like to think I'm recycling them by giving them to the charity shop and then of course to help counteract that cycle I go and get some more (often from charity shops - but I will confess sometimes new) it would be a shame if this *recycling* was looked upon in the wrong light - lol :rotfl:

***ok you're right - slinks off into the corner to check out the handbag situation - might need some more - going on holiday at the weekend ****

EM xx

badkitti

Buy a vintage androver like ours - no road tax at all. Can be endlessly recycled. The majority of landrovers ever made are still in use after all.

BungleGirl

Interesting discussion...I have a 1985 Renault 4 and a 1974 VW Campervan and understand that more modern vehicles would have lower emissions etc. but also know that older cars often are much easier to maintain so will probably last longer than modern cars which get scrapped after a minor bump or just abandoned. Classic cars become 'part of the family' I love mine - therefore we look after them very well.

Often classics do much less miles than modern cars because they are loved and looked after - afterall noone would buy a classic if they weren't going to look after it!

I'm sure that there are lots of reasons for and against modern/classic cars...I'll read with interest because "I bet your car's not very green" is a standard response when I try to encourage people I know to make some simple changes like switching energy suppliers etc...

avantra

This question was posted on the Telegraph motoring section of 30/06/07, might be of help.

"
Car ban footprint

In a recent column, you referred to the carbon footprint of new car production. I have searched the internet for figures, but all carbon footprint sites seem to ignore manufacture. Do you have any figures?
S.D., via email

That's the problem. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders gives total CO2 and energy figures for UK vehicle production and distribution, but manufacturers seem to want to suppress this information for production of individual vehicles. Around the world there is lots of highly dubious government-backed research into the effect of man-made CO2 on global warming, because that creates something to vilify and tax. But extra tax on the build of new cars is not in anyone's interest because they generate so much one-off revenue in VAT and registration tax. Volvo says building a new model uses between 10 and 13 per cent of the energy it expends in a lifetime, plus recycling. Volvos live a long time, so this could be between five and seven tonnes of CO2.