Good News for Gaia

From the FT, 31.08.2004

"Sweden is heading for a showdown with its flagship Volvo brand over gas-guzzling sports utility vehicles, as the political backlash against them spreads across Europe."

"Stockholm's minority government is being pressed by its Green and Left Party partners to levy a new tax on drivers of SUVs that could add up to SKr60,000 ($7,900) to the price of Volvo's popular XC90, the country's single biggest export."

I love this:

"Hans-Olov Olsson, chief executive of Volvo Cars, owned by Ford Motor of the US, says plans to add an extra shift at its Gothenburg factory to meet demand for the XC90 would be scrapped if the tax went through. “You can forget the 600 new jobs we are planning,” he says. Volvo also estimates the increased production would have created another 1,500 jobs at suppliers."

Typical. The moment anybody tries to reign in some corporate FatCat, they start whinging about 'jobs'.

"Ken Livingstone, London's mayor, has called SUV drivers 'complete idiots'."

Well said, Ken!

And this is the most preposterous thing I ever heard a Corporate GreedHead say:

"Bob Lutz, vice-chairman of General Motors, the world's biggest carmaker, said earlier this year that government action against SUVs was driven by envy. 'I have a great deal of trouble with a government, whether regional, national or local, banning any one type of vehicle,' he said. 'That begins to smack a little bit of a totalitarian regime. There is a tremendous amount of class struggle tied up in the whole SUV thing.'"

The only thing 'totalitarian' here is the fact that Auto Makers are allowed to continue to peddle these enormous, stinking, road-hogging, unsafe, petrol-guzzling pieces of automative excretia and are still allowed to make statements like this!

Last word, for any of you who think you're safer in an SUV:

"Studies in the US show the feeling of safety from the SUV seat is often an illusion, as the higher centre of gravity makes them more prone to topple than ordinary cars."