Anti 4 Wd Story AGAIN

Sorry tried to do a link but failed.
If someone who is more computer literate can help out i'd appreciate it

I tried the link but it told me only optusnet users can access this page!

Sparkie(IE not Y) ;-)

For those that can't access it, here it is -

Think tank wants SUV warning labels
1:42 PM November 26

Gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles (SUVs), the increasingly popular all-terrain cars, should be forced to sport labels just like cigarette packs announcing their terrible health and environmental impact, a British think tank said.

Just like smokers in the European Union (EU) buy tobacco marked with "Smoking Kills" and other dire warnings, New Economics Foundation (NEF) offered its own slogans for super-stickers which they said should be slapped onto the hoods and sides of cars.

"Global warming kills", "Climate change can seriously damage your health" or even "Driving seriously harms you and others around you" were among the list of warnings proposed by the London-based think tank.

The NEF said SUVs, also called four-by-fours or four-wheel-drives, were "disproportionately responsible for emissions of climate-change fuelling CO2 (carbon dioxide), other air pollutants, and traffic fatalities".

But, it warned in a statement, their sales were increasing and now represented one out of every four new cars sold in the United States and one in seven in Britain.

"SUVs are dangerous, fabulously polluting and part of a wider transport problem that is, according to the World Health Organisation, set to be the world's third most common cause of death and disability by 2020," NEF policy director Andrew Simms said.

"We need labelling to encourage people not to drive these four-wheel behemoths in the same way we encourage people not to smoke. If we can't we may need to find a very large ashtray for our planet's future."

The group said that as with smoking, regulations to cut down greenhouse gas emissions did not work and that as with smokers, drivers could be shamed into behaviour change through "emotive content".

- AFP

Source: AFP

Pretty interesting ... this week we have had a large number of fatalities in NSW from people on P Plates who have managed to bust their vehicles in half as a result of high speed impacts. One, not far from where I live claimed three lives (4 if you include the unborn baby in the pregnant young girl that was killed) after the vehicle hit a pole and broke in two. The "word" is that it was travelling at close to 200kph, got airborne, and came down and hit a pole.

Not a word from the anti-4WD brigade on these matters.

The moment a 4WD gets into a bingle, they come out of the woodwork.
Go figure!!!!

Jack

Now there is no way this can end here - there must be thousands of explroroz smarty pants people who can come up with appropriate stickers. what can we put on excels/accents/lancers driven by hormone infested 18yr old girlies - what can we put on saabs - the list goes on and on and on and...............rgds

That is the biggest load of crock I have ever heard.
What about busses and trucks. what about all the pollution caused by factories and all the normal traffic.
The only warning stickers they should be applying is the one to his mouth for the @#$% that comes out of it!!!!

Sparkie(IE not Y) ;-)

As much as what I'm about to suggest seems like "sticking our heads in the sand", I reckon we should start disregarding these stories and not posting them on EO.

While ExplorOz is about all things 4WD and more, I just think that these threads detract from the site.

The other thing is that if an irrational discussion starts online, then the anti-4WD brigade can use it as an example of irresponsibility. We don't need to give them any ammunition.

Just my 2c ... what does everyone else think?

let them say whatever they like ., POWER TO THE PEOPLE lol

Guys relax ., if it was ten years ago , i would have worried . Now that the Toorack tractors are in full swing , which poly has got the balls to take us on ......

Geez, it just gets worse and worse, what next! Do you think it may be all the processed foods consumed these days doing strange things to people. That may sound weird but blimey there's gotta be some explanation behind this strange behaviour. Perhaps a warning on processed foodstuffs might help.

Well I actually agree that all the "massively polluting" SUV's should go! But the deal would have to go something like this.

"From this day on all vehicles that cannot achieve 14litres/100km or better in city driving will be banned"

Guess what?? This would include about 80% of petrol driven cars on the road and 100% of high powered cars and V8's by Holden, Ford, Mercedes, Jaguar, BMW, Rolls, Bentley, etc etc. Also a surprising amount of the bigger cars weigh 2 tonne or more, so up to 100-110kph the same energy is used to move them along, Wind resistance doesn't play much of a part until over the speed limit.

It'll never happen - imagine all our pollies driving around in chauffeur driven stretch Hyundai Excels - acyually that could be cool to see.

Interesting that along with a few of the smaller cars that would pass are the growing number of high tech diesel 4WD that are extremely good in urban driving. The 3litre Patrol, the new diesel Jeep and Landrovers TD5 variants are good examples. My 2 tonne Defender TD5 regularly gets 10litres/100km and if I hammer it, it uses 11, and I've upped the power by 40%.

I have been driving "massive polluters" for 30 years and nobody and I mean nobody, is ever going to get me out of my them.

How many of you were on the other side of the fence for the Howard/Media driven anti gun push, there is no right or wrong in these debates, the government follows the loudest voice, generally the media left. The reason I mention guns is that, 4WD/SUV owners seam to be attracting a stigma, like gun owners have had since the mid eighties, as in you are doing something that you are legaly entitled to do but will be treated like a villain for doing so. Concede an inch lose a mile.