50% of new cars to be electric vehicles by 2030 under Labor climate change policy

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Bill Shorten to flag a new pollution regulation on car retailers and a reboot of the heavily criticised safeguard mechanism

Labor will set a national electric vehicles target of 50% new car sales by 2030, and 50% for the government fleet by 2025, as well as allowing business to deduct a 20% depreciation for private fleet EVs valued at more than $20,000, as part of its climate change policy to be unveiled on Monday.

Bill Shorten will also flag a new pollution regulation on car retailers “in line with” 105g CO2/km for light vehicles, which is consistent with American emissions standards, but will consult on coverage and the timeline to phase in the change rather than impose it immediately.

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Raft of woeful forecasts spells an end to Trump’s economic bragging rights

https://ift.tt/2HQwACI prospect of trade war with China has receded, but so have hopes of the US economy continuing its 2018 growth rates

There was a sense of relief across global financial markets this weekend after the hardliners among Donald Trump’s trade negotiators appeared to soften their line on import tariffs against Chinese goods.

Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin and trade representative Robert Lighthizer let it be known that talks last week had been “constructive”, which was taken as code for Beijing virtually capitulating to Trump’s demands.

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When new technology goes badly wrong, humans carry the can | John Naughton

https://ift.tt/2Wx17c8 new study has found that we are quicker to blame the operators than complex systems when they fail

Since the 1960s, one of the key developments in making cars safer has been the idea of a “crumple zone”, a part of the vehicle (usually the front) that is designed to absorb the energy from a collision by controlled deformation, ie crumpling. By doing this, the zone protects the most important part of the car – the cell containing the driver and passengers. (If you doubt the effectiveness of crumple zones, by the way, a video made some years ago by the Fifth Gear TV programme makes interesting viewing.)

As the world moves to vehicles that drive themselves, our roads are likely to become safer because most road accidents are caused by driver error. That, at any rate, is the standard spiel of evangelists for autonomous vehicles. There will, they say, be many fewer collisions and therefore less carnage on our roads. Crumple zones will become less necessary, though autonomous vehicles will continue to need them.

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Suzuki Jimny: ‘It’s a 4x4x that’s cheeky, chunky and cheerful’ | Martin Love

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It may be small, green and mean-looking, but spend some time in the Suzuki Jimny and you’ll soon be smitten

Suzuki Jimny
Price from £15,499
Top speed 90mph
MPG up to 41.5
Engine 1.5 litre petrol
CO2 154g/km

Craig Brown, the satirist known for his parodies in Private Eye, once said: “As a rough rule of thumb, the smaller the pond, the more belligerent the fish.” The Suzuki Jimny – or Jimmy as almost everyone miscalls it – is a small fish swimming in the large and unpredictable waters of the motoring market, but my goodness it is belligerent. Launched back in 1970, the original “Wee Jimmy” was designed to be a cheap, easy-to-use, go-anywhere 4×4 that would take some of the ponderous self-regard out of off-roading. The result was a dinky rapscallion that has remained almost unchanged in all those years. It’s one part cheeky, one part chunky and one part cheerful. Just look at it… I bet you’re smiling already.

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‘Woefully dirty’: government accused over Australia’s failure to cut vehicle emissions

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Australia has not set efficiency standards, despite years of talking, in contrast to China, India, Japan, US and EU

Cuts to carbon emissions from vehicle efficiency standards have been left out of government projections for meeting Australia’s Paris climate commitments, indicating the policy has been shelved.

The office of the transport minister, Michael McCormack, said the government had not made a decision on “how or when” standards to cut carbon pollution from vehicles might be implemented.

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The Guardian view on killing speed: a sensible restriction | Editorial

https://ift.tt/2CKoKq2, one of the pleasures of modern life, will soon become technologically impossible. We will be well rid of it

Driving fast on a clear road is for many people one of the pleasures of modern life. It seems to express all the feelings of power and autonomy that the daily grind so cruelly denies us. Speed limits then become just another petty restriction to be shoved aside by people glorying in their proper freedom. But now, it seems, all this is to come to an end. A directive approved by the European commission, which will apply in the UK whether or not we leave the EU, will require all new cars sold after 2022 to contain devices that will discourage drivers from speeding, either by limiting the effect of the accelerator pedal or simply by nagging them as seatbelt warnings do today. This technology already exists and was in fact widely welcomed by the motoring press when it appeared on the mass market Ford Focus.

Once it becomes mandatory in all new cars though, we can expect resistance to increase. It is almost impossible to construct a good argument against the technological enforcement of existing law, but this won’t stop people trying. One motoring journalist has already suggested that drivers will be so frustrated to find others are observing the speed limit that they will overtake them recklessly – and that will of course be the fault of the new technology, not the overtaking driver.

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Dieselgate and the unintended consequences of anti-idling drive | Letters

https://ift.tt/2UbyVxSDr Robin Russell-Jones and Geraint Davies MP say the government seems more anxious to protect the interests of car manufacturers than the health of citizens. Dr Felix Leach says the latest proposals on idling have not been thought through

In the US, the Dieselgate scandal has resulted in prosecutions against VW personnel and multibillion dollar fines (Where’s there’s smoke…, 22 March). In Europe, no one has been charged and nobody has gone to jail, though the EU commission has threatened action against the UK government for failing to prosecute VW.

Defeat devices result in higher emissions of nitrogen dioxide, but the real danger from a health perspective are small particulates, notably the ultra-fine nanoparticles that can penetrate tissue, reach a placenta and cross the blood-brain barrier. These are largely present in exhaust emissions, so while all vehicles generate particulates from tyres and brakes, researchers have demonstrated that medical effects such as low birth weight are tied more closely to exhaust particulates than to friction particulates. This is important as the government likes to pretend that all particulates are equivalent, regardless of the source. Thus its clean air strategy emphasises the contribution of secondary particulates generated from agriculture etc, even though these contain little in the way of ultra-fine particles. It is disheartening that the UK government seems more anxious to protect the interests of car manufacturers than the health of its own citizens, but this situation is likely to worsen post-Brexit.
Dr Robin Russell-Jones Scientific adviser, Geraint Davies MP Chair, All-party parliamentary group on air pollution

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Disco party: Land Rover’s Discovery turns 30 | Martin Love

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The all-conquering 4×4 hits an important milestone – and there’s no better place to join in the fun than Beaulieu

This year, Land Rover’s all-conquering go-anywhere Discovery celebrates its 30th birthday. Since its launch in 1989, the Disco has become synonymous with adventure. It’s been put to work in the most extreme locations, proving time and again that capability does not come at the sacrifice of comfort. It’s equally capable chugging across deserts, through jungles or up the M40. More than 1.7 million have been sold and in its 30 years it has won more than 300 awards. If you want to wish it many happy returns, Beaulieu’s Simply Land Rover is the place to go. From the minimalist Discovery Series I to the latest high-tech versions, all five generations of the Disco will be on display at the National Motor Museum. More than that, the event is a celebration of all things 4×4. More than 400 Land Rovers of every variety will be joining the celebration. Running alongside the event will also be Simply Rummage, where you can track down hard-to-find spares and accessories. You can also challenge yourself on the Forest Drive. The event is the first of a car-packed summer at Beaulieu: it’s followed by Simply Jaguar, Simply Japanese and Simply Mercedes.

Simply Land Rover, 23 June, £12 or £10 if you go in a Land Rover (beaulieu.co.uk)

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Dirty lies: how the car industry hid the truth about diesel emissions

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The ‘Dieselgate’ scandal was suppressed for years – while we should have been driving electric cars. By Beth Gardiner

John German had not been looking to make a splash when he commissioned an examination of pollution from diesel cars back in 2013. The exam compared what came out of their exhausts, during the lab tests that were required by law, with emissions on the road under real driving conditions. German and his colleagues at the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) in the US just wanted to tie up the last loose ends in a big report, and thought the research would give them something positive to say about diesel. They might even be able to offer tips to Europe from the US’s experience in getting the dirty fuel to run a little cleaner.

But that was not how it turned out. They chose a Volkswagen Jetta as their first test subject, and a VW Passat next. Regulators in California agreed to do the routine certification test for them, and the council hired researchers from West Virginia University to then drive the same cars through cities, along highways and into the mountains, using equipment that tests emissions straight from the cars’ exhausts.

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Auto glass unsafe rust problems, my technique on how I treat it by Alfredo’s Auto Glass in Corona CA