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[Stephen]

As most of you know, Ken Livingstone, London Mayor, has plans to increase the 'congestion charge' for entering London from £8 to £25 for vehicles with emissions of 225g/km CO2. It's known as the 4x4 tax, but many normal cars (including my trusty Fiat) are caught up in this revised charge which comes in during October - a charge that has nothing to do with congestion and, even by the admission of the Mayor's own office, is unlikely to reduce CO2 (which is another bone of contention).

Porsche have stepped in to oppose the plans (because despite massive opposition, everyday citizens of London (who will also lose their discounts if they live within the congestion charge zone) have no say - so much for democracy).

Anyway, for those of you who wish to support Porsche with their plight, please sign up here:

http://www.porschejudicialreview.co.uk/ ... r_case.htm

Thanks for your time.

[Selcouth_Feline]

Thanks Stephen, I've signed.

My current car falls under the £25 a day "congestion" charge which is absolutely ridiculous - it is better for the environment for me to keep my current car than to scrap it and buy a new car. How about getting rid of all the speed bumps in London as that will make a lot more difference....

Livingstone is an idiot of the highest order - he has introduced a 'low emissions zone' which covers most of Greater London now and will mean in a few years time, that perfectly legal cars such as Land Rovers and Range Rovers will have to pay £100 a day to travel into the area around London, and then an extra £25 a day if they dare to travel into central London.

[Denthúl]

It would be far better to invest money in improving public transport to make it more accessible and more usable for people. Luckily, I don't live anywhere that faces the congestion charge (I don't think) and I don't drive, so it doesn't affect me. But I still think it's another one of those backwards ideas that people have. If people need to get somewhere by car, they will still need to get there by car no matter how much you charge them... o.o

[darwin dali]

Porsche have stepped in to oppose the plans (because despite massive opposition, everyday citizens of London (who will also lose their discounts if they live within the congestion charge zone) have no say - so much for democracy).

Hm, finding Porsche and everyday citizens in one and the same sentence doesn't seem right - it just doesn't jibe for me.


Anyway, I come from the other end of the spectrum and I'd say good on him. Ever heard of park & ride? There are trains, the tube, buses, cabs - why even drive into the city in your own car? And if you have to, then get a low-emission car to do so or pay a hefty fee to offset the smog pollution you create. With this fee plus gas prices plus parking fees, wouldn't it be far cheaper to use public transportation, even if it might be less convenient or a bit more time consuming??? BTW: you could read while commuting or even surf the internet - so the time spent on public transportation is not all lost

[bud]

only posers drive sports cars in the citys

[Selcouth_Feline]

Hm, finding Porsche and everyday citizens in one and the same sentence doesn't seem right - it just doesn't jibe for me.

Well, quite I would say a large proportion of Porsche owners who buy from new live or have a crash pad in the city, therefore this silly charge will affect their UK sales. I believe many of the other car companies are not doing the same because they offer a range of cars, some of which are not subject to the higher rates, therefore their sales will not be as affected as Porsches.

Anyway, I come from the other end of the spectrum and I'd say good on him. Ever heard of park & ride? There are trains, the tube, buses, cabs - why even drive into the city in your own car? And if you have to, then get a low-emission car to do so or pay a hefty fee to offset the smog pollution you create. With this fee plus gas prices plus parking fees, wouldn't it be far cheaper to use public transportation, even if it might be less convenient or a bit more time consuming??? BTW: you could read while commuting or even surf the internet - so the time spent on public transportation is not all lost

That's great, but have you ever tried our underground system? Overpriced, always late, smelly, dirty and over-crowded. The trains aren't much better - prices are astromonical and they are also always late, over-crowded, smelly etc. Even with the new congestion charge in place, it is still cheaper for me to take my car into central London than it is to pay the train fare prices.

The lovely new bendy buses in London are a nightmare and cause more congestion than the old stylee routemasters ever did because they have a tendancy to sit across junctions. And there are no suitable areas in which to have car-parks to house the cars for the park-and-ride scheme. I do think Park-and-Ride systems are good (we use the one in Norwich from time to time) but it's just not feasible for London.

Plus it's not been thought through anyway - the Prius used to get exemption from the charge but the Bluemotion (?) Polo didn't, even though it's emissions were less than the Prius (although this has now obviously changed).

What riles me the most is that it is a congestion charge scheme, NOT a pollution/environmental scheme. If you want to reduce emissions, fine, but don't dress it up as something completely different. Plus, if the money actually went into the public transport system or encouraging us off the roads, I wouldn't care, but I've seen no discernable differences.

Pah, I'm glad I don't live in London any more!

[darwin dali]

Hm, finding Porsche and everyday citizens in one and the same sentence doesn't seem right - it just doesn't jibe for me.

Well, quite I would say a large proportion of Porsche owners who buy from new live or have a crash pad in the city, therefore this silly charge will affect their UK sales. I believe many of the other car companies are not doing the same because they offer a range of cars, some of which are not subject to the higher rates, therefore their sales will not be as affected as Porsches.

So you agree - they're rich tossers and I have no sympathy if they have to pay a bit more to chauffeur their penis-extension into the city

[Selcouth_Feline]

So you agree - they're rich tossers and I have no sympathy if they have to pay a bit more to chauffeur their duck-extension into the city

Duck-extensions, very nice
But I'm not rich and you'll never catch me in a Porsche I have to pay more now if I need to get into central London

[darwin dali]

Just hook up your iPod, put on your coolest shades and wear a face mask and then plunge into the public transportation ordeal.

[texasmr2]

only posers drive sports cars in the citys

Not all sport's car driver's are poser's bud, believe it or not we still have quite a few serious enthusiast who look for any opportunity to drive their sport's car no matter where it is, I personaly know quite a few of them.

Just hook up your iPod, put on your coolest shades and wear a face mask and then plunge into the public transportation ordeal.

You know I actually have enjoyed my experience's with public transport, I have met alot of cool people like that. Too many people sit in their seat and act like they are mute and above everyone else but once you make the effort to 'break the silence' they will carry on and on.