Should Diesel Cars Be More Heavily Taxed Generally?

[ToraToraTora]

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/29/increase-diesel-taxes-fight-pollution-boris-johnson-green-groups-fuel
personally I've always hated them but it now seems that many are waking up to their huge contributions to polution.

[baza]

NO, it is already taxed more than petrol. diesel is cheaper to produce than petrol, less refining.

[Old_Geezer]

Motorists are already abused as a cash cow, without suggesting other ways to squeeze them dry. Folk bought diesel in good faith and should not be penalised for doing so by immoral politicians using some kind of, "ha ha got you", type of amusement. If something is legal it's not a politician's job to manipulate a citizen's legal options anyway, certainly not by demanding that they hand over moreof their money.

[1ozzy]

The car we bought was available as a turbo diesel 2 ltr or a v6 petrol 3 ltr.
The diesel option emits less greenhouses gases according to the spec sheet.

[TWR]

TTT, Do you not wonder what type of derv Vehicle brings your food to your local stores? do you know how far a HGV Goes on a Gallon / Litre of fuel? do you know that one of the reasons the HGVs are Blocking the motorways?
Do you know that the likes of the HGVs are very fuel efficient because of the cost of Fuel? When you next see a Parked up HGV, check the road Fund Licence & tell me if that is fair? also the amount of FREE RUNING HGVs that come in from abroad that pay nothing that are also polluting our air. B.J. Exactly what the say about him, Brain Dead comes to mind.

[retrocop]

Definitely not. As 1ozzy states quite a few diesels knock out less pollution. The Skoda Fabia Greenline is 3 cylinders and has stop start engineering. It is zero rated for RFL and the economy is phenomenal.Diesel engines are highly engineered and refined these days. Diesel particulate filters,cats and very expensive engine oil which is compatible with the DPF. My diesel pick up has double filters for emission control and probably throws out less pollution than a Petrol powered montego.No. We pay enough of our share already to lessen pollution. Diesel should,as it used to be,cheaper than petrol in any case.

[weecalf]

.stick with building or rather not building airports Johnson. motorist pay enough. Just like heating oil ,it was cheap until we all fell for it then nows it 60 p a litre.

[Hopkirk]

Why not go one stage further?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2751365/Junk-diesel-cars-They-health-hazard-scrap-pay-owners-2-000-Boris-tells-MPs.html

[sunny-dave]

Yes - tax and price the filthy polluters out of existence - they are killing our children with their vile particulate emissions - filters 'my a*se' - they are a fig leaf for a filthy great running sore of pollution.

At long last they are going to get tough with the filthy polluting smoke that many (most?) diesels produce as they get older - especially if they are inadequately maintained/serviced.

MoT tests are getting tougher for diesels (especially concentrating on particulate emissions) - this will increase servicing costs as diesel owners will have to pay for regular cleaning/replacement of particulate filters and associated parts/consumables. This is especially true if they do most of their miles at low speed around town & the filters never get into the prolonged high temperatures required for the 'self cleaning' to work.

I wouldn't touch a diesel with a very long pointy stick - it could get very expensive to get a diesel through the MoT test in years to come, I hope ...


(diesels are a pet hate of mine, in case no-one had noticed) ;+)

[ToraToraTora]

TWR, I'm talking about cars not the traditional users of diesel. Diesel is for trucks, tractors, boats etc not private cars.

[TWR]

Different size's, same product T.T.T.

[TWR]

Sunny, you seem to have a diesel Problem! Do you go to Supermarkets / PC.World / Lidel Etc?

[Old_Geezer]

It matters little where it is used. Getting at folk, using particulate pollution as the excuse, is pure bullying. If it is decided it is best to phase diesel out because one prefers petrol pollution instead, then the best course of action is to allow those diesel vehicles on the road to run their natural lifespan, and bar further sales. Not that being reasonable or fair is something that tends to bother governments much.

[Baldric]

Didn't the Government of the time, a few years back, spend a lot of time and money persuading us to buy Diesel Cars as they were so much more environmentally friendly?

[TWR]

Baldric, Yes, OG, HGV's, 7 up to 10mph , I do nit think HGVs will run on Petrol.

[TWR]

I should have said, 7>8>10 Per Litre, I do not think HGVs will use Petrol, do You?

[Hopkirk]

I think you meant mpg TWR

[1ozzy]

A study, conducted by the German TUEV Nord in November 2013 and published by the Brussels-based environmental lobby group Transport & Environment, says that new direct-injection gasoline (GDI) engines emit 1,000 times more particles than their predecessors and 10 times more than modern diesel engines.

Air pollution in Europe is estimated to contribute to over 400,000 deaths and cause €330 to €940 billion in damage to the economy annually. In fact, 90% of the population is exposed to levels of particulate pollution that represent a health risk and one third lives in areas above permitted limits. According to the study, new GDI-powered vehicles could take over the lead in particulate pollution among combustion engine-powered vehicles while modern diesels have become more environmentally sustainable.

http://www.achatespower.com/diesel-engine-blog/2014/01/07/are-diesels-cleaner-than-gasoline-engines/

[janbee]

I don't drive, don't have a car so all I can say is that I think all motorists seem to be overcharged at all times anyway. It seems unfair to land them with MORE costs.

[WELSHYORKIE]

Nobody seems to have mentioned the manufacturers. They should be the ones who engineer the vehicles so that the NOx particulates are taken out of the atmosphere. I believe Mercedes for one, with their Bluetec range, are attacking this issue. I drive a diesel because that is my company's policy - we are currently replacing all our fleet with vehicles selected for their low CO2 emissions and high mpg - mine is quoted as 78.5 combined - we have reduced our CO2 output over the last 10 years by over 50% by running more efficient and, we believe, cleaner cars

[ToraToraTora]

Yes TWR but I'm talking about more tax diesel CARS, to discourage their use. Non cars stay as is, new taxation classes could be brought in for diesel CARS. The extra congestion charge for CARS is a step in the right direction.