Hike in diesel taxation is imminent (1 Viewer)

[2657]

Just as an aside

work out your mileage last year divide by your mpg then do £/l x 4.55.

then do the same again using 10 as your mpg figure - interesting?

Why is that interesting?

If I replace 30 mpg by 10 mpg then the cost is 3 times as much.

Am I missing something?

 

[pyro]

Until someone comes out with a credible hybrid offering, then we shall remain with petrol cars, having previously abandoned diesel

From what I could see of the market last year, the hybrids appeared to be little more than tarted up excuses to tick a few "environmental" boxes (e.g. the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV - with more lies in the mileage figures of this 2 litre brute than you'll find even in a VW emission report), and the notion of having to "lease" a rare metal battery in a car you bought - as you have to with many electric vehicles - were enough to keep us away from them.

Annual van mileage is fairly low, so diesel costs don't worry me too much

 

[GJH]

Annual van mileage is fairly low, so diesel costs don't worry me too much

Same here.
Some 12 years ago we wanted a Berlingo Forte and opted for a diesel but when we changed it we went back to petrol as we found the engine sluggish. Maybe it was just that engine but we will stick with petrol for cars.

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[SuperMike]

Our motorhome runs on petrol.

 

[Charlie]

See this picture here its not what it looks ! The wee car is there to Push the van not the van to tow it... All bases covered then ?

 

[Speve]

You only have to sit on the aire in Calais watching the ferries come and go to see how much diesel pollution they spit out must be millions of tons a year?

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[jongood]

Why is that interesting?

If I replace 30 mpg by 10 mpg then the cost is 3 times as much.

Am I missing something?

Because I suspect the difference in total for many people will not be as much as they think and they may start reconsidering their attitude to MPG figures.

 

[Jaws]

Hmmm.. I see a small transit or similar in my future,,, One that has something like a 1200 litre tank in the back.. And then day trips to Calais !!

 

[Charlie]

Diesel emisions affect some humans while petrol emisions bugger the planet... You choose.

It's now obvious that a lot of us are returning to petrol cars so watch the taxes being hiked on petrol.

We have two petrols and two diesels. My daily car is a Toyota RAV4 2.2 diesel. It DNPR system actually means the air coming out of the exhaust is cleaner than when it's sucked into the engine. Yet I pay high rate VED.

Another example of how flawed the system is. Bear in mind we are supposed to be taxed on what comes out of the exhaust.

A Ford Fiesta diesel is 20 quid a year to tax . A Ford Fiest diesel van which is the exact same vehicle but without rear seats or Windows costs 225 a year in VED.... So how do they work that out ?

This whole VED system is designed with only one thing in mind and that is to extract as much money from is as possible. Nowt more nowt less.

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[Lot lover]

I have no idea of the real numbers but here in our bit of France a petrol driven vehicle is near as rare as hen's teeth. Diesel now €1.15 and 95 petrol about €1.30 (this compares to €0.75 and €1.00 respectively in early 2003)

There are a few Prius around, La Poste in town has some fully electric vans and there is an occasional tiny Renault electric car.

If Hollande et al really want to commit political suicide they will increase the diesel taxes too far.

I accept that road vehicles are bad for the planet but IMHO there are many things far worse incl. but not limited to cruise ships, Chinese coal fired power stations, politicians. And as the planet is already on it's last legs, way past saving what does it all matter?

 

[pyro]

Of course they are all bad for the environment, but it seems to me that green arguments in the media about different fuels are being made up as people go along (not entirely unlike the EU issues, but I really don't want to go there with that one).

I am told quite categorically that bio additives to diesel result in a phenomena called diesel bug (organic bacteria resulting from tank condensation) so that is a no go - at least on boats. That little gem cost me over a grand in having to dump fuel. We are told that planes routinely dump fuel, whereas two pilot friends of mine say that few short haul aircraft have that facility, and it is (apparently) only ever used to reduce weight for emergency landings on long haul aircraft that have to divert/return. We now know that VW fiddled their environmental figures, but at least they had the grace to confess when they were caught out, what about all the others who are keeping their heads very low?

So I'm not rushing out to buy a battery powered ca with an uncertain lifespan, or queuing to buy an overpriced electric bike to stick on the back of my M/H using a technology that was obsolete at the time of the Sinclair C5 (despite dodgy claims of "digital motors" and the word "lithium" featuring in every ad). But there again, we're not the kind of people who would queue up in John Lewis to spend £300 on a Dyson desk fan, a Dyson hairdryer or one of their overpriced vacuum cleaners, either. You know what they used to say before Apple came along, "a fool and his money are soon parted"

The short answer is that I feel that you can't trust anyone, they all have an agenda that costs you and profits themselves, andI am just resigned to making the best of what we've already got until something proven to be better and at least as cost effective comes along.

 

[2657]

Because I suspect the difference in total for many people will not be as much as they think and they may start reconsidering their attitude to MPG figures.

Is that comparing MPG for a petrol powered vehicle with a diesel vehicle, otherwise it's just a straight sum?

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[jongood]

Is that comparing MPG for a petrol powered vehicle with a diesel vehicle, otherwise it's just a straight sum?

for example: taking £1.10/litre if you do 5000 miles @30mpg it would cost £834

the same example at 10mpg £2200

so for this pretty extreme example - probably the difference between running a van conversion and an RV the difference is only £1400 which is not exactly a lot of money if you happen to get caught for a DMF or a DPF or any number or might be a price you were happy to pay if you wanted a big bathroom or living space etc.

The point I'm making is that MPG is not as big a deal as we've been lead to think it is.

 

[Gromett]

I think Elon Musk has the right idea here. His work on electric cars is ground breaking and is making the industry move very quickly in that direction.
If you travel less than 200 miles in a day then an electric car makes sense. Electric is cheaper than either diesel or petrol. You don't have any of the servicing costs such as diesel filters, Air filters, oil changes etc etc. The brakes never wear out etc etc etc.
I think within 10 years time Electric cars will be the majority of new car sales. This will cause a massive drop in the amount of crap being pumped into the atmosphere and transport emissions will fall rapidly. It will take 20 years before electric cars are the majority of cars on the road though. Currently the record for a Tesla S is 400 miles on a single charge.

I would happily have an electric motorhome if it had a range of 200 miles before a recharge. I tend not to do more than 200 miles in a day and would plan my trips using CL's etc to take account of this. I think trucks etc will have to go hybrid though initially.

On the tax front. There is a perverse incentive to buy diesel in the tax system. If they equalise this I wouldn't complain. However if they incentivise petrol by setting the relative tax levels to bias towards petrol that would be a mistake.

 

[2657]

for example: taking £1.10/litre if you do 5000 miles @30mpg it would cost £834

the same example at 10mpg £2200

so for this pretty extreme example - probably the difference between running a van conversion and an RV the difference is only £1400 which is not exactly a lot of money if you happen to get caught for a DMF or a DPF or any number or might be a price you were happy to pay if you wanted a big bathroom or living space etc.

The point I'm making is that MPG is not as big a deal as we've been lead to think it is.

The penny has dropped at last but £1400 is still a significant sum.

As I do around 15000 miles a year the MPG does make a considerable difference.

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[Lot lover]

For me mpg has never been a valid raison d'etre. IMHO the relative weight of my right foot is by far the most significant factor anyway.

It costs what it costs and if/when I can't afford the fuel I won't go anywhere.

I won't go down the route of how GB plc could generate enough electricity if everyone bought a Musk, that's another story.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

You only have to sit on the aire in Calais watching the ferries come and go to see how much diesel pollution they spit out must be millions of tons a year?

Very true...... Although they all burn low sulphur diesel in the emission control areas (east of Falmouth). A lot of ferries are now being constructed to be hybrid CNG/LNG burners and electric propulsion as a way of meeting shipping emission laws

 

[Kev and Carolyn]

Might have to consider a huge petrol RV then! That should please the neighbor

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[****]

I am toying with the idea of just getting a little cheapish car with a small petrol engine.

I must be getting old

Lol. Sold my Diesel car for a 1.2 Fiat Stilo what was a nice car but as we never use it much the electronics were killing the batter. Bought a Canarie Yellow Fiat Seicento 1.1 sporting. Ace wee car what puts more smiles on my face than any other car ive owned.

 

[Larby]

IMHO Lexus are right.

I think that Hybrid is the way forward.

MHs in particular would be perfect, plenty of low down space for batteries, big flat roof for solar panels.

Jon

Yea right, 1 extra battery in most Motor-homes and there goes your payload