Ban all the uneconomical cars?

Yesterday on the radio an ex oil company director was quoted as saying that he couldn't see any point of having a car which did less than 35 MPG. He called for an outright ban on all cars which returned less than 25 MPG across the European community.

On the surface of it it seems a sensible proposition and one of the environmental lobbyists will certainly applaud. However, if people want to buy performance car primarily for use on the track this would not be possible if this law were approved.

Drivers who run high performance cars which return 25 MPG or less typically use the car for leisure purposes at the weekends and infrequently and are not major contributors to carbon dioxide emissions. I really can't imagine a group of Ferrari enthusiasts standing around the bar and talking about the MPG that their car returns.

Legislation is already sufficiently tight and the manufacturers are continually pushing the boundaries of fuel economy trading of as little performance as possible. In fact back in the eighties Daihatsu produced a 1 l engine capable of propelling the car to 60 MPH in just 7.x seconds and was able to return of 30 MPG. The current high cost of fuel will more than regulate demand. To produce economical cars are manufactures often use lighter weight material and produce smaller cars which, TorqueCars, feel will increase the number of injuries sustained in traffic accidents.