Hero to Zero
The electric car journey starts with Henry Ford’s Model T, writes Brian Twomey Henry Ford once railed against early attempts to control the pollution coming from the exhaust of his Model T. When his car became popular enough that traffic became a problem Ford found himself facing baffling questions about something called emissions. They want the air coming out the back to be cleaner than the air going in he fumed. That said, Henry...
Why the plan for one million evs by 2030 is more spin than substance
The Government’s ambition for one million evs might be more spin than substance, but the next decade will bring change, writes Geraldine Herbert The sale of new petrol and diesel cars is to be banned in 2030. This is just one of the measures included in the proposed Climate Action Bill that aims to drastically reduce emissions. The new legislation will not only enshrine the end date for the sale of new petrol and diesel cars,...
Diesel imports are only part of the problem
There is a glut of older diesels on our roads and its not just as a result of imports writes Geraldine Herbert With only weeks to go to the budget there have been calls from within the motor industry to ban the importation of used cars from the UK. James McCarthy, CEO of Nissan Ireland, said that unless a ban is introduced on cars imported from the UK that do not meet the current Euro 6 emissions standard, it will be impossible for...
What you need to know about the Mercedes Benz recall
Mercedes is to recall millions of diesel cars over harmful emissions writes Geraldine Herbert The numbers? Mercedes-Benz is to recall more than 3 million diesel cars in Europe. What is the background to this recall? The German authorities has put all diesel engines under close scrutiny since DieselGate in September 2015 and as part of that there has been an investigation into Mercedes and possible manipulation of...
Can VW recover from the emission scandal and do Irish drivers really care?
The VW emissions scandal has cast a cloud over the industry but what will be the long-term impact asks Geraldine Herbert As the German car regulators (KBA) announce they are expanding their investigation of emission cheating software to more than 23 car makers, VW remains firmly in the headlines. The latest revelations relate to CO2 emissions declarations for diesel and petrol cars. They also have been accused by the US Environmental...
