RSS RSS Twitter Twitter
Leftlane - news, reviews, and info for the auto-industry
 
 

New EU regulations threaten European sports car makers

08/06/2008, 10:51 AM

By Drew Johnson

Emission regulations around the world seem to be getting stricter by the day but proposed regulations in Europe have put some of the world’s premier sports car makers on edge. The EU has proposed a 120 grams per km emissions standard by 2012 which could put some automakers out of business.

If the 120 grams per km standard is adopted, it would be virtually impossible for automakers like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Aston Martin and Porsche to comply with the new rules. For comparison, the feather-light and relatively fuel efficient Lotus Elise S emits 196 g/km, whereas the segment average is in the 200 to 500 g/km range.

Most of the elite automakers are lobbying for niche protection – which allows any automaker that produces less than 10,000 vehicles per year to individually negotiate with the EU – but that classification looks like it might be a bit of a stretch, especially for German and Italian automakers. Since marques like Ferrari and Maserati; Lamborghini and Porsche are actually owned by larger companies – Fiat and VW, respectively – the EU lumps their production with their larger parent companies.

“We are committed to reduce CO2 emissions heavily in the next years so we are doing whatever is possible without destroying the DNA of the brand to bring them down to a much better level than today,” Lamborghini Chief Executive Stephan Winkelmann told Reuters. “But you have to understand, it will never meet the 120 g or 130 g per km.”

Winkelmann also contests that exotic automakers display Europe to the world and should be considered a “species to protect.”

Another fact the EU is taking into consideration is that most exotic sports car are driven very rarely. That combined with their limited production numbers means they only account for 0.3 percent of EU total car emissions, according to Reuters.

With electric and hydrogen powertrains still a good number of years away from mass production and acceptance in the supercar world, some compromises will have to be made between the EU and the elite automakers if the breed is to stick around for the foreseeable future.

New car price quote

Zero obligation price quote from a trusted local dealer.
 
 

08/06, 10:57 AM

posted by:

krautninja

Kill me now! if the worlds attempt to suddenly go ever-green kills off the art of exotic cars the future will be a sad sad place

08/06, 11:01 AM

posted by:

howsmydriving

How about some EU regulations that would make supercars affordable!!!

08/06, 11:04 AM

posted by:

xyunya

I would not worry about state of supercars in Europe. People with money will pay extra taxes to drive them.

08/06, 11:08 AM

posted by:

Fletch

No way BMW or Merc could meet that emission standard either.

08/06, 11:11 AM

posted by:

mayer_ray_nagin

Like big government? Then you gotta love this!!!
.
Sozialismus über alles! Including over common sense.

08/06, 11:12 AM

posted by:

krautninja

if supercars were affordable they wouldnt be very super or exotic now would they

08/06, 11:33 AM

posted by:

anti-believer

If you want to breath clean air, you’ll understand there needs to be some restrictions.

08/06, 11:33 AM

posted by:

tzu13

Why all this focus on car emissions? I’m sure their truck and train emissions are even worse over there than they are here.

08/06, 11:39 AM

posted by:

beatusmongous

This is probably the #1 reason Ferrari was looking at hybrid setups a while back.

08/06, 12:24 PM

posted by:

ktulu

BOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

08/06, 1:06 PM

posted by:

golf4me

Solution: Move the companies out of Europe. What’ll be comical is that by the time they realize that MAN MADE global warming is just a big hoax, they will have no auto industry left. F**k them, let them ride in rickshaws for all I care. (BTW, it’s been recently found that the earth has actually been COOLING the last 8-10 years) Funny how Euros turn their nose up at every other people, but frankly, they (and sheeple Americans too!) are so wrong about this, just like they were about Hitler. They are so friggin gullable. No doubt we’ll have to bail them out (again) from the economic mess they are creating for themselves over this irrational fear. Here’s what would be more effective — limit the birthrate of French and the hot air they spew from their pompous, rude mouths and the toxic fumes eminating from their smelly armpits.

08/06, 1:06 PM

posted by:

TOZO

“Since marques like Ferrari and Maserati; Lamborghini and Porsche are actually owned by larger companies – Fiat and VW, respectively – the EU lumps their production with their larger parent companies.” Porsche is owned by VW? Other way around, LLN!

08/06, 1:36 PM

posted by:

brassmonkey

Rich people, you can thank Al Gore. His agenda that we are heating up the planet by ourselves is just stupid. CO2 is not bad, and the CO2 concentration in Earth’s atmosphere was about 0.0384% by volume. Making a supercar put out less than half of the CO2 just ain’t gonna happen. The truth is, we don’t know how the earth works. We have ideas, but we know very little. And the idea that (according to scientists) the earth is 4.5 billion years old, and humans broke it in 100 years by driving cars and operating factories. Over 90% of all pollution comes from volcanoes, decaying plants and animals, and forest fires. Do you think there were volcanoes and all that before humans? I think so.

08/06, 1:43 PM

posted by:

El Aleman

If the emissions are lumped together with those of the other brands of the company, then why is it a problem?
VW sells millions of normal cars and not even 20.000 of Lambo and Bentley combined..

08/06, 1:52 PM

posted by:

deutschetouring1337

It’s about time, seriously the time has really come to take responsibility for cleaning our enviroment up and getting **** together. I LOVE cars but with it comes the responsibility of accepting your role and not mitigating everything off on someone else. Look at Chinas pollution for instance all of you can’t be that dumb to realize the US was like that 50yrs ago in the bigger metro cities and even 10yrs ago in LA, NY, Houston. Honestly, all of you who can’t afford 100k vehicles really need to just shutup. Those of us who can afford these vehicles will pay whatever extra tax and what not. The world is chaning and guess what its gonna change without you, just accept it. Quit whining.

08/06, 3:24 PM

posted by:

Random Jerk

I’m here to use bad spelling, bad grammar, foul language, and bad logic to tell you that all those fancy scientist that I trust to create all the things I use in everyday life without a second thought are all lying hoaxers when they warn us about destroying our environment as we know it with pollution.

08/06, 4:52 PM

posted by:

jayjc08

Their so full of sh.it. Most hybrid vehicles struggle to put out less than 130 grams per kilometer, and most vehicles fall into a category between 180 and 300 grams per km. This whole “global warming” thing is overhyped, and I’ve seen a lot of scientists fall back on their self righteous proclamations. Similar ones with the opposite effect were made in the 80’s and faded away.

Nobodies taking responsibility to “save the planet”. The planet will survive one way or another, without us. More people are seeing some sense of “truth” that global warming is a hoax. Weathers fine and dandy up here, just had one of the coldest winters in the recent past!

And what’s this about “clean air”? Sure, cars in the 60’s and 70’s had horrible emissions that created smog that took 20 years to clear from cities such as NY, San Fransisco and others that still remain, but todays cars produce a tiny fraction of what vehicles then did. The biggest reason why China is having air quality problems for the Olympics isn’t for the most part because of vehicles, which they’ve already taken off the road, but because of factories and other forms of uh… pollution. You don’t read much about smog from vehicles anymore, not to say that it doesn’t happen.

Any who, Europe will continue to regulate and tax your people until it drives you all bonkers and insane. Great cars, some pretty funny comedy and some bright ideas that seem to never get anywhere, but most of that has moved out of the country as well.

And for those of you who are claiming that exotic vehicle buyers will take up the price… they already have. Just look at all the ridiculous taxes and expenses Jeremy Clarkson had to import his Ford GT, it came to a couple thousand pounds.

Once again though, it’s another election between dumb and dumber. Obama has many things to hide, and when ever someone else tries to bring them to light, Obama pulls out the racial card.

08/12, 5:05 AM

posted by:

razr1983

these people want to put us back on bicycles… and they call that progress…

 
 
You need to log in with your user name and password before you can leave comments.

    

Forgot your Password?


Don't have a user name yet? Simply fill in the form below and click the link provided in the
confirmation email. You must supply a valid email address to complete the registration process.

  
 
 
 
 
  • Login
  • About
  • Contact
Please note that you need to log in with your user name and password before you can leave comments.
  

login
cancel
Forgot your Password?
Don't have a user name yet? Click here to register now.

Simply fill in the form below and click the link provided in the confirmation email. You must supply a valid email address to complete the registration process.

  
submit
cancel
Leftlane is the leading source for automotive industry and vehicle news, new car research, future vehicle information, and reviews. Read by car shoppers, driving enthusiasts, autoworkers, executives, and investors, the website is updated throughout the day with the very latest auto news - as it happens.

Leftlane also provides consumers with accurate and media-rich information on every car currently on the market. In-market shoppers can review specs, read overviews, view high-resolution images, watch videos, and estimate pricing. No other automotive publication brings together the same degree of timeliness, thoroughness and accuracy as Leftlane.
 
submit
cancel