Energy

Congestion charges hand over our roads to wealthy motorists

Congestion charges penalise poor people and fail to deal with the reasons for traffic congestion, says the car review website dogandlemon.com. 

Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says:

“Congestion charges discourage ride-sharing and encourage wealthier people to use cars. But cities like Auckland weren’t built by wealthy people; Auckland was built by poor people who often had little choice but to drive to work.”

UK bans e-scooters from pavements, bans private scooters, requires driver’s licence for scooter riders

New Zealand should follow the lead of the UK and introduce sensible regulations for e-scooters, says the car review website dogandlemon.com.

Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson, who is an outspoken road safety campaigner, says:

Taxpayer handouts to electric car buyers will not save the planet

Taxpayer handouts to electric car buyers will not save the planet, says the car review website dogandlemon.com.

Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson, who has studied electric cars for over a decade, says:

Petrol taxes are subsidising the trucking industry

Light petrol and diesel vehicles are paying far more than their share of transport taxes, says the car review website dogandlemon.com.

Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says:

“Taxes on small vehicles pay nearly three quarters of the cost of building our highways. Yet these small vehicles get the least benefit from these highways. Effectively, the owners of petrol cars and light commercial vehicles are subsidising large trucks and buses.”

Call to halt government BMW purchase after emission fraud allegations

The government’s purchase of BMW limousines should be suspended while BMW is under investigation for allegedly providing fraudulent fuel economy and emissions figures, says the car review website dogandlemon.com.

Tests by International Council for Clean Transportation (ICCT) – the same organisation that uncovered VW’s fraudulent diesel emissions claims – showed that many popular European cars, including BMW diesel vehicles, use more than 50% more fuel than claimed by the makers.

VW pollution scandal “the tip of the iceberg”

The recent scandal, in which Volkswagen was found to be cheating on diesel emission tests in the US, is just the tip of the iceberg, says the car review website 

Car owner wins battle over false fuel economy figures

The Disputes Tribunal has ruled that the fuel economy figures claimed for a Ford Kuga car were false.

On August 7, the Tribunal awarded $6000 to Marton man Bruce Campbell, whose car used significantly more fuel than was promised by the dealer.