US 'Cash for Clunkers' Scheme = Automotive Genocide

[thebigv]

Sorry for not reading the full thread guys but two things, firstly its looks like the head is broken, not on the Volvo, on the idiot revving it.

In England they said they were going to TAX more polluting cars heavier as it was a GREENTAX, so when you can buy a Lamborghini, Pagani, Ascari some of the most polluting cars and have to pay over £400 road tax, fair point i hear some say. However, get it to run on LPG which all say is GREENER and better for the environment and your TAX will be what, £40, £50, NO £395!!!!!!!!!! How is that a GREENTAX, These schemes in my and a lot other peoples opinions is just a TAX, nothing to do with being GREEN. The scrappage schemes etc are just to get people buying cars to stimulate a little growth in economies, if it is to do with GREEN issues why do we see cars patently burning oil driving round with Police driving behind them, coughing and choking and not doing anything about them? I could go on forever but i dont have enough time and am sick of moaning to be honest.

Like has already been hinted on this thread, if they are so concerned about recycling, and lets face it we all should be, why dont they recycle cars and give them to the less fortunate and insist on them being looked after, not a fortune spent on them just washed every now and then and driven properly.
But, The trouble is, some people with the C=*p cars dont care about them which is why they are in the mess they are in. We need to change peoples ideas and opinions about possessions and looking after and caring for them before they'll listen about caring for the earth, after all they have to pay for cars and dont care about them, what makes the people that matter think they care about the earth, it doesn't cost them anything, YET!

[940SportsEdition]

lets face facts, our cars drive on the land, and most are pretty well looked after, yet an object with two - four large engines, burning enough fuel to keep our car running for several years travels very close to the earths atmosphere, pumping fumes out, and knowone complains as it gets us on our holidays and business trips. Think about it, 30 years ago, how many planes were fluing around, and how many of us could afford to jump on one to go on a stag do in prauge. Yes the roads are also allot more congested now, but that has allot to do with councils fetish for traffic lights and stupid road systems, and yes if the manufactures had a little more respect for their customers, maybe more people would, of bought new cars, and if the goverment wernt so greedy and put less tax on the purchase of a new car, then more would sell. So if ford volvo saab kia or whoever, can now afford to give you upto £5000 for your 1990 ford escort, why could they not do this before the current state we are in. Banks that six months ago were crying that they were about to go bankrupt, now suddenly have made massive proffits, but I for one am no more better off than I was 10 years ago. My wages have not gone up, we have no more work than we did six months ago, knowone is spending money, everyone is broke, so where has all this money come from? Lets face it, politicians have always and will always con the general public, invent new rules that will only make them money, and will always disadvantage those with low incomes. If you look deep down in this stupid scheme, there will be a link to the back pocket of every MP in the country, simple as, those that fall for it only have themselves to blame, and those of us running older cars will suffer getting parts latter on. I will walk before giving in to what is bullying by the goverment, I will not be made to feel guilty for running a perfectly good car until it will no longer run, but will not be told by any MP what to drive, and made to feel the odd one out if I dont.

[StanC]

Scrappage schemes are totally misguided and wrong - as a number of contributors here have said, they benefit the wrong people and many of us are not convinced, in any case, that they actually benefit the environment because the 'build energy' of new vehicles can amount to a number of year's 'running energy'.

It cannot make true economic sense to wreck cars that still have many miles left in them simply to 'employ' people building new cars - by all means give prople employment, but how about employing them on building infrastructure that will truly benefit society (and the economy)?

If there are any aliens up there looking down on us and watching that lovely Volvo being 'officially' wrecked, thay must be saying; ". . . . . and they're supposed to be the most intelligent animals on the Earth . . . . . doh! Let's get out of here!"

Stan.