Car ads should focus on fuel emissions
Posted by DavidM in Driving | 13 March 2007
There are a lot of ideas coming out of the European Union at the moment.
As part of it's wider strategy to reduce CO2 from cars, the EU wants to introduce a voluntary code of practice for car advertising which reduces the attention paid to speed and focuses more on their environmental performance.
In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority's code of practice already states that speed mustn't be the "predominant message" of the advertising though manufacturers can mention performance statistics.
To be honest, pushing the environmental performance of each car won't do much unless consumers judge cars on those criteria. For example, CO2 emissions became far more important in car choice when the tax on company cars became based on the emissions level of the vehicle.
However, the broader idea that motor manufacturers can help encouage drivers to buy more efficient cars and drive them more responsibly is good.
