Posted by Gordon on Saturday, January 26, 2002 at 4:48AM :
In Reply to: The government is up to their tricks again. Time write your posted by Tim Way on Friday, January 25, 2002 at 5:58PM :
It's more a case of poor wording and bad PR, but there is certainly the potential for misuse (from our point of view)
A few years agao if you had a car (round here) that would run, it was worth something. Someone would buy it as a runner, or for parts, if it really was useless they would crush it and melt it for scrap - either way you got money.
Now, with a decrease in the price of scrap, increased legislation against pollution, and lots of newer cars sitting unsold at dealers, you can't give away a running vehicle (we are NOT talking Dodges here)
So the European Commission started a few schemes to buy junk cars for dismantling and recycling, giving previous owners some credit towards a newer car as long as it was fuel-efficient. Part of the funding came from a tax on new vehicles, ensuring that the levy from a new vehicle paid the disposal costs of one or more junkers. New cars also have to be made capable of dismantling and recycling with less cost and effort, by minimising types of plastic, marking all components, etc, etc.
As I read this legislation it's very similar to the European stuff - get abandoned cars off the streets and provide credit for the previous owners to buy more fuel-eficient machines.
All you have to do is make sure city hall doesn't abuse it and turn it into a policy of grabbing and crushing Dodges, but the theory behind it is sound.
How is it working in Europe ? quite well, except for the costs. It helps that a lot of European politicians are car / truck / steam engine nuts too and virtually all recognise the historic significance of a Command Car.
Gordon