Search Results for: cars

BY ALAN OSBORN
STRICT laws banning the use of rigid bull bars and other protective devices for cars are expected following the proposal of amendments by the transport committee of the European Parliament toughening up European Union (EU) DIRECTIVE under consideration.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE UNITED Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has predicted western European life expectancy is being reduced by two years on average because of fine particulate matter air pollution. These are created when fossils fuels (especially in cars) and wood are burnt, staying in the air for a long time and travelling far from their source.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A SPEED record has been set by a car running on biofuels, with a vehicle designed with help from the European Space Agency (ESA) breaking an existing green car record of 315km. It was developed by French non-profit group IdéeVerte Compétition to be lubricated by sunflower oil and run on liquid petroleum gas (LPG), one of the least polluting fossil fuels.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
DIESEL vehicle owners are undermining the efforts of manufacturers to reduce road transport pollution in Europe, a European Environment Agency (EEA) report has claimed, by tuning engines to boost their power. The EEA thinks up to 50% of new diesel vehicles are being modified and that such changes can increase emissions, especially of harmful particles, by as much as three times.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
COMPANIES whose employees endure long stressful commutes to work are at a greater risk of losing their workers due to heart attacks according to German research published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study said people are three times more likely to suffer a heart attack within an hour of driving a car or bicycle in a traffic jam than if they would be in activities away from traffic.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
CONTRARY to some fleet management industry hopes, a European Union (EU) directive – 2004/3/EC – approved earlier this year will not require manufacturers or retailers to label fuel consumption figures for vans but it will allow for the testing of CO2 emissions from February 2005.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
SALES of cars between motor trade professionals must be declared at open market rates under a VAT law being introduced in the UK to prevent illicit cut priced declarations restricting the amount of sales tax actually paid. The regulation conflicts with standard European Union VAT law, but has been given special approval by the EU Council of Ministers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is threatening to take France, Germany, Luxembourg and Denmark to the European Court of Justice for failing to implement European Union laws mandating roadside spot checks on lorries and cars. These roadworthiness tests include examinations of speed limiters and exhaust emissions.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A EUROPEAN Union (EU) research consortium has announced a breakthrough in cutting the weight of cars, producing and testing a full-scale carbon fibre floorpan, to be combined with sills, roof, pillars and side panels from the same material.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
WHILE the voters of many European Union (EU) countries express misgivings about greater continental integration, Bulgaria has been making great efforts to join the Brussels club by 2007. But its reputation for commercial crime and the lack of strong governmental structures able to tackle the problem are hampering efforts to clean up the country’s reputation.…