Porsche to challenge congestion charge

Spoilsports! German car manufacturers Porsche are threatening to take Ken to court to stop the £25 congestion charge. Boris 'will be reactionary for votes' Johnson has joined their fight, claiming that King Newt is being "jolly unfair" to rich people. Like the aviation industry, big car manufacturers have been coming under fire for some years now for accept their role in causing climate change, and investing energy to undermine efforts to use the market to force them to behave.

Until Porsche's latest salvo, the industry has focused on the impact the charge will have on 'hard working families' (the same families who they claim will unduly suffer from any increase in ticket prices). There is an element of truth in what they're saying. The £25 cut-off is based on cars which emit at least 225 grammes of CO2 per kilometre, and includes the Vauxhall Vectra Estate 2.8i V6, several models of the Vauxhall Zafira, Honda Accord 2.4, Volvo V70 2.5T Auto, Peugeot 407 2.7 litre V6, VW Passat 3.2 estate and even the Golf 3.2. If you bought one of these cars to fit your eight kids, two wives and a dog, then you're out of luck.

Now before you reach for your telephones to call Porsche and support the legal challenge, let's take a closer look at these cars. Yes, they are designed for families. Yes, some of them (like the VW Golf) are not what we think of as gas guzzlers. But they all emit huge volumes of CO2 per kilometre travelled, and in every case there is a less polluting car available.

Take the VW Golf for instance. You can get a GTI T which squeezes 180 BHP out of a 1.7 engine and only emits 202 g/km CO2. You could go for a 1.9 Sport FSI 4Motion which pumps out 206 g/km CO2. Or you could opt for a 3.2l engine, and pay £25 to cruise through London at 11 miles per hour. It's your choice. Now take the Vauxhall Vectra estate. You could have a 1.9l Special T 16V at 221 g/km CO2, or a 1.7 Tourer 16V at 187 g/km CO2. You just can't have a 2.8i V6, a car designed for tearing along the autobahn at Mach3.

Let's face facts. If you have bought a ludicrous car while undergoing a mid-life crisis, then Ken's got you over a barrel. But while you may need a car, you sure don't need that car: and in most circumstances you can comfortably downgrade and avoid the top-level charge. The same can be said for flying: you may need a weekend away, but you don't need a weekend in New York, how ever much you love Sex and the City.

Expect more of these measures, and expect more complaints from the big polluters. Porsche, Mercedes, British Airways and Ryanair are exactly who we want screaming about how much money they're losing. After all, they're the ones screwing it up for the rest of us. If they weren't squealing, then angry bloggers like me would be whining that the measures weren't tough enough.

You can calculate CO2 emissions at The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders' website. And I know the car in the picture is a Ferrari - it was just too funny not to include.