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Greg Barker's dirty little secret

I nearly fell into the Barker trap. Fortunately I saw sense in time.
Submitted by Peter Welch on 27 October 2006 - 2:03pm | Categories:

I wasn't going to comment on the Barker affair, but then an ad in a magazine brought the memories floodling back.

This is the way the Mirror describes his guilty secret

He drives a silver Lexus RX400-h car which has been designed to emit fewer damaging emissions and was carefully chosen to fit his green political image.

OK I'll fess up. I went as far as looking at one myself. It was a bit out of my price range, but to feel good about the planet I was prepared to consider spending the money.

The problem is that the Lexus 400h does not deliver. The version Barker appears to drive pumps out around 192g/km.

Worse still, for a (sorry) family driver, it has the internal dimensions of a much smaller car. When I looked there was no seven-seater option. A Volvo XC90 diesel is equally efficient - and fits two extra passengers.

Now I don´t care what sort of car people drive. The impact on the environment is not really as dramatic as people assume. But putting pictures all over your website of a "green" vehicle when you know it is just a sham - that really gets me.


Comments

On 27 October 2006 - 2:39pm, Anonymous (not verified) wrote:

"But putting pictures all over your website of a "green" vehicle when you know it is just a sham - that really gets me"

Nearly as bad as introducing a 'green' tax on gas guzzling car owners that will only encourage people to commute in them rather than leave them outside on the street.