In a climate (if you pardon the pun) of concern about global warming, which established make and model of car do you suppose achieved the greatest increase in sales during 2006?
Something small, maybe, like the Smart, or Ford Ka? No, both down by double figures. Something green, then, like the Toyota Prius? Nope - didn’t even figure. How about something cheap? Hardly, the Skoda Fabia sales gained only 2.7 per cent against the chart topper’s 101 per cent.
And the chart-topper was………the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, followed closely by the Mercedes-Benz M Class. The remainder of the big-sellers were by and large (or buy, and large!) all 4×4s, or SUVs, or gas-guzzlers - call them what you will.
It seems that I am not alone in thinking that global warming has nothing to do with cars. Presumably the buyers of these large and expensive cars are wealthy, intelligent people, who are skilled in making informed judgements from available facts, and not gullible enough to be swayed by the gutter press or an ignorant and ill-informed government.
p.s. Ill-informed? Not so long ago, I was invited to a photo-call at which a famous politician was to take the wheel of the latest gas-powered car - the petrol-electric Toyota Prius.
They’re probably the less thirsty, diesel Mercs that make up most of the increases in sales. Perhaps the wealthy folk pay to offset their footprint or whatever.
Joshua Goodwin | 13 Apr 07 - 19:08