h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The Government have come up with another gem of an idea. as usual it's another good way of taxing the people who can least afford it.

As from the Autumn of 2000 the Road Tax will be charged according to the exhaust emissions.

The Higher the emissions the higher the road tax. Therefore the people who are lucky enough to be able to afford a new car or one that's only a couple of years old will pay less road tax.

The older cars with higher emissions will be taxed at a higher rate, unless of course it’s a vintage car cause these are exempt from Road Tax.

One consolation is the way things are going my car will soon be vintage.

If I can get a job working from home maybe I won't need a car. The only problem I can foresee than is towing the supermarket trolley home behind my bike , especially if you get one of those dodgy ones that likes to go sideways
 

It's a ploy to get the old bangers off the road, and for the public to purchase new cars which will in turn bolster the Britsh Car Market!

I half agree with removing older cars which do not meet new standards, but I think bumping up taxes is the wrong way to go about it!

I'm sorry guys, I am working hard to make sure all the cars in my driveway are "classics". I'm not anti environment.....I'm anti disposable automobiles!

I can fix the ones in my drive, can you? When all this computer controlled crap is in the landfill, mine will still be going strong......which is the greater pollutant?

By the by, at the moment I own a new car....a situation I hope to correct ASAP!!

I don't know what the US government is after, but I intend to fight it with the usual "American" rebelliousness!(It is my right, and I WILL exercise it!)

I don't know about the US govenment or the amount of road tax you pay there but here in the UK we pay huge amounts of money for the privalige of owning and running a car. A gallon of petrol costs £3.60 the cost of the petrol is 47p the rest is tax and a little profit and road tax on private cars here is £150.00 per year or £85.00 for six months. 18 wheelers pay something like 5 grand a year road tax, I don't know how the independent truck owners manage to stay in bussines here

The road tax in the UK is one of the lowest in Europe. In Ireland, a 2 litre car (it is done on engine size) is IR£357 and even at the current woeful exchange rate thats still STG£260.
Worse than that is the insurance - I was quoted IR£1200...
It's a good job my car is sans clutch, and therefore immobile at the moment

Bloody hell..... where did you come from Duncan!!!!

I'm not sure of the current exchange rate, normally it's about $1.75 US to 1 pound.(I don't have that squiggly little"L" on my keyboard!)

All that sounds quite expensive! Our gasoline(petrol) is running about $1.25 US per gallon(what's that.....about 3 to 3 1/2 liters?).

The road tax on my '98 Ford Taurus(3.8 ltr. V6) was about $100 US this year. My '68 Dodge Dart (360 cid...about 6 ltrs.)was something like $10 US.

Insurance for the Taurus runs about $1800 US per year for full coverage, and none is required on the Dart!(Liability IS a good idea, though!)

Seems like driving is quite expensive in your part of the world! If transportation cost that much here, our economy would come to a screeching halt!!!!(not to mention the riots in the streets!!!)

"Happy Motoring"!NM

When I wrote the article I wasn't thinking about all the other countries in Europe, I was thinking about the way our govenment comes up with an idea to increase road tax subtlety, while trying to maintain the image that they a are a careing govenment.

As for the cost of insurance, this is worked out on the odds of you having to make a claim, having driven in Ireland I can understand the reason for the high price. The same can be said of Wales, they all seem to take no notice of trafic lights and like to overtake on bends. I drove to Builth Wells in Wales two weeks ago and saw two head on collisions en route.

I have read that in Holland they pay different amounts of road tax depending on the type of fuel used I.E. Petrol £300.00 per quarter, Gas (propane) £800.00 per quarter, Diesel £1200.00 per quarter.

If they try to miss a quarter and are caught they have to pay double.

Hopefully someone from Holland will let us know the facts.

"Good googily-woogily"!!!!!!! I'd have to by a bicycle!!!LOL

NM

OOOPPPSSS!!!!!! Pulled one of Monsys' mistakes......posted under her daughters' "nickname". Let it be known, here and now, that the above posting was from ME!

NM

Where did I come from? Difficult question to answer as this PC is not fitted with wing-mirrors .

Incidentally, by mentioning "British Car Industry", I take it you are either (a) being sarcastic or (b) lucky enough to drive a TVR or a Cateram? If the latter, g'is a go...go on please.

Dear dear Duncun, for if it were that I drive the beautifull TVR. Oh what a beauty at the London Motor show she was!!

I am a fruad my dear Sir, for I drive a BMW 323. I must admit, I am very fond of her (wayward back end and all!!). Next up for 4 me will be the Lexus 200 or an Alfa Romeo 156...... decisions decisions...

I am currently half way through a bloody good bottle of red wine. Care to join me?.

..can't drink red wine, I'm afraid, as I'm allergic to it. A nice glass of white, esp. anything dry will do - or as it's nearly new years, a glass of whiskey wouldn't go amiss.

I too have wanted a TVR (though my aspirations don't go as high as a Speed-12) since a fellow contractor at my last job hired a Chimera for 6 months. For the time being I shall have to stick to a non-working GT6, as getting that back on the road will empty the car fund for a while...and getting rid of her would break my heart .

What a shame you can't drink the red, espesially as the red is the best but I hope I can give you some comfot. If you have have any problems with your automobiles, Have no fear Pauline the Bra AKA Paul the Brake is hear to help, I can say this with confidence as I am the best mechanic in the UK and probably the World. If you let me sort your car out it won't emty your car fund.

I also have an ageing Lanica Beta Coupe which is now in need of some love and attention. The body work is excellent (very rare!). She need work on her braked now. She's been in storage for getting on 5 years now.

The engine is fine, Fiat lumps always were very good...

One day......Ahhhh....one day!!!

Now I know this thread is very ancient (and therefore exempt roadtax) but I got here late.... and I have to stick my oar in (because, as yet, boats aren't taxed)

Here in The Land of the Mighty Mark cars are taxed on emissions. Petrol is, however, relatively cheap, but going up all the time. The government also recently introduced an eco-tax - all fuel is more expensive. This, of course, taxes the people who can least afford it. Large families are especially taxed: big car uses loadsafuel. Big house uses lodsaelectricity etc. Now they're saying that the last person to own a car (again, the people least able to afford it) have to pay for it to be disposed of. Mr. Schröder is a big fan of Tony Blair, of course.

But... Germans being Germans... they are all for social responsibility. So a family with 4 kids are sueing the Govt on behalf of us all because families are being discriminated against because of all these measures. If you like, I'll keep you posted.

The recent introduction of vehicle testing here has lead to a spate of vehicles being cleverly abandoned (i.e. remove the plates, VIN and engine number with an angle grinder..take vehicle to a secluded spot and leave it there) to avoid such costs. I'm sure that people in Germany will act similarily.

I'm sure it will. There will be grotty old BMWs all over the place! But, in this area at least, the Dutch scrap metal merchants will rub their hands with glee and schlepp them away!!
But, to be honest, I don't mind paying for my pleasure (a bit) from my meagre wage. But... I live in a tiny village, miles from anywhere. With only 4 busses a day and none on Sundays/public holidays. To get to where I work is next to impossible and would take a whopping 3 hours (provided nothing held my first bus up: cows crossing, for eg, which happens a lot). To drive it's 45 minutes. The Govt here are encouraging people to live away from towns and cities, and then cashing in on our need for petrol. My solution: you should be able to claim your tax back, or get a countryside allowance (after all, those of us who drag ourselves to work everyday are keeping the country going) to compensate for the lack of public transport. The Govt are also very keen on car-sharing and going to work with others: doesn't work because who knows in the morning when they will finish? I certainly don't).

Enough ranting: I envy you your bike, where I live is full of them at the weekends because it's a great place to drive round on 2 wheels. Sigh.

It seems we are all having problems with our govenments when it comes down to any sort of tax revolving around the automobile.

I read an article yesterday in the FT (don't know how old it was though) about Easycarental in London. They only have the Mercedes A class *slurps lips* And the journalist was making a good case for not having a car in urban areas, until he pointed out that in London if you live south of the river you can forget it, on account of bad public transport. So if it doesn't work in the great metrolops.... what hope have we little villagers.

I say: don't vote, the government will get in!