The EU really have given into the car manufacturers. Theres loads of good products out there which can low the carbon emissions over 20% almost straight away, one product i can think of is a transmission called IVT produced by a company called Torotrak, there system is itching to get into cars, but sadly the bosses of car co's feel profit before world extinction is more important.

CARL, TONBRIDGE, UK

"But no decision has been made on whether the legislation should apply across the board or whether each manufacturer will be set its own CO2 targets"

So the point of this is...?

ps: If the sound of the gears trying to jump out of the footwell aren't enough to get most mincab drivers and Whitevanmen to change up, I rather doubt a a/v prompt will.

Who pays these guys' salaries?

Peter Martin, Ross on Wye, UK

Dear Sir,

We have a ridiculous situation here. The EU is of course quite correct is setting aggressive targets for reducing CO2 emissions. But it should be legislating at the broad picture level, not dictating to manufacturers in technological detail how the reduction in emissions must be achieved.

Requiring all new cars to be fitted with devices to tell drivers when to change gear, what speeds to drive at, etc., which is estimated will add over £2,000 to the cost of a car, makes no sense at all when technology already exists capable of offering the same level of CO2 reductions but also reducing the cost of a car.

Moreover, the reduced emissions targets can be achieved much earlier, say by 2010 at latest, if Torotrak's infinitely variable transmission (IVT) were to be adpoted by car manufacturers. This British company offers the answer today; the EU should simply be setting CO2 reduction objectives which force manufactures to adopt it.

Yours faithfully

Tony Butler, High Wycombe, Bucks

It would be hard to think of anything more dangerous than politicians.

David, Bridgend,

It' s time for motorists to stop moaning about the overdue measures now in "train" to curb the huge damage their cars are having on the planet. They now have take responsibility for this mess and start being part of the solution, so as the children of this planet,as well as all other life, can have the future they deserve.

John Fitzgerald, Kilkenny, Ireland

I have read that using a mixture of ethanol and petrol rather than just petrol alone can help reduce CO2 emissions, as far as i know 10% ethanol can be added to run in all petrol cars without the need for any modifications to the engine at all. Another area where I believe things can be improved is in the vehicles transmission. I remember seeing somewhere, some time ago, that an infinitely variable transmission, made by a British firm "Torotrak" could reduce emissions by 20% compared with manuals and automatics, presumably this is due to increased fuel efficiency, although I haven't seen this commercially available as yet.

Paul Smart, Glasgow,

Why should I pay £2000 for a car when I already drive economically. Do they really think that fitting a light to tell drivers when to change gear will make any difference; it will be ignored by those (most) drivers who don't care - much the same as speed limits. CVT gearboxes are the only real answer to this issue I think.

Andrew Green, Aldershot,

Why should I pay £2000 more for a car when I already drive economically. Lights that tell people to change gear won't work; they will just be ignored - much the same as speed limits. Some people care and others don't.
The only answer to gear changing the fitting of the CVT gearboxes already mentioned.

Andrew Green, Aldershot,

There exists an Infinitely Variable Transmission system which smoothly moves a car's transmission ratios without the step change of a gear shift (either manual or automatic). This has been tested extensively, proven to reduce petrol consumption by around 15%, and proven to significantly reduce emissions. It's amazing to me that such a product has not been widely introduced. Somebody should be asking whether the manufacturer's are serious about improving petrol consumption and emission levels.

Antony Aston, Gerrards Cross, England

Ref Robert, Valencia:
A UK based company (Torotrak) has developed an infinitely variable gearbox that does exactly that. It keeps the engine running at optimum speed and in tests has delivered up to 20% fuel savings. Its only in production for smaller applications at the moment (ride on mowers) but was always intended for cars and has been tested on them.
The baffling thing is that (given this application delivers just about all of the savings required) why it isn't being mentioned more in the automotive press?

Steve, Chester, UK

"All new cars will be fitted with devices that tell drivers when to change gear, what speeds to drive at and even when to pump up their tyres. "
err no.

Cars currently can change gears automatically through a range of infinite ratios using technology available today (IVT or CVT), and tyre pressure sensors again available and used today will indicate underpressure tyres.

Why do you think this will happen in the future when it is happenning now ?

Patrick, Crawley,

There's only one way to get serious about combating CO2 emissions. Take on big oil and big motor. Anything else is procrastination.

We are running out of time !

Dave Reynell, KNYSNA, South Africa

I can agree with passive warning lights for gearchange timing and low pressure tyres, but active controls of emergency braking and the ridiculous idea to stop engines at traffic lights, should be thrown out. Qualified Engineers should decide after investigating how to better the driving techniques IMPOSED on people. Take traffic lights as an example. Take a leaf from the manual in the Dutch town that removed all traffic lights and found better driving habits came naturally. Now go one step further, remove road markings, speed bumps and the forest of road signs, then people will cautiously drive through towns at speeds within their thinking (not braking) distance. CO2 reduction would be a valuable result additional to safer driving.

R.Kay, Vlaardingen, The Netherlands

What I find quite amazing is that there are technologies available today that could be implemented by the industry and would reduce fuel consumption by around 16/17% - with increased performance.

These are transmissions designed and proved that are known as IVT (Infinitely Variable Transmissions) which have been developed in the UK by a company called Torotrak and which todate appear to have been ignored by the auto industry!

A ridiculous state of affairs.

neil watts, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

A firm called Torotrak has already provided the answer to the gear changing problem by introducing IVT (infinately variable transmission) as an option to a conventional gearbox. This works in basically the same fashion as CVT as far as the driver is concerned but it can cope with more power and is considerably more efficient, which translates into more miles per gallon.

R S Keeble, Ipswich, United Kingdom

Verheugen apparently warns that the brunt of legislation could fall on the worst offenders.

What does this mean for Britain's Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, Bentley and Rolls Royce, on which whose manufacturing operations tens of thousands of jobs depend?

If the final EU law does impose a per-manufacturer limit, this will be a serious threat these well-known British brands.

Stuart Coster, London, UK

Dave from Belfast - the technology you refer to is already being used by many auto OEMs, usually referred to as Continuously Variable Transmission or CVT. You can buy a Ford Focus with one today! Unfortunately, few customers have bought them as they don't offer much of a cost benefit and manuals are generally more efficient.

John, London, UK

The main problem is weight, so adding heavy, pointless electronic aids is ridiculous. Cars now weigh far more than they used to. The Mark I Golf weighed around 900kg. The new model weighs on average 1500kg! Of course safety is a reason, but as weight goes up, momentum goes up and you get a vicious cycle. The Lotus Elise weighs around the same as the early Golf, has good performance and uses less fuel than the current 1.6 litre Golf.

Carl , Frankfurt, Germany

I'm struck by the manufacturers' comment - people "require" more comfortable cars.... So? I "require" more, and more comfortable, buses and bus shelters, but does anyone take any notice? With cars causing problems wherever you look - emissions, accidents, congestion, visual pollution - it's time to get away from what people "require" of them and consider what's best for the environment and society as a whole. The days when "the car is king" should be declared well and truly over.

Barry, Wallington, South London

"...compulsory daytime use of headlights likely from 2009."

Does anyone know where you can get energy-efficient headlamp bulbs?

Dave., Cambridge,

It is truly amazing that the motorists are again being made the scapegoats for all the emission ills on the planet. As we produce only a small percentage of the CO2 emissions that this supposedly will reduce perhaps they can inform us when they are going to enforce reductions on the main polluters, Power Stations, Industry , etc.etc.
One will also assume that the first to set an example on gas guzzling vehicles will be those Politicans and Bureaucrats that have come up with this legislation, I for one will look forward to seeing Gordon Brown and all the others of the poltical elite giving up their armour plated gas guzzling vehicles in the name of reducing Greenhouse gas emmission and getting into their electric cars.
One assumes that the warning lights for not driving at optimum efficiency will be on continually on when you are stuck in a traffic jam on the M25.
The way these (intelligent) bureaucrats are going the E.U. will become the European Union for the Unemployed.

Jeffrey E. Cox, Auckland, New Zealand

All future cars and buses should have "IVT" transmissions (Infinitely Variable Transmissions) fitted instead of manual or automatic transmissions.

Such a transmission has been developed over a number of years by a UK company (Torotrak) and will be available very soon from the major transmission manufacturers.

The Torotrak IVT transmission has been proven to save around 20% in fuel consumption over existing transmissions and yet will be smaller than an automatic transmission and will cost less when in volume production.

Motorists should be presented at the showroom with cars with IVT's fitted as soon as possible!

This seems to be a "no-brainer" to me and the sooner this happens, the better this will be for the whole planet!

Dave McLoughlin, Belfast, N. Ireland

The EU are talking rubbish. I drive 12,000 miles a year which costs about £1,200 in fuel, and change my car every 3 years. To offset the additional cost of £2,000 over 3 years my average fuel economy would need to increase from 40mpg to 89mpg in the same type of car. No set of alarms and lights (which will also require power) will achieve this. Traffic and road conditions dictate speed, not fuel economy.

Iain, Aberdeen,

Why not just building all the cars with automatic gears instead of the "Warning lights system" ? The automatic gears already exist, they only need to make them more accurate for optimum speed for fuel efficiency.

Robert, Valencia,

As an eco-driver who gets a remarkably low fuel consumption out of his seven year old, low-tech Daewoo Tico even in a mountain region and with the headlights on all the time, I would suggest that he emphasis should be on training drivers how to use their vehicles sensibly, rather than on a lot of useless flashing warning lights on the dashboard. On the sort of roads I habitually drive upon (up to a hundred gear changes on a 10 km descent or ascent) I would find those a distraction. As for that price increase - well, I'll stick with my Tico while it holds itself together! Or catch the train . . .

MIKE BENT, OVIEDO, SPAIN

You got to love the EU whilst operating from two parliment buildings in two different conuntries they have the nerve to tell everybody else about efficiency.
The auto industry has been it's own worst enemy when it comes to fuel economy but you can't blame them for not bothering to reach there voluntary targets because the EU was always going to pass some kind of law to reduce emissions.If the auto indutry had reached the 120g target then the EU would now be asking for a reduction to 90g instead of the 120g the industry has been expecting for a number of years.So dispite the moaning the auto industry knew this was coming and now the techology they have been holding back in reserve can be brought into play.

DOMINIC, Miami, usa