How do we get people to buy them? The 78 mpg AudiA2 wasn't really a smash hit...
Well, youcan ban cars with worse MPG outright, or, if you're keen to let people free to pollute all they want, put a massive tax on cars with worse consumption: this should be done on a liters per 100km basis: put a 10,000 euro tax per liter/100km above 5 in a standardized test run by an independent body.) In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
It's only reasonable if these pay the same amount of tax as they pollut the same.
I believe all special taxes on cars should be eliminated and replaced with taxes on the fuel. Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.
As to taxes, I'd be partisan to jack up fuel taxes by 50c/l (i.e. 2$/gal) every year AND giving back the same amount of money equally to each owner of a car. In France, it's easy, as you need a carte grise (id paper for your car) - just divvy up the expected tax income by the number of non-corporate owned cartes grises, et voilà.
People with smaller cars or fuel efficient cars or who drive little will get more money out of the trade; those with big cars or big amounts of driving will lose out even if they don't change behavior and all will be incentivised by the higher fuel prices to drive less.
And that would actually be mildy redistributive, I expect. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
Then a group of disgruntled farmers and truckers began demonstrating and ever since the Labour government has been terrified of another fuel protest.
