News in brief

13th August 2007

Choosing a green car isn’t easy – especially if you live in the North! A Government-backed survey reveals garages in Yorkshire and Humberside are least likely to highlight how polluting a model is. Research by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership found only 40 per cent of these counties’ dealers display Department for Transport stickers listing mpg and emissions bands (right) on forecourt models. In top-performing Wales, it was nearly 80 per cent.

THREE SCIENTISTS from Queensferry in North Wales have developed a device that could make vehicles emit nothing but water vapour from their tailpipes. Dubbed the Greenbox, it is fitted in place of a conventional exhaust, and works by trapping carbon dioxide.

This is then taken to a bio-reactor for chemical processing using
special algae. The resultant biofuel can then be put back into cars! General Motors is claimed to be investigating the new technology.