Procrastination R Us

Whenever I have had a mountain of work, old chum, I have always done this. Pissed about. Put off the inevitable. An almost involuntary stress reaction, the more work the more pissing about. With every additional click the monkey on my back has scratched at me, reminding me that there was stuff to be done.

I start this latest post, at almost exactly the time that I must get up and do something else that is time-dependant, meaning I must leave writing this post almost as soon as I have gotten around to starting it. I think it may be that I have identified the complexity of the subject and what seemed like a quirky comparison piece, because of the factual content has become a research chore and fact-checking legwork.

Let's start at the beginning shall we? A week ago (or about that) I picked up a piece from MSN via popurls about the most popular vehicles being sold under the gimmickily named Cash for Clunkers scheme. You can dig the piece out for yourself but I'm not going to link to it, as like all of their articles it's a perishing click-fest.

Well, I'm back and fully intend to soldier on. Where was I? Yes, the scrappage scheme allowances.

I was able to get quite goods stats for the US market, it was nothing like as easy for the UK market. Reading back over my notes, it was the best part of three weeks ago that I got my figures, so if there has been drift please forgive me. The American scheme, after being topped-up and extended, ended yesterday. Form what I have read it incentivised buyers outside the scheme as well those with a trade-able 'clunker'. The expressed concern of the US automotive trade is that it will mean their closing quarters will be extremely quiet because 'everyone who is going to buy a car will have bought one' and the fear that the only people buying a car will be if their existing one dies.

The scrappage scheme in the UK is expected to roll on a while yet, mid-Autumn being the expected time the funds allocated for the subsidy will be exhausted. While American dealerships are bemoaning the slowness with which they receive their payments, I read UK manufacturers have yet to receive a penny.

Now what kind of pricked my interest was the idea that Mr & Mrs America were trading their gas guzzler for something smaller and more economical. Intrigued I poked about to see what these economical vehicles actually were. Before I make my comparisons, the UK Road Tax is undergoing year-on-year change with more polluting vehicles (like the ugly beast below) undergoing significant increases to their annual taxation, with less polluting vehicles enjoying a reduction.

Unpopular as I gather it is, this pollution tax appears to be having a direct effect on purchases, made glaringly obvious when you see the purchases made by nations separated by petrol taxation, the Atlantic and a common language.

I've had a quick hunt around and the stats I can find link back to the original ones I located in early August. Apologies if they are radically different but unless manufacturers dreadfully underestimated demand of a particular vehicle they should still be there or there abouts. Here is a table what I made but can't seem to format nicely...

There are one or two things that should be noted. The asterisks denote where I've taken a lower than best figure for consumption. The UK figures are the best-selling model of the manufacturer in it's ranked position, I suspect overall the Fiesta is probably the best-selling individual model.

I'm not going to win any statistician of the year awards, but I'm not sponsored by a major automobile producer or an economics unit either. Even if I were I would still feel obliged to point out what an ugly ugly 70's throw-back the Toyota Camry is.

All of the vehicles on the US list were quoted as 1.8 to 2.5l engines, with the exception of the Fit which was listed as a 1.5. Which I thought for a 1500 was poor consumption. Currently the US seems most up in arms over Obama's health care reforms, I doubt if he'd survive the sort of measures like upping the tax on fuel or a pollution levy on big engines.

Thinking back to my 'end of civilization piece, I feel slightly despairing. There's no moral high-ground to be taken. For a start the number of big black thundering new Navaras with an mpg that sees it embarrassed by the Cobalt. Bugger! I just looked up the Cobalt and GM claim 37 mpg. So it might be a typo (on the original) above.

Getting back to my despair, the only reason the UK market is moving toward more small cars is because it's not cost effective to do anything else. Mr & Mrs English Moneybags or George Petrol-Head will continue to flaunt their wealth and consume like there is no tomorrow and unless the crude production slows and forces prices up in the US, they'll do the same. Have and have-not motoring until the oil runs out.

I wish the Obama regime had been more creative with their subsidy and made it dependant on the new vehicles fuel economy. Mind you, that would probably have ruled out all of the US-produced cars, so wouldn't have been the most popular of policies.

So another opportunity to wean our collective selves off oil falls by the wayside.

Welcome to the disappointment.