Thursday, December 16, 2010

VW's design chief: private cars verboten in city centers of the future

VW has just introduced this electric concept car of what a London black cab of the future might look like:


[Photo: Autoblog.com]

VW designer director Klaus Bischoff told the BBC's Jorn Madslien:
"In the future, mobility in city centres will be restricted by low emission zones that you can't enter with private vehicles, so in such cities taxis are about mass mobilisation"..
Volkswagen and others in the industry often see government initiatives as business opportunities, and electric motoring subsidies are no different.
Business opportunity exists in encouraging State regimentation of society, apparently.  VW hasn't entirely escaped from its original Deutsche Arbeitsfront DNA after all.

Meanwhile, London's Mayor Boris Johnson is trying the hasten Herr Bischoff's future vision, with a £1million fund to upgrade the metropolis's aging fleet of black cabs; plans for cabbies taking eco-driving course; increased MOT inspections for taxis; and new, tougher emission standards.  You can read his new plan, "Clearing the air: The Mayor's Air Quality Strategy," here.  He's no Red Ken, but Boris isn't charting a market-driven course either.

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