Dealers may be tempted to overplay the green card

Posted on April 17th, 2009 by In51der in Blog, Car Dealers, Consumer, Environmental


With the latest announcements on £5,000 incentives for buying electric cars due to kick in 2011 and the, much anticipated, car scrappage scheme seemingly days away from being given the green (pardon the pun) light, it will come as no shock that many dealers will be vying for the title of top of the eco-pops.

The frenzy for all car makers to prove their green credentials will unfortunately lead to many dealers being unable to resist stretching the truth in an attempt to sell their product on the back of the green ticket.

Sure enough hot off the press is a Volvo dealer from Sunderland, which is part of a group of northeast Volvo dealers, claiming that their DRIVe models were ”kind” to the environment in a local TV advert. Of course it can at best only be regarded as “less bad”, which inevitably led to claims of the advert misleading customers. Subsequently the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the company must not use the misleading claim again and the company themselves admitted they should have used the word “kinder” instead. Kinder than what though? A Lamborghini Murcielago? Certainly, walking? Perhaps not.

Car dealers over-playing the green credentials of their product comes as no surprise and it will pay for customers to find out for themselves just how friendly a potential car is to the environment and sadly not just take the word of the car dealer for it.

Car firm rapped over green claims

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  • 5 Comments on “Dealers may be tempted to overplay the green card”

    1. nigel

      Whats worse a Lambo that coveted and sits in the garage doing only 2000 miles a year or a mummy run 3.0 litre Volvo Estate that takes Tarquin and Cressida to the step of the class room every day rain or shine? Surely its all about how we use our cars rather than the cars themselves?

    2. Andreas

      There both as bad as each other??

    3. Mark Robbins

      I for one dont know of any children called Tarquin or Cressida, nor any mothers (sorry, mummys) in 3.0 litre Volvos, is it about cars or class? makes you wonder.

    4. carnut

      Tarquin and Cressida is frfom Viz ‘The Modern Parents’

    5. nigel

      Thats absolutely right carnut! I didn’t think anyone else remembered that!

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