Yoko Ono's green ride might be coming: get ready for the eco-Bentley

Filed under: Bentley, Frankfurt Motor Show

Remember how Yoko Ono asked the other day, "can someone make hybrid cars as comfortable as a Bentley, please?" This bit of news might perk her ears up.

Franz-Josef Paefgen, the head of the VW luxury brand Bentley, told the financial daily Handelsblatt in Frankfurt that his company is thinking how to make cars that are a bit more environmentally friendly and get closer to proposed EU limits on CO2 emissions.

"We are currently forming a view on the matter, for instance by talking to politicians in England," Paefgen told the Handelsblatt. "And when the view is complete, we will decide in spring 2008 what to do."

That's about as uncommitted an eco-statement as you can get, and a far cry from the company's announcement in March that it is considering making diesels and hybrids. The Bentley website says that the company recognizes that its cars can have an impact "on the local and global environment and that an effective management system is essential to maximise Bentley's contribution to environmental protection." The site also features seven principles the Bentley claims to follow while building its vehicles:

• Integrate environmental factors into business decisions
• Comply with all relevant environmental legislation, regulations and codes of practice that relate to the company's activities
• Continually improve the environmental performance of the Crewe site
• Show a demonstrable commitment to pollution prevention
• Develop and maintain the Bentley environmental management system in-line with international standards
• Promote ownership and control of environmental issues at the appropriate business level
• Optimise and efficiently use resources whilst maximising re-use and recycling opportunities

Fine words, but the company's cars, as few as there are, still only get mileage in the middle teens and emit CO2 like it's going out of style. Which, actually, it is, and Bentley is behind the curve.

Related:

• Yoko Ono says hybrids are not comfortable
• Bentley considering hybrids and diesels for next year's models

[Source: AFP]

 

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