Norway May Ban Sale Of Gasoline Powered Vehicles by 2015

The parliamentary transport groups in the governing Labour, Socialist Left and Center parties have aired the proposal, and the Transport Ministry is now working intensely to determine whether such a ban is possible, newspaper VG reports.

"This is not a problem to arrange. In Brazil over 80 percent of cars sold run on bio-ethanol. Most of the major car makers are banking on flexi-fuel," said Labor parliamentary transport committee representative Truls Wickstrøm.

"Such a ban would pressure the automobile industry into developing technology faster than it otherwise would," said Jenny Klinge, the Center Party representative on the transport committee.


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EnnNorak - 5/24/2007 12:55:00 PM

+1 Boost

Another example of civil servants going nuts! Simply hiking tax on gas for highway improvements would curb demand and would be a proper application of government fiscal policy that lets market forces do the rest. It is strange that the idea to ban gasoline powered cars should come from Norway, a country awash in oil revenue and so rich that they even declined to join the EU. I'm not sure if oil can be cracked economically in a way that leaves out the distillates that make up gasoline. Any chemical engineering car guys out there that can provide an answer?

Auto_expert - 5/24/2007 1:28:21 PM

-2 Boost

...and I thought the Dutch were nutty!

To any Norwegians out there - what percentage of the voting population supports this?

Lyall - 5/24/2007 2:03:12 PM

+6 Boost

Even in San Francisco where I live, on the narrow downtown streets you see two huge SUVs for every one car.
Sometimes I wonder about our country's addiction to oil... it is at the heart of every overseas blunder we make. Are we doomed to become the lumbering dinousaurs of old that couldn't get out of the way of the meteorite looming in the sky?
If only we could look for an example to small Norway (which incidentally consumes less than HALF the fuel annually that Los Angeles alone does). It's a sunny May afternoon in San Francisco and I'm wondering with a bit of a shiver- - what happens to a crack addict at the end of the road?

Wallerstein - 5/24/2007 2:16:42 PM

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Well, Norway has only got a population of 4,5 million and consuming less oil then L.A cant be that hard.

S4cabriofoxone - 5/24/2007 6:51:08 PM

+2 Boost

Very true... you just made me a bit scared, myself. It will be a long, laborious process for the U.S.

Wallerstein - 5/24/2007 2:14:33 PM

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Not really surprising when you consider the extremely high taxes they have on everything related to cars. That's the reason you never see any nice cars in norway. Only small normal cars with the smallest engine.
They have always had a hard attitude towards the car industry.
Since Norway, and also Denmark, doesn't have an own car manufacture they have over 100%tax on top of the car prices and then also a special HP tax.
The other Scandinavian country, Sweden, has only got normal (but still quite high) taxes on cars because it has got its own car industri.

jon21 - 5/24/2007 4:17:46 PM

-1 Boost

Yeaaah! More gas for me.

S4cabriofoxone - 5/24/2007 6:52:20 PM

0 Boost

Are you kidding?!

GTR35 - 5/24/2007 7:35:13 PM

+3 Boost

I'll give you some nasty GAS

tottibas - 5/25/2007 1:43:03 AM

0 Boost

Another fool.

no1listensanyway - 5/25/2007 3:10:35 AM

+3 Boost

The funny part about this is Norway's economy revolves around the huge amount of money they make from exporting natural gas and oil.

truckmen - 5/27/2007 5:41:28 AM

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Doesn't sound too logical to burn that bio fuel! Will there be enough for the nation? I like the example of that California guy with the solar panels that recharge his electric car. Zero carbon footprint and 100% renewable unlike bio fuels.