Porsche scores an own goal

Ken Livingstone could not have wished for better publicity than Porsche’s threat to take legal action over the increases to the congestion charge for ‘gas guzzlers’. It is a spectacular own goal by the car company.
Obviously, its bosses thought the issue would will play well with the minority who own the car but most people will see it as self interested nonsense. Clearly, the company’s PR managers did not think through the issue.
First, the protest publicises a scheme which, largely, plays well to most Londoners who either do not use their car much in central London or drive a smaller one. Secondly, it highlights the fact that Porsche cars have a high fuel consumption and are expensive to run. The attempt to suggest that Porsche owners will pay thousands of pounds per tonne of carbon, compared with the official price of £70, simply makes no sense. Livingstone is trying to stop pollution in central London which is already heavily polluted and therefore drastic measures are needed.
If they had been cleverer, Porsche would simply have sat on its hands, or possibly shrugged it off arguing that its drivers could well afford the extra. Porsche is not for the poor – now how’s that for a slogan.

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