In an article I read some time ago about particles, it said that particles are not all one size pm10's. They come in all sizes from PM1's upwards. It seems that the Eu has picked on PM10's as they are the most common size produced by diesels and what triggered that I imagine was someone seeing an old diesel engine under load pumping out clouds of black smoke. The good point of Pm10's is that they are large enough to be caught.

All engines produce particles, and in this article it said petrol cars produce more PM 5's these are half the size of Pm10's are more easily inhaled and most probably cause more health worries and there are no filters, so these are being pumped out into the air. Also lets not forget the Benzene in petrol engines. One of the most carsonagenic chemicals out there.

In America all petrol pumps are fitted with vent pipes to put the gasses back into the tank, but here in good old UK, the health and safety clan rely on the drivers breathing in the fumes, filtering them through your lungs and passing them out through the cheeks of your a---e. Any women reading this please do not take offense as I know it is only a few not the majority that suffer unlike men, from this slight touch of wind.

As diesels are getting cleaner, the technology is getting more complicated and pointing people to petrol cars that do not have any filters fitted (PM's).

If manufacturers are so comitted to low emissions how is it that I cannot buy a Ford Focus without air con ( uses 8% more fuel) and told by most enonomy drivers to turn off and it adds £500 to car. I have managed since 03 with a non air con fiesta if I get hot I open the window. The DPF's have an effect on fuel consumption so does Catalytic converters. The addition of the stop start system must put more stress on the battery and will most probably give it a shorter life span. Thus causing more polution in manufacturing a replacement. At present I still have the original Ford battery on my 03 fiesta, 8 years old and still going strong. We still have the original battery on our 01 picasso, (10 years). all I do is trickle charge them before the winter and in spring.

any comments

thank you for reading.