I'm a little nervous about using the environmental word on here. I'm a petrol head through and through - the most obsessive i've ever met - first word was car, and have had caterhams, elises, e30 m3s, alpinas, e46 m3s as daily drivers. I now have a s4 v8 avant and a land rover defender (plus a couple of old classic BMWs tucked away). However, i'm involved at quite a high level professionally and academically in strategic environmental design on a large scale and and incredibly ashamed of my petrolhead tendencies... I always park around the corner from wherever anyone would see me, even hire crappy small cars occasionally to avoid being seen in mine. I've tried to be sensible - even bought a new 330d m sport touring trying to have the best of both worlds but ended up being even more ashamed of that as it was perceived as just naff and flash - and perceived even more negatively by clients etc than my v understated S4...! I'm a complete pathetic hypocrite - I live in a low energy house, work in an ecological/environmental sector, read the guardian, try to cycle everywhere, but... just am OBSESSED with cars around which I have TERRIBLE guilt!!! Does anyone else on this form have trouble reconciling their love of cars...? Anyone else give two hoots about the environment?

I offset my filth belching turbo car by being REALLY good at recycling

No.

There's only a finite amount of oil in the world.

It will all get used.

The environment does not care who uses it.

It might as well be me.

My Land Rover - 8mpg
My E38 728 - 21mpg
My wife's 330 - 24mpg

I wouldn't be surprised if the vast majority of your colleagues wouldn't have a clue what an S4 was. Its actually less overtly "sporty" than most of Audi's diesel range.

Its good to have a social conscience and to carefully consider ones actions and the impact they may have on others or the environment, but its not like you're driving a truck to the shops Chris Eubank style! I don't think you need to give yourself such a hard time.

Isn't the CO2 that man contributes to our atmosphere only 3% of total CO2 anyway?
So even if we halve our output as a planet, we will still on reduce atmospheric levels by 1.5%.
It's all bullst which is used very well to tax the st out of us. The UK might aswell do absolutely nothing, as long as China, not to mention America, do what they like with regards to 'pollution'.
Retards go on about Global Warming and give figures of how the planet has warmed in the past 50 years. They don't bother mentioning the difference in the planet which has occurred in the last 400+ million years.
It's literally a complete excuse for taxation - and to supply do gooding plebs with a non-job or pastime.

Doesn't bother me at all that I like high CO2 output cars.

I work in the ultimate low carbon energy generation industry. I think that clears my conscience.

Nuclear waste? What? What are you saying? Pfft, in years to come you'll find that irradiated effluent USEFUL!

Nice Viper!

I hope you don't mind, but I'm just going to pop this here for our guilt afflicted friend...

This is kind of related to something that's been annoying me. I have two bigger-engined cars (9 years and 21 years old) that I absolutely love, they are insured all the time, and taxed (extortionately in Ireland) for the periods of the year that they are taken out on the roads. My daily commute is done via public transport, and my total mileage for the last 12 months for the two of them was less than 3000 miles

However, I still seem to be branded a destroyer of the world by many people I've met. WTF? I have no interest in purchasing a new car or selling my ones anytime soon, so other than using a little bit of fuel (they do like a drink for those 3000miles ) and a few spare parts I'm not sure what I'm doing that's any worse than the vast majority of people in their new cars doing 12,000 miles pa

Hear hear.
Refer to my quote for the masses who swallowed labours 'education education education' bullish!t, went to uni, got some pishy, none classic, degree that wasn't worth the paper it was written on then opened the Guardian to find their particular non-job.

V12 is where it's at! Lol. I've got a lot of love when I see someone in a big car with a big engine. I think "good on you for being willing to go against the grain and put fuel in it!" or I just sigh with utter disappointment when I see it's a diesel.