Gather a bunch of Japanese car journalists or engineers together for a chat on the current state of the industry and you will hear heated debate about design, downsizing, performance, safety and maybe even fuel economy. But for some strange reason, few seem to talk about carbon dioxide (CO2). You know, that awful gas which is said to be responsible for global warming, and of which cars pump out one-quarter in total volume.
But go to a European car show, such as the Paris Auto Salon I covered last month, and that's all anyone is talking about. CO2 is the No. 1 issue, period.
Car magazines across Europe list CO2 levels of all of the cars they test, car company CEOs open their speeches with strategic aims for CO2 reductions and new car showrooms display CO2 readings of their cars. For the record, Japanese magazines and showrooms don't (yet). But more Japanese executives are realizing that CO2 is the flavor of the month and are starting to talk about it.