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Hundreds of thousands of New Zealand cars would be banned from roads in Europe and the United States, because they do not meet international emission standards.
The Herald on Sunday put five random vehicles through a new emissions test measuring vehicle exhaust for harmful pollutants, to see how they would stack up against standards in place overseas.
Three of the five vehicles - a 1996 Toyota Corolla, a 1995 Nissan Sentra and a 2000 Hyundai Accent - failed to reach even a "3 Star" rating, which is the equivalent of the benchmark used in Europe.
The two others, a 2004 Volkswagen LT 35 Camper and a 2004 Ford Focus, got a "5 Star" rating under a standard developed by Vehicle Testing New Zealand. The new standard is a pilot programme being run to test the emissions of campervan rental company Tourism Holdings Ltd's fleet of motorhomes.
THL wants to maintain all of its campervans at the "5 Star" level, to satisfy the demands of its European customers who are used to a much cleaner vehicle fleet.
VTNZ chief executive Mike Walsh admitted the tough "5 Star" rating would be unrealistic for most cars on New Zealand roads, which have an average age of 12 years.
The test, which uses specialised imported equipment, measures harmful gases. Diesel engine tests measure the amount of smoke output (particulates) and petrol engine tests measure unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide - but not carbon dioxide or nitrogen oxide.
Studies show that vehicles in Auckland emit three times the amount of hydrocarbons, and twice the amount of carbon monoxide and nitric oxide, than their US counterparts.
A survey out last week from another vehicle emissions testing company, Zero Emissions Limited, showed that 16 per cent of Kiwi petrol cars, and 7 per cent of our diesel vehicles would not pass European or North American standards.
"There is nothing clean and green about this place," company chairman Ian Brooks said. "Twice as many people die from vehicle emissions in Auckland as die from road accidents or passive smoking. Niwa says 400 New Zealanders a year die from illnesses related to emissions.
"Germany has been testing emissions for 25 years. We are just so far behind. You can't reduce your carbon footprint unless you are measuring it."
New Zealand has no mandatory emissions testing, aside from the visual exhaust smoke test introduced by the Government last year for warrant of fitness checks. Brooks described the test as "ludicrous". "Having a bloke saying 'I think that's pretty smoky mate' isn't a standard. When you tell international visitors we have a visual smoke test everybody laughs."
The Government is expected to decide on new emissions rules within a month. It's considering banning imports of cars made before 2002, but it is thought officials will recommend the ban be eased in the first year to cars made before 1998.
The used-car industry says the new rules will cause a dramatic slump in car sales. Even if the Government heeds advice from officials, the Independent Motor Vehicle Dealers Association expects sales next year to tumble to half their existing annual level of about 125,000 used imports.
Brooks said focusing on vehicle age alone was not sensible - it was the performance of a car that mattered. "We're finding even new vehicles fail [emissions tests] because mechanical equipment can fail at any stage."
VTNZ's Walsh said the first thing the Government needed to do was set an emissions standard.
"Many other countries have a mandatory test - we are out of step with the rest of the world. If the Government is really going to get behind our clean and green image they have to get behind a test programme."
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport told the Herald on Sunday that an emissions standard had been applied to all new vehicles in New Zealand since 2003 and it hoped to extend that to all imports coming into the country by the end of this year.
But the bulk of the nearly 3 million vehicles already in New Zealand are not subject to the standard.
The MoT shelved a plan to introduce emissions screening by late 2006, deciding it placed "too great a burden on motorists and the vehicle industry, without the requisite returns".
But Brooks said many motorists would be interested in emissions testing when they found out how much money could be saved with relatively cheap interventions, such as tuning and servicing and replacing spark plugs, air filters or oxygen sensors.
"Engines producing high emissions are running poorly," he said. "They waste fuel, and that could cost the owner anywhere from $500 to $2000 a year in extra petrol."
Testing vehicles
The Herald on Sunday put five random vehicles through the tough VTNZ test. Three of them failed to reach even the lesser 3 Star rating, the benchmark used in Europe.
1996 Toyota Corolla - FAILED
1995 Nissan Sentra - FAILED
2004 Volkswagen LT 35 Camper - PASSED, 5 Star
2004 Ford Focus - PASSED, 5 Star
2000 Hyundai Accent - FAILED
