Say what you see…

You’ve got to feel for ACEA, the mouthpiece of the European car industry.

Its position on the forthcoming car CO2 regulation is beginning to sound as silly as Baghdad Bob’s camera-work during the defence of Iraq in 2003.

The tanks may not be rolling into Brussels, but while ACEA argues that CO2 emission targets are utterly unobtainable by 2012, low emission cars are rolling off production lines apace.

To recap the proposal: the European Commission says new cars should emit an average CO2 of 130 g/km by 2012. Manufacturers that fail to meet their targets will face big fines.

In the last fortnight, UK trade body SMMT described the troubled piece of legislation as the most important the motor industry has ever faced.

That much is probably true. But Brussels-based ACEA has pushed the message a whole lot further.

The targets are unfeasible, unrealistic and unacceptable. There must be a three year delay to the Regulation’s start, they argue.

Without it, the very future of car production in Europe is under threat.

Any of us with a vague knowledge of the new car market recognise how daft that position is. The stands in Paris are heaving with an ever-growing array of low-emission models.

Can’t afford the Eurostar fare? Turn to any newspaper for evidence of the contradiction between industry message and product action.

A Citroen ad claims 22 models with emissions of 120 g/km CO2 or less. That’s 10 g/km lower than the supposedly-unobtainable 2012 target and they’re all on sale today.

Think about all the other sub-120 g/km cars on the market, BlueMotion VWs, Efficient Dynamics Beemers and Eco Renaults for a start.

Maybe, the time has come for ACEA to stop taking their lead from the car industry and adopt a more ‘Roy Walker’ approach.

For God’s sake, start saying what we all see.