Sir - The Lord Mayor of Oxford should support BMW and carry the torch for green vehicles.
He would also be showing the way for the Government to make it possible for us all to move to greener private and service vehicles.
The answer is obvious: BMW has had hydrogen/dual fuel 7 Series cars since the 1970s.
The company has pioneered the dual fuel approach and is waiting for the political conditions to be right for the production of its larger models and later the Mini.
The key is the availability of fuel stations.
With the Cowley plant on our doorstep, I should have thought the city council could easily enable BMW to have the first Oxford hydrogen filling station to fuel the Lord Mayor's "flagship" car and and a new generation of Oxford buses in due course, and to encourage BMW to bring hydrogen Mini production to Cowley.
Hydrogen is a safer fuel than petrol because the vapour floats away rather than accumulating in drains and dips. The combustion product is water. It is easy to produce, too.
In green terms, it is streets ahead of any hybrid car. It is a win-win situation if council and BMW put their heads together in partnership, if not for this purchase, then for the next.
I understand the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has had a planning battle for his hydrogen bus filling station in the capital.
I am not connected with BMW. I follow green issues out of engineering interest.
I would like to see opinions from Newbury-based Thames Valley Energy Management, BMW, councillors Craig Simmons and Jean Fooks, and Andrew Smith MP on this topic.
I hope that council car procurement policy will not prevent the Lord Mayor making a ground-breaking step in the green direction.
Dave Beaver
Abingdon
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