It seems that the European Union was not satisfied with the new rules that require decreasing CO2 emissions to 95 grams in 2020 and the mandatory tire labels, now they also want to reduce the noise produced by cars and trucks by 4 and 3 decibels, respectively.
According to the green and socialist groups, the noise produced by cars and trucks is annoying and has a major impact on public health. Personally, i think it is worse that the legislation does not make an exception for sports cars and does not refer to motorcycles that are generally noisier than other vehicles. Dutch Labour Party member, Judith Merkies, even said she is happy that there isn't an exception for sports cars, calling them the worst polluters, even if they represent a small percentage of vehicles that circulate on our roads.
These measures are especially bad, since most European car companies are going through great difficulties due to the economic crisis and therefore can not afford to invest in developing new technologies to comply with these much tighter rules. Rules that are much less tight in other markets, making it easier for automakers that operate in those areas.
The final vote will occur in March, 2013, and we hope that there are some changes made so as not to punish so harshly European companies or at least that the time to implement this new legislation is much larger.
Source: Autoblog.nl