Sir, – Brian O’Brien’s letter concerning the Citroën 2CV (October 19th) raises an interesting question about the evolution of the motorcar.
The original 2CV, introduced in 1948, had just nine horsepower, weighed approximately half a ton and could carry four adults. The original Mini, introduced in 1959, had 34 horsepower and weighed approximately 650kg. Both were designed to provide practical, economical transport. Today’s Mini has more than four times the horsepower and weighs approximately twice as much as its ancestor.
Many modern SUVs weigh two tons or more and possess several hundred horsepower. Undoubtedly modern cars are safer and more comfortable, but have we made comparable advances in common sense?
According to the International Council on Clean Transportation, between 2001 and 2024 the average weight of cars sold in the EU increased by 22 per cent, while engine power increased by 56 per cent.
RM Block
The environmental consequences are considerable. In its Global EV Outlook 2023 report, the International Energy Agency estimates that manufacturing an electric SUV produces over 70 per cent more carbon emissions than manufacturing a small electric car. Larger vehicles also require more materials and energy to operate.
The motor industry has persuaded us that greater size, weight, power and acceleration represent progress.
From an environmental perspective much of this is simply extravagant wastage.
Perhaps the greatest achievement of the 2CV was not that it managed with nine horsepower, but that its designers understood that nine horsepower could be enough.
One wonders what they would make of a two-ton SUV, equipped with hundreds of horsepower, employed to transport a solitary 75kg motorist to the local gym – Yours, etc,
PAUL O’SHEA,
Planet Before Profit CLG,
Shankill,
Dublin 18.
