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  Porsche vs. Brussels: The Clash of Two Worldviews

Porsche vs. Brussels The Clash of Two Worldviews

By Erwin Koch

Part 2: 'Porsche Means Enjoyment of Life'

According to the IPCC experts the earth's temperature, if irreversible damage is to be avoided, cannot increase by more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century. But they fear that if nothing is done now, the world could face a temperature rise of 4 or, in the worst case, 6 degrees Celsius (10.8 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100.

"Porsche is prepared," Spiegel promises, "to do more than others, as long as Porsche remains Porsche."

In 1997, in Kyoto, the EU committed itself to reducing its emissions of carbon dioxide by 550 million tons by the year 2012. One year later, in 1998, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) pledged to do its part and voluntarily limit CO2 emissions in new cars to 140 grams per kilometer by 2008.

When the EU took another look at the numbers in 2004, average emissions had in fact been reduced -- from 186 grams to 163 grams per kilometer since 1995 -- but total CO2 emissions had increased significantly, because so many new and more powerful cars had been put on the roads in the interim.

"It is certainly possible that Porsche and a few others made their contribution to voluntary reductions as promised. But Porsche has a market share of 0.28 percent in Europe," says Hörmandinger who, at 31, decided to switch fields from theoretical solid state physics and quantum mechanics to environment technology, so that he could do something that he considered more meaningful.

'Can't Go on Like This'

Engine builder Spiegel tugs at his red tie. "We produce luxury, beauty on four wheels, and a world that no longer allows that is not my kind of world."

Porsche, Spiegel says reverently, is a legend. Porsche is emotion combined, at least when it comes to the famous Carrera, with a unique design that has remained almost unchanged for the past 40 years, together with excellent longitudinal dynamics, good cornering ability and an unparalleled sound -- the Porsche sound. Indeed, it is no secret that there is an entire department at Porsche that deals exclusively with transforming the mechanical sounds a Porsche emits on the road into a pleasing, powerful growl.

"Porsche means enjoyment of life," says Spiegel.

"It can't go on like this," says Hörmandinger.

"But we don't do this purely for our own enjoyment; we do it because this is what our customers want. Our customers are ordering the legend," says the man in Weissach.

"The planet has become smaller," says the man in Brussels.

On Dec. 19, 2007, after a dispute between the Commissioner for the Environment and the Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry, the European Commission released the reports prepared by Hörmandinger, of the Clean Air and Transport Unit within the General Directorate for Environment, and a handful of his colleagues. It was titled: "Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council: Setting emission performance standards for new passenger cars as part of the Community's integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles," document COM(2007) 856 final - 2007/0297 (COD).

Under the proposal, the carbon dioxide emissions of new cars are to be reduced, throughout the EU, to 130 grams per kilometer, as measured using a standardized testing procedure, by the year 2012.

The proposal also calls for eliminating another 10 grams with secondary measures, including better air-conditioning systems, improved powertrains, wheels with lower rolling resistance, adding biofuels to gasoline and the like. Manufacturers that fail to remain within their limits would be subject to monetary penalties, beginning with a €20 ($26) fine per vehicle and per gram of CO2 over the limit, increasing to €35 ($45) in 2013, €60 ($77) in 2014 and €95 ($122) in 2015. Responding to the report, Porsche management promptly announced: "If this measure is approved, we are finished."

Curves and Circles

"We need an effective deterrent," says Hörmandinger in his small office, the walls lined with statistics and charts of columns, curves and circles.

"Impossible, according to the laws of physics on this earth," repeats Mr. Spiegel, engine builder in Weissach, who bought his first car at 17, a two-seater Opel GT, before he had even earned his driver's license.

"Technically doable on the whole. But challenging," says Mr. Hörmandinger, the Brussels bureaucrat, who spent hours sitting at his computer to figure out how much carbon dioxide his own household produces.

When the Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft, a.k.a. Porsche, reviewed the EU commissioners' proposal, it calculated that it would be slapped with a fine of about €350-440 million ($448-563 million) for 2015 alone, depending on which improvements it manages to incorporate into its engines by then.

"We have an appreciation for our responsibility," says Spiegel.

"The draft legislation can only be effective," says Hörmandinger, "if it is cheaper for an automobile manufacturer to comply with the limit than pay a fine for noncompliance."

Hörmandinger's proposal triggered an outcry among politicians, who promptly conjured up the specter of economic war and a destructive campaign against the German automobile industry, especially since it would not be difficult for the Italian and French competition, which already specializes in smaller, fuel-efficient cars, to comply with the order from Brussels -- unlike Mercedes, BMW and Porsche.

Hörmandinger places his elbows onto his small table and says quietly: "Protesting loudly and quickly is part of the nature of things."

Not So Wonderful After All

In truth, he says, he understands the outcry coming from Germany, a country that defines itself to some degree by its big, fast and powerful cars, a country that has won the contest to determine who can build the most prestigious cars. Some of this outrage, Hörmandinger believes, is an expression of disappointment over having developed icons of social achievement that are coveted worldwide, only to hear Brussels' latest pronouncement: What you Germans are doing isn't so wonderful after all.

"The process of rethinking has just begun," he says.

After returning from the brink of economic ruin in the early 1990s, Porsche today is considered the world's most profitable carmaker. Porsche sells almost 100,000 vehicles a year, about five-sixths of them abroad. The company currently owns 35 percent of voting shares in the Volkswagen Group, a company 14 times its size. Porsche, intent on being a major player, seeks dominance and has no false pretenses. The words of its chairman are now legendary: "Coming around the corner, quick as lightning, taking the opponent by surprise and then disappearing in a flash -- that is Porsche."

Porsche, facing a calamity from Brussels, made it clear that it believes that the Commission's proposal is not neutral when it comes to competition. Moreover, the company said, the regulation is poorly suited to solving the problem, because cutting global emissions from passenger cars in half will have almost no effect on the worldwide rise in CO2 levels.

Hörmandinger says, quietly: "If we compare emissions from cars with total global greenhouse gas emissions, they may seem small. But the fact is that mankind will only be capable of reducing emissions of CO2 worldwide if the West takes a credible first step. That's the way it is!"

'Forget About the Rest'

In other words, says Hörmandinger, the West, which has grown rich by emitting with abandon, must demonstrate to China, India, Brazil and all other countries what it expects from them.

"Transportation is responsible for 24 percent of emissions in the EU. Of that amount, 80 percent stems from road traffic, and two thirds of that comes from cars. Twelve percent of carbon dioxide emissions in the EU comes from cars. Twelve percent! One of the biggest coherent groups of emitters! If we," says Hörmandinger, his voice growing louder, "if we do nothing, we might as well forget about the rest!"

Spiegel, in a quiet voice, says: "What else can I, as an engine builder, do when I've already done everything possible? I don't know how else to satisfy the demands from Brussels."

Porsche spends €500 ($640) to prevent a single ton of CO2 emissions, says Spiegel. In other areas, such as power plants, heating systems, and building insulation, preventing this single ton costs €20-30 ($26-38).

"It's unfair, what we see coming from Brussels," says Mr. Spiegel, running his hand across his head, in Building 60, Room 217 in Porsche Land. Spiegel, who is beginning to sound bitter, says that the rest of the automobile industry benefits from the work that Porsche does constantly: producing more efficient motors. And for that, he says, Porsche is now being punished. "When it comes to fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, we are among the best in the premium segment, and with some models we are the best."

Out of concern for sports car maker Porsche, with its 12,000 employees, the European Commission's proposal allows an automobile manufacturer that is unable to achieve the Brussels targets to fictitiously merge with another manufacturer that does better than the targets. In that case, the average of all emissions from both manufacturers' new vehicles would be the decisive figure.

Porsche promptly made it clear that this pooling option was not well-received in the company. Porsche would prefer being given a technically doable, though challenging reduction target, "in the interest of the environment and customers."

Sold Down the River

"Pooling," says Hörmandinger, "puts us where we want to be politically. We don't want to destroy the diversity of the European auto industry. Porsche should survive. We just want to bring down the emissions coming from all new cars on the EU's roads to an average of 130 grams."

"What am I supposed to do," asks Spiegel? "We are working intensively on hybrid engines. Hybrid engines are a combination of an electric and an internal combustion engine. But they aren't ready for serial production yet. What should we do? We introduced direct fuel injection in the Cayenne and the new sports car, as well as variable valve control. We have installed variable oil pumps in our engines, and we use highly sophisticated and expensive coatings in the engines to reduce friction."

Spiegel praises the Cayenne's eight-cylinder engine, calling it the absolute top of the line when it comes to mechanical efficiency, and the new Carrera, with its new engine and new high-performance, double-clutch transmission. This new Carrera, he says, achieves fuel efficiency levels of eight liters per 100 km (29 mpg) despite having more than 300 horsepower.

"We feel sold down the river by Brussels," says Mr. Spiegel, who hardly ever leaves his office before 7:30 p.m. and sometimes, constantly thinking about improvements, has trouble sleeping. During a recent vacation at the beach, his wife even threatened to throw his laptop into the water.

The financial crisis and resulting economic downturn will certainly not make things easier. And just the week before last, Greenpeace came out with an article claiming that the cars Porsche -- but also Audi and VW -- have been selling in recent years have become more harmful to the environment, in contrast to the products of BMW, Mercedes and Ford.

Hörmandinger says he is convinced that CO2 emissions can be reduced by at least 80 percent on earth without sacrificing quality of life. Basically, he says, the problem is a mental one.

"Mankind must learn to redefine quality of life. Nowadays, mankind behaves as if there were no distances anymore. People fly to Barcelona for a few euros to go shopping, eat beans from Cameroon and give each other roses from Ecuador. And they make it a human right to speed along a German Autobahn at 240 km/h (149 mph). I believe that mankind must regain an appreciation for distance," says Mr. Hörmandinger. Last December, when he was shaping his ideas into a proposal, he rarely left his small office on Avenue de Beaulieu before 2 a.m.

Every morning, both Dr. Günter Hörmandinger and Dr. Leo Spiegel, the environmental official and the engine builder, take their young sons by the hand and take them to school, a daily ritual that brings great joy to their lives. One in Brussels -- and one in Weissach. One in a Carrera -- and one on foot.

Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan