There is every reason to believe that 99% of car adverts published in newspapers and magazines and on roadside hoardings in the European Union are illegal, because they fail to comply with European Directive 1999/94/EC, which stipulates that a vehicle’s fuel consumption and its CO₂ emissions must be "easy to read and no less prominent than the main part of the information provided in the [advert]".

Have a look for yourself: try to find this information on a car ad. If you look hard enough you will find it - displayed in tiny letters. Far less prominent than the "main part of the information", i.e. the advertising slogans. In practice, the fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions are virtually impossible to read without a magnifying glass!

In October 2007 the European Parliament recommended - by a large majority - "that a minimum of 20% of the space devoted to advertising should provide information on fuel economy and CO₂ emissions". If this recommendation were followed, a car advert would look like this:

European consumers have a right to know how much CO₂ is emitted by the cars that manufacturers are trying to sell them. To enable them to exercise this right, as laid down in European Directive 1999/94/EC, a coalition of European NGOs invite you to complain to your national self-regulatory advertising watchdog and to your Public Service in charge of enforcement of the law for the protection of consumers.

The procedure is simple, takes no more than five minutes and costs nothing:

1. Photograph or scan a car ad which does not clearly display the car’s CO₂ emissions (which is currently the case for 99% of car ads).

2. Fill in the complaint form and upload your scan or photo via this page.

3. Submit your complaint, then, if you feel like it, repeat the operation with another ad. NGOs undertake to follow up every complaint submitted via this site politically and take appropriate legal action at both national and European levels.