LONDON — Driving an SUV in Britain already has a certain stigma, thanks to a growing climate-change clamor. But now it’s set to become wildly expensive in addition to uncool. London mayor Ken Livingstone intends next year to triple the daily toll on driving in the city for gas guzzlers – or ‘Chelsea tractors’ as they are sniffily known – to $50 a day. He also plans to scrap a residents’ exemption, meaning that instead of paying about $350 annually, locals who drive cars over a certain engine size could be hit for $10,000. ‘This new charge will try to affect the choices people make in terms of the cars they are buying,’ says a spokesman for Mayor Livingstone. Indeed, amid a number of current and planned measures targeting gas guzzlers across Britain, sales of environmentally friendlier cars are rising dramatically. Figures provided by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), an industry association, show that more than 9,500 were sold in the first six months of 2007 – more than for the whole of 2006. ‘The market has doubled this year,’ says SMMT economics manager Matthew Croucher. ‘This is in response to a number […]