Vehicle manufacturers have developed the 4-stroke engine to levels of cleanness and performance only dreamed of a few years ago.

From the start of 2001, all vehicles on the road must have engines that comply with a standard called Euro 3. In addition, legislation has been passed in the European Parliament for a method of continuously monitoring the exhaust gas emissions. This system is called E.O.B.D. It stands for European On Board Diagnosis. If your car has been registered since the start of this year, it has it. The aim of this equipment is to monitor the exhaust gases after they have been through the catalytic converter to ensure that they are clean enough. If the emissions are incorrect, a warning light will flag up on the dash to warn the driver that he has a problem. You must then have the fault rectified immediately. If you are subsequently stopped by one of the enforcement agencies, they will be able to interrogate your on-board computer and find out how long the fault has been there. It will not be possible to tell them that it came on ten minutes before if it didn't. Large fines and other terrible punishments have been promised (flogging, ritual dis-embowling etc) to any transgressors.