Global warming and classic cars

[Polarsilver]

i agree classic cars are doomed from the "UK" roads into the future .. several reasons .. The Cost of Living making just the oldies having the ability to buy with their 25% Tax Free Pension Pot .. Younger people need to pay their bills so why would they want or need to buy a smokey old car when any spare money can be spent on a sunny holiday.. GOV; will put a stop to classics through taxation in regards to limiting the availability of wet fuel.. The only hope is synthetic fuel from the likes of Jim Radcliff but he like most of us is getting old .. Porsche put a lot into synthetic fuel but i see now they are going to produce seven types of EV Porsche Cars because they have to stop making proper engines .. Hope i am wrong as my Grandson wants my S when i kick the bucket so there is some hope for the future

[Pete]

The contribution that classic cars make to carbon emissions annually is infinitesimally tiny and I can’t see the classic owner ever needing to be concerned about their perception nor any legislation in our lifetimes, nor our kids’ to be honest! However, I can see the motorsport world coming under the spotlight at some point, at which point I’ll move to China and open a banger racing track.

[richardACS]

It will be altered by the simple expediancy of fuel not being made available.

Am I dreaming perhaps but weren't we at one time promised continuing supplies of leaded fuel at specific fuel stations?

My local BP garage has the "not available" hangers on the Unleaded E5 pumps for at least 8 months now, on asking when it will be available the reply being there's a leak in the system.

In the end does practicality wear away enthusiasm?

God forbid however that there should be any reasoned debate between the green and anti green lobby...

[Costafortune]

any spare money can be spent on a sunny holiday.

The way plane fares are going, that's a lot of spare money.

Fuel will be available, and there will be enough enthusiasm and £££ around for old cars.

Btw it's not global warming now but climate change. This country and old cars make sod all difference.

[JohnA]

The problem is there are too many people on the planet, the population is increasing with food and resources decreasing

[Exminiman]

The problem is there are too many people on the planet, the population is increasing with food and resources decreasing

Thats ok, will be able to shift some out to the moon soon - RR are working in a project to put Nuclear power on the Moon

https://www.space.com/rolls-royce-fundi ... -moon-base

[tcave]

i remember talking about this a long time ago( prior to electric cars) One guy compared classic cars to horses in that they will always be around only that not as many people will be able to afford them for pleasure.

[Peter Laidler]

I have spent the last year or so worrying myself stupid about global warning, flooding, death and pestilence, vegetable shortages and now, climate change.

Time for yet ANOTHER large glass of Scotch and a good book to read this evening I fear

[Spider]

I think there's just WAY too much of a knee jerk reaction in regards to cars in general, the pollution they make and the blind and bloody minded push towards EVs. In a few years, I can see some in that quarter waking up and realising that this will not have solved any problems only moved them about and likely made more.

[Polarsilver]

TCave has cracked the future outlook for classic cars using as comparison "Horses" they cost an Arm & Leg to own with all the Faff regards what goes in one end & comes out the other end + dealing with shit + stable to keep it in & the constant need for an expert to keep the beast maintained .. Yes just the same my Classic Cars .

[snoopy64]

I’ve spent most of this week in most of the UK heavy forging companies… my 998 is the least of the world’s problems!!

[Old English White]

Horses and classic cars! Yes, I agree. It's a good comparison

[hanlminiman]

Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner? I wonder how the current cyclists and environmentalists would have coped with all the horses manure in and around London, especially Fleet Street & Ludgate Hill. Good for the roses in St Paul's Churchyard though.

[apblake]

I think that by around 2035 no more gasoline powered cars will be produced. Then after another roughly 15 years the existing gasoline fleet will be worn out and retired. I’m also a believer that Elon Musk’s recently unveiled master plan 3 is roughly accurate and that by 2050 earth will be 100% sustainable. So in other words use of gasoline by 2050 will be almost nothing. Maybe 99% lower than today or 99.9% lower. At that point it makes me think that buying gas for a classic will be something like buying leaded race fuel in the United States today. You can get it, but you have to find a Sunoco that sells it in 5 gallon containers for $100 ($20/gallon). So buying gas will be very expensive and inconvenient.

The next big factor is self driving. At least in wealthy countries I believe that self driving cars will be a reality quite soon. Once that happens, anybody who can afford to buy a self driving car for their children will do so when they learn to “drive” because it will be orders of magnitude safer than driving yourself. Slowly, just as the majority of the population in the United States doesn’t know how to drive a stick shift, a huge proportion of the population won’t really know how to drive.

Put together the almost certain dramatic cost increase in driving a classic car (due to higher gas prices at the very least, not to mention any potential carbon use taxes/anti-pollution taxes like what already exists in London), with the inconvenience and difficulty of using a classic car (hard to get fuel and not only will you need to be able to drive a stick shift but you’ll have to know how to drive at all), and it’s hard to see how the hobby doesn’t shrink.

It seems like there will be a bifurcation in the existing classic car market. Demand shrinks and costs go up so the lower end cars go away. What survives are the higher end cars which continue to increase in value. Where that line gets drawn I have no idea.

[mk1coopers]

The above, apart from the sustainability part, which would be of benefit, all sounds very depressing.

Why can we not reach a point where the human race is having a negligible effect on the planet, then still maintain a large element of individuality and freedom of movement / choice rather than be increasingly controlled and taxed to further divide the population into the have and have nots.

I count myself very lucky to have the lifestyle I have, this has not been given to me, I’ve worked for it, I was recently called ‘privileged’, which I found quite offensive, so I politely explained to the person that where I am now was not where I started, which, for some reason, came as a surprise to the person making assumptions.

Unfortunately inequality is a issue, as is the attitudes of some that would rather take than contribute, however no one that has worked for what they have, be it for a goal that would appear ‘materialistic’ to others, or just to get to a point where they can live a life that suits their preferences, should feel guilty about having achieved that goal.

Let’s have a sustainable planet, where people still have opportunities and choices.

[Pete]

I wouldn’t take too much notice of Elon Musk, bit like listening to Pablo Escobar’s forecast for drug sales. Electrification isn’t even coming to most parts of the U.K. at any rate of knots whatsoever so his predictions for the rest of the world look ambitious at the very best, outa town in reality.
Meanwhile air travel is still hardly ever mentioned on the media, doesn’t suit them to talk about the elephant in the room, especially in the US where catching a plane is like catching a bus!

[Exminiman]

I think ICE engines in one form or another will be with us for a long time yet and in large numbers.

Maybe electrification in European cities or the US, but the rest of the World ?

Its just not practical or profitable, many countries still don't have reliable electricity sources or even water….

[apblake]

On the individuality component I would love for us to continue to be able to exercise our individual liberties with regards to cars and driving that we have today. But, I think even without any government interference we are likely to see most people give them up voluntarily.

At some point I think it’s possible that self driving will become like seat belts where eventually all new cars are required to have it and then in many places people will be required to use it. Even if the government doesn’t mandate it though, people will want it for the safety aspects. Even today it is 5x safer than driving yourself and that gap is going to just continue to widen. But, in the US at least historically nobody has said you can’t drive cars that were sold in the past (California being a notable exception) so I’m still totally fine to go drive a car that was built without seatbelts if I want to (even when seatbelts are required by law to be worn).

But, once you have a generation of people who see self driving as just inherently way more safe, people are going to be a lot less comfortable driving themselves in anything (people just won’t know how to do it).

[Pete]

Driverless cars? More chance of this catching on…

[Exminiman]

It’s really down to the insurance companies