The future of classic cars
Discussion
rev-erend said:
The lyrics of a Rush song called Red Barchetta look likely to come true:
'My uncle has a country place
That no one knows about
He says it used to be a farm
Before the Motor Law
And now on Sundays I elude the eyes
And hop the turbine freight
To far outside the wire where my
White-haired uncle waits
Jump to the ground as the turbo slows
To cross the borderline
Run like the wind as excitement shivers
Up and down my spine
But down in his barn
My uncle preserved for me
An old machine
For fifty-odd years
To keep it as new
Has been his dearest dream
I strip away the old debris
That hides a shining car
A brilliant Red Barchetta
From a better vanished time
We'll fire up the willing engine
Responding with a roar
Tires spitting gravel
I commit my weekly crime
Wind
In my hair
Shifting and drifting
Mechanical music
Adrenaline surge
Well-oiled leather
Hot…'
Whether it turns out to be right or wrong, it's a great song from my favourite band.......'My uncle has a country place
That no one knows about
He says it used to be a farm
Before the Motor Law
And now on Sundays I elude the eyes
And hop the turbine freight
To far outside the wire where my
White-haired uncle waits
Jump to the ground as the turbo slows
To cross the borderline
Run like the wind as excitement shivers
Up and down my spine
But down in his barn
My uncle preserved for me
An old machine
For fifty-odd years
To keep it as new
Has been his dearest dream
I strip away the old debris
That hides a shining car
A brilliant Red Barchetta
From a better vanished time
We'll fire up the willing engine
Responding with a roar
Tires spitting gravel
I commit my weekly crime
Wind
In my hair
Shifting and drifting
Mechanical music
Adrenaline surge
Well-oiled leather
Hot…'
It’s illegal to store petrol at home. Guy in our village got busted during the Oil Crisis in the 70s for stockpiling his own supply in an old oil tank.
One question I have in this fossil fuel free world - is there an electric version of the Molotov cocktail or do we just throw batteries at each other ?
One question I have in this fossil fuel free world - is there an electric version of the Molotov cocktail or do we just throw batteries at each other ?
V41LEY said:
One question I have in this fossil fuel free world - is there an electric version of the Molotov cocktail or do we just throw batteries at each other ?
A hacked autonomous EV isn't just a Molotov cocktail, its an urban Exocet, who needs suicide bombers when an AV is a fully guide missile? And EV fires are a lot harder to put out than a milk bottle full of hydrocarbons. Given the acceleration of some of the EVs they'd be bloody effective at clearing away cordons and barricades too, even where there isn't much space for a run up. Welcome to a dystopian future.
Heaveho said:
rev-erend said:
The lyrics of a Rush song called Red Barchetta look likely to come true:
'My uncle has a country place
That no one knows about
He says it used to be a farm
Before the Motor Law
And now on Sundays I elude the eyes
And hop the turbine freight
To far outside the wire where my
White-haired uncle waits
Jump to the ground as the turbo slows
To cross the borderline
Run like the wind as excitement shivers
Up and down my spine
But down in his barn
My uncle preserved for me
An old machine
For fifty-odd years
To keep it as new
Has been his dearest dream
I strip away the old debris
That hides a shining car
A brilliant Red Barchetta
From a better vanished time
We'll fire up the willing engine
Responding with a roar
Tires spitting gravel
I commit my weekly crime
Wind
In my hair
Shifting and drifting
Mechanical music
Adrenaline surge
Well-oiled leather
Hot…'
The song is based on a story about an MG, a bit "schoolboy", but worth a read...'My uncle has a country place
That no one knows about
He says it used to be a farm
Before the Motor Law
And now on Sundays I elude the eyes
And hop the turbine freight
To far outside the wire where my
White-haired uncle waits
Jump to the ground as the turbo slows
To cross the borderline
Run like the wind as excitement shivers
Up and down my spine
But down in his barn
My uncle preserved for me
An old machine
For fifty-odd years
To keep it as new
Has been his dearest dream
I strip away the old debris
That hides a shining car
A brilliant Red Barchetta
From a better vanished time
We'll fire up the willing engine
Responding with a roar
Tires spitting gravel
I commit my weekly crime
Wind
In my hair
Shifting and drifting
Mechanical music
Adrenaline surge
Well-oiled leather
Hot…'
https://www.mgexp.com/article/a-nice-morning-drive...
Anyone care to predict the cost of a Kwh in 2035 when we're all plug our ev cars into the national grid?
I think all MP's should practice what they preach, no pollution by all their business class flights and big limos, they should all be given EV's to use on a daily basis.
Eon, Sse and N power will have us all in their pockets by 2035.
daviekiwi said:
Anyone care to predict the cost of a Kwh in 2035 when we're all plug our ev cars into the national grid?
I think all MP's should practice what they preach, no pollution by all their business class flights and big limos, they should all be given EV's to use on a daily basis.
Eon, Sse and N power will have us all in their pockets by 2035.
You mean when the government realise that they aren't getting all that lovely income stream from the the duty on the fuel, and the tax on the duty from the fuel and they have to start raising from somewhere else?I think all MP's should practice what they preach, no pollution by all their business class flights and big limos, they should all be given EV's to use on a daily basis.
Eon, Sse and N power will have us all in their pockets by 2035.
I thought the big problem was that there wasn't enough copper in the ground for us all to be charging EVs at the same time, so they need everyone on smart meters to control who draws how much current when. Least ways that's what I heard from people who claim to be involved in the power distribution business. What's the maximum current loading on a standard sub-station? I know the building I used to work in had 6 sub-stations just for our building and 11kV lines running around it.
a8hex said:
You mean when the government realise that they aren't getting all that lovely income stream from the the duty on the fuel, and the tax on the duty from the fuel and they have to start raising from somewhere else?
I thought the big problem was that there wasn't enough copper in the ground for us all to be charging EVs at the same time, so they need everyone on smart meters to control who draws how much current when. Least ways that's what I heard from people who claim to be involved in the power distribution business. What's the maximum current loading on a standard sub-station? I know the building I used to work in had 6 sub-stations just for our building and 11kV lines running around it.
If you put it like that, will the treasurey be whacking 28 billion of annual lost fuel duty on your Kwh? Probably?I thought the big problem was that there wasn't enough copper in the ground for us all to be charging EVs at the same time, so they need everyone on smart meters to control who draws how much current when. Least ways that's what I heard from people who claim to be involved in the power distribution business. What's the maximum current loading on a standard sub-station? I know the building I used to work in had 6 sub-stations just for our building and 11kV lines running around it.
Paraffin lamps anybody😂😂
daviekiwi said:
a8hex said:
You mean when the government realise that they aren't getting all that lovely income stream from the the duty on the fuel, and the tax on the duty from the fuel and they have to start raising from somewhere else?
I thought the big problem was that there wasn't enough copper in the ground for us all to be charging EVs at the same time, so they need everyone on smart meters to control who draws how much current when. Least ways that's what I heard from people who claim to be involved in the power distribution business. What's the maximum current loading on a standard sub-station? I know the building I used to work in had 6 sub-stations just for our building and 11kV lines running around it.
If you put it like that, will the treasurey be whacking 28 billion of annual lost fuel duty on your Kwh? Probably?I thought the big problem was that there wasn't enough copper in the ground for us all to be charging EVs at the same time, so they need everyone on smart meters to control who draws how much current when. Least ways that's what I heard from people who claim to be involved in the power distribution business. What's the maximum current loading on a standard sub-station? I know the building I used to work in had 6 sub-stations just for our building and 11kV lines running around it.
Which will further be used to drive more people to EV, as ICE owners will be paying 3 lots of taxation of fuel duty, VED and road pricing tax.
Imagine telling your grand kids in 2035 you drove to a 5 litre v8 gas guzzling car that wasn't on pcp and without a cat, running on leaded fuel to the pub without a seat belt and airbags and sat nav.
To eat a cow and chips, have a few pints and fags, and didn't a a mobile phone to post your dinner on social media?
To eat a cow and chips, have a few pints and fags, and didn't a a mobile phone to post your dinner on social media?
I get the feeling that most classics are bought by older people. Often people buy cars that were new when they were children.
For people who are currently middle aged or older (so probably have some cash to splash on a classic), the cars they had when growing up were relatively simple and mainly mechanical. Hence can in theory be maintained by hobby mechanics or kept on the road by specialists. I had a couple of early 911s and they were mechanically very simple cars.
New cars today are much more complicated eg hybrid drive trains and full of complex electronics. I am not sure such cars are going to be as easy to maintain in thirty or forty years, even if children today would want to keep them going. Therefore I think classic cars will diminish as a hobby as the current generation of middle to old age enthusiasts dies out.
For people who are currently middle aged or older (so probably have some cash to splash on a classic), the cars they had when growing up were relatively simple and mainly mechanical. Hence can in theory be maintained by hobby mechanics or kept on the road by specialists. I had a couple of early 911s and they were mechanically very simple cars.
New cars today are much more complicated eg hybrid drive trains and full of complex electronics. I am not sure such cars are going to be as easy to maintain in thirty or forty years, even if children today would want to keep them going. Therefore I think classic cars will diminish as a hobby as the current generation of middle to old age enthusiasts dies out.
aeropilot said:
It will done by road pricing.
Which will further be used to drive more people to EV, as ICE owners will be paying 3 lots of taxation of fuel duty, VED and road pricing tax.
There were discussions/speculation a couple of days ago (read on the Telegraph) that the "motorist" would be taxed in another way to cover the lost tax from petrol/diesel.Which will further be used to drive more people to EV, as ICE owners will be paying 3 lots of taxation of fuel duty, VED and road pricing tax.
So the person using an ICE car will be further burdened, effectively taxing them off the road.
As for the older cars being easy to maintain, many cars from the late 20th Century are "Classics" but are burdened with electronics which were fairly basic but also not known for their longevity. Many parts are simply no longer available.
Skyedriver said:
As for the older cars being easy to maintain, many cars from the late 20th Century are "Classics" but are burdened with electronics which were fairly basic but also not known for their longevity. Many parts are simply no longer available.
Its for that reason I wouldn't entertain owning a 'classic' that was designed/built much after 1980.At my age, I'm sure the 'classic car industry' will out live me......but my mate's son who has just turned 21, and been into 'old' cars since he started driving at 17 might not be so lucky.
aeropilot said:
Its for that reason I wouldn't entertain owning a 'classic' that was designed/built much after 1980.
At my age, I'm sure the 'classic car industry' will out live me......but my mate's son who has just turned 21, and been into 'old' cars since he started driving at 17 might not be so lucky.
And stuff that age suffers from lack of spares, parts need to be especially made unless it's a very popular car (ie MGB/TR/Ford although some Ford stuff from the 70's is hard to get).At my age, I'm sure the 'classic car industry' will out live me......but my mate's son who has just turned 21, and been into 'old' cars since he started driving at 17 might not be so lucky.
As for all ICE cars off the road by 2040, I'll be 87, too old to crawl underneath a rusting hulk (I'm that now!). Taxi!
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