Hi All,
Was listen to the radio the other day (forget which station) and caught the tail end of a conversation about what steps we as the car using/buying public can do to reduce our emissions (so to speak!) and environmental impact.
In this conversation, a workman was praised for trading in his old van for a new one (a Transit Connect TDCI) and the gist was that the new van has much cleaner emissions and we should all be doing that as manufacturers have made big strides in cutting pollution.
All true, except this Guy (who was doing the praising of the workman) was from the SMMT which for me made me suddenly cynical and I thought well he would say that wouldnt he - not biting the hand that feeds and all that.
Okay, this got me thinking.
I always thought that its better to soldier on with an old car doing it up when it needs it than waste world energy/materials regardless of wether the old car chucks out more emissions because your'e saving the manufacturing process and everything from ore to finished car.
Using the above theory, If you only changed your car when absolutley necessary, then at least over your motoring life you might save the production of thee or four new cars even if you only buy secondhand (cos its a knock on thing).
However, being a petrol head and a classic car enthusiast (I have an Allegro- I know, I know), I then wondered is there such thing as a point in time where a car drops out of the used car cycle i.e unwanted/old >10 years nowadays/unfashionable that you could buy with a clear concience knowing that your purchase of it is not causing the knock on effect of someone buying a new one at the other end of the market?
I'm asking cos I fancy and want to justify in my mind a pre cat 4.0 Sovereign Jag over a brand spanking Focus which I conceivable should buy (If the man at the SMMT is to be believed).
Sorry if its rambling
Cheers,
David
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your choice depends on which two schools of thought you wish to follow.
The environmental well being of the UK, or the economic well being of the UK economy. In the short term the two are mutually exclusive.
From a motoring view point, if its in good nick, and you have the money/facilities to keep it that way, the Jag every time. If two are good enough for prescot, then one is fine for his flock.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Another justification, if you like, is that the early 4 litre XJ6 was more fuel-efficient than the smaller 2.9 offered at the same time. Unless you're doing very high mileage, "recycling" the big cat should have the lower environmental impact.
Given the same choice, I know what I'd have too, and it doesn't have a blue oval on it :-)
I recall seeing the figures at one time, which seemed to suggest that the environmental cost of building a car was so high relative to the fuel it used in its lifetime that you'd be better off running a full-size 4x4 as your only car rather than buying a 4x4 for occasional towing/off-road work and also buying a normal car for daily use. If I succeed in finding them again, I'll post the link.
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Go for the Jag!
It's been discussed on here many times - IIRC, the genral consenus was that keeping an older car is better for the environment than buying a new one. TVM is correct in that we are encouraged to buy new cars to keep the economics of the UK moving. In short the government need people to spend their money, so that factories can make stuff to sell, so they need to employ staff who need money to buy new stuff etc, etc. As the money moves around the government get to take a slice at every change of hands.
This is on the assumption that the older car is maintained to a decent standard. One great thing about older cars is that you get to drive something unique - when did you last see an allegro on the road? Most kids today wouldn't know what one is and I think some of them would even think it's cool.
My wife hates my (white) celica supra, but the kids next door think it's really cool because the headlights pop up!
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My wife hates my (white) celica supra, but the kids next door think it's really cool because the headlights pop up!
Get rid of it NOW...............sorry , her!
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It's certainly not everyones cup of tea and I've never liked to follow the crowd.
Funny thing is the more she nags me to get rid of it, the more I want to keep it....
On another note - is it possible to find out how many of particular type of car are on the road? I seem to recall that someone (possibly on this forum) managed to get some sort of report from the dvla.
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