Derek Nicol
Well-known user
Just posted this in the drag racing thread but i think it deserves a thread of it own...
The sooner the UK fleet of 'going to the Supermarket/skool/work' runaround cars are replaced with electric cars the better.. once local air quality around schools and in inner cities improves and the Gov can boast about reduced CO2 we will be able to enjoy our classics without the accusing finger being pointed our way. The electric car will ultimately be the savior of classic V8's.
Classic car ownership and classic racing will continue, actually i think it will thrive and grow.
Obviously, if our rail network still used steam today it would be for the chop pronto and steam locos would be demonised like nothing else. Given that most of the network is either electric or being converted to electric nobody bats an eyelid at our Heritage railways and the rare mainline steam train. Are electric trains the spawn of satan?.. i dont think so.
I can see one of the age old arguments rearing its head already... how can you reduce CO2 if all youre doing is shifting the power generation to the oil/coal fired power station?.. that argument certainly had some merit some years back but the shift away from oil & coal has changed that significantly and will continue to do so. The difference is that you can change what powers the grid whereas a few million combustion engines will never be clean.
Another favorite argument is that making batteries is dirty business.. yes, of course it is, but do you really believe that its worse than oil extraction, transport, refining, more transport and the associated accidents that go with that?.. it isnt. A lot of studies used to discredit electric cars fail to factor in that lot (there is a huge amount of misinformation no doubt partly backed by oil companies and those auto makers still dragging their feet). The metals from a Lithium-ion battery that is past its sell by date can be recycled and reused in new batteries. Eventually we will get to a point where there will be no need to dig up these materials, a constant recycling industry will have developed.
How will the grid cope?.. better than now because 99% of electric car charging is done after midnight so you wont have to keep shutting down capacity at night and ramping it up in the day.
Will electric cars 'save the planet'?.. no, of course not.. the planet will look after itself without us arrogantly thinking we can save it.
A few years ago just before a Traction engine weekend, there were around ten steam engines towing caravans making their way up the A6, a wonderful sight. Sure, they were making a fair bit of smoke but in the greater scheme of things thats insignificant.. every time a Volcano decides to get a bit frisky the smoke from a few heritage engines pales into insignificance. If they can survive, so can we. Nobody will be bothered about a few classic V8 C8 Vettes on the road in another decade or two.
The electric car will ultimately be the savior of classic V8's... discuss (if you want) or ignore... up to you...
The sooner the UK fleet of 'going to the Supermarket/skool/work' runaround cars are replaced with electric cars the better.. once local air quality around schools and in inner cities improves and the Gov can boast about reduced CO2 we will be able to enjoy our classics without the accusing finger being pointed our way. The electric car will ultimately be the savior of classic V8's.
Classic car ownership and classic racing will continue, actually i think it will thrive and grow.
Obviously, if our rail network still used steam today it would be for the chop pronto and steam locos would be demonised like nothing else. Given that most of the network is either electric or being converted to electric nobody bats an eyelid at our Heritage railways and the rare mainline steam train. Are electric trains the spawn of satan?.. i dont think so.
I can see one of the age old arguments rearing its head already... how can you reduce CO2 if all youre doing is shifting the power generation to the oil/coal fired power station?.. that argument certainly had some merit some years back but the shift away from oil & coal has changed that significantly and will continue to do so. The difference is that you can change what powers the grid whereas a few million combustion engines will never be clean.
Another favorite argument is that making batteries is dirty business.. yes, of course it is, but do you really believe that its worse than oil extraction, transport, refining, more transport and the associated accidents that go with that?.. it isnt. A lot of studies used to discredit electric cars fail to factor in that lot (there is a huge amount of misinformation no doubt partly backed by oil companies and those auto makers still dragging their feet). The metals from a Lithium-ion battery that is past its sell by date can be recycled and reused in new batteries. Eventually we will get to a point where there will be no need to dig up these materials, a constant recycling industry will have developed.
How will the grid cope?.. better than now because 99% of electric car charging is done after midnight so you wont have to keep shutting down capacity at night and ramping it up in the day.
Will electric cars 'save the planet'?.. no, of course not.. the planet will look after itself without us arrogantly thinking we can save it.
A few years ago just before a Traction engine weekend, there were around ten steam engines towing caravans making their way up the A6, a wonderful sight. Sure, they were making a fair bit of smoke but in the greater scheme of things thats insignificant.. every time a Volcano decides to get a bit frisky the smoke from a few heritage engines pales into insignificance. If they can survive, so can we. Nobody will be bothered about a few classic V8 C8 Vettes on the road in another decade or two.
The electric car will ultimately be the savior of classic V8's... discuss (if you want) or ignore... up to you...
