Thread: Recycling vehicles

make it once make it last. if you get one vehicle and it lasts you a life time that has got to be better than having to buy/make 5/6

and if it gets better fuel economy than some of the new cars.......

Awhile ago on one of the Austar channels someone did a comparison of a new "green" hybrid car and a 70's (muslce) car. I don't recall any brands, but it worked out that you had to own and run the hybrid for over 20 years before all the factors broke even. This took into account the manufacturing of the hybrid using current known technology and the fact that the older car already existed (therefore no manufacturing component). The emmisions component was a very small part of the equation.

So there is a lot to be said for maintaining the older models. The average age of my vehicles (including the modern ones) is 37 (1973)

As said there was a docco done on this and the result was it was much better for the environment to keep and maintain or restore an older car than it was to buy a green car or even a newer more efficient car. It was also by some margin.
Then there were the environmental effects that hybrid and electric cars would have on the environment when they were scrapped and this made older vehicles and even more responsible choice. To dispose of these so called green cars when they reach the end of their usefull life is going to be nothing short of horendous and most people or green lobbies do not factor that in.
Most old cars once toast can be dispose of as scrap and recycled, not so the hybrids and electrics. There is quite an involved task to dispose of these.

While I have been contemplating replacing the D2a HSE with a different 4x4 as a tow vehicle I must admit my intention was always to keep the good old highly modded V8 D1 Mountain Goat.

Why?

I can't see how one can find a better vehicle for so few bucks that one can use for multiple purposes including going 4 wheel driving in places where just about no other 4x4 can go. Plus who is going to lose sleep at night if you scratch your D1's paint or dent a door or two having fun?

To be able to own such a great old versatile vehicle that can do all of these things as well as be a reasonably good back up daily driver if required for so little cost is reason enough to keep the old girl. If that is considered as recycling then I'm happy to be a recycler.

cheers,
Terry

think of the carbon emissions you are saving not buying a new car all the time, we should get bonus' every year off out tax for reducing carbon emissions.

This has come up before in another post, and still I have not been able to find the info I have on it, but if you have a look at the area where the hybrids battries are made, the fallout of chemicals from the plant has killed everything within a 50klm radius of it... You can't tell me that's enviromentally friendly. Also, the materials used to make them are shipped half way around the world to get there,, then back again as a unit.. What's it cost, fuel/energy/enviroment, to do all that??
I'll have another go at trying to find the info and post it up,,

Originally Posted by Chops

Also, the materials used to make them are shipped half way around the world to get there,, then back again as a unit.. What's it cost, fuel/energy/enviroment, to do all that??

I think you will find that energy use to ship stuff around the world is nearly negligable in the grander scheme of things. There is no more efficient means of mass transport known to man at this point in time than sea transport.

Originally Posted by BigJon

I think you will find that energy use to ship stuff around the world is nearly negligable in the grander scheme of things. There is no more efficient means of mass transport known to man at this point in time than sea transport.

Exactly, some of these giant supercharged oil burning ship engines are waaayyy more efficient (Approaching 90% VE IIRC)than any landlubbing modern car engine, in terms of Kw expended per tonne of cargo, etc etc. Even their emissions are very low comparatively.

JC