Old cars and the future

[ogion]

G'day guys, I’ve been a bit worried lately.

I went down to my local car parts shop to get a part for my ZG the other day, when I found out that no one makes that part anymore. The old Scottish bloke was talking about some course or lecture that he did the other day about the future of cars and the direction that the country is going in relation to 240v bubbles.

He said it was scary as the future of cars (in the next 10 to 15 years) was an all seeing sensored car that can actually brake for you and has all this safety features that takes all the fun out of driving etc etc.

He reckons that everybody will have to have these stupid cars and we won’t be allowed to drive our old muscle anymore.

Any thoughts on this? Surly the government can't control the roads that much that collectors can't drive their old cars anymore, I'd imagine the insurance costs would sky rocket...............

[Nate_Dog]

No,
I'm pretty sure your local old scots running your local auto one or super ********** is well aware of current and future federal policy on a whole gamut of issues, including the automotive industries, their future, coming technologies and what have you.
In this instance i'd be treating his opinion as dogmatic to say the least....


Are you for real?

[Professor Farnsworth]

i think he may have just watched a movie marathon of Vanilla Sky and I Robot

mate take in info from various sources and use your noodle, make your own opinion ;)

yes one day most cars will be automated, no doubt. and yes the fun of driving will go, entirely, but my guess is it will be a lot longer than 10-15 years. I'd be guessing 30 or so. there are just too may variables to overcome

[JimNiki]

Matey, I see a bland politically correct future where everything we do must be clean and safe. Due to environmental reasons and safetly/insurance costs.

Can they easily "fix" us with our gas guzzlers by not allowing any "new" registrations of vehicles over you know ...1.2 litre engines or something. I can imagine that in the near future it will be:
VIC roads: I have no lap seat belts on my 65...no prob sir, you can continue to drive it "as is" since it is already registered. But you'll also need to pay a $2,000 pollution tax because of having a motor which uses more than bla bla bla grams of O2 per litre or whatever. Rego is at $3,000 because our heavy vehicles do a lot of damage to the roads, etc.. Mind you at this stage the petrol companies have cracked onto the game and now old smelly gas is at 5 bucks a litre because we need to continue to support the hobby car industry...

No new registrations will be accepted. So how long before all our classics and musclecars will become obsolete? 20 years? 50 years max! Let's not kid ourselves... The world is heading into a very boring time...

[ogion]

Spot on JimNiki, my point exactly, this is why I'm a bit worried.

[Iggypoppin']

If people don't restore the old muscle cars, there won't be enough left for anyone to care...
A sad thought, and hopefully more young people get into old cars and restos...

[SVD]

Originally Posted by Iggypoppin'

If people don't restore the old muscle cars, there won't be enough left for anyone to care...
A sad thought, and hopefully more young people get into old cars and restos...

agreed but as they get older and rustier the price just keeps going up! all the old X series falcons are know at unobtainable pricing for the younger generations, only way for a younger driver to become an owner of one is if it was owned by his father/relative!

even if they do tax the crap outta rego's i'd just stop paying and drive anyway, if it came time for a car chase, i'd love to see the 12v cop car keep up with a V8 or boosted 6!

[auxr]

Meh - hover board order is in.

[ogion]

What a boring expensive future indeed - lol to the "12v cop" vs "the last of the V8's".

[Mr Hardware]

they said this when japanese cars hit the market
they said this when cars got electronic ignition and injection
they said this when they went to unleaded
they said this when they went to hybrids
it never happened.

as far as i'm concerned, when FPV and HSV are doing pretty well sales wise during the GFC and high petrol prices, i'm not concerned.

[robbyg]

Originally Posted by JimNiki

Matey, I see a bland politically correct future where everything we do must be clean and safe. Due to environmental reasons and safetly/insurance costs.

Can they easily "fix" us with our gas guzzlers by not allowing any "new" registrations of vehicles over you know ...1.2 litre engines or something. I can imagine that in the near future it will be:
VIC roads: I have no lap seat belts on my 65...no prob sir, you can continue to drive it "as is" since it is already registered. But you'll also need to pay a $2,000 pollution tax because of having a motor which uses more than bla bla bla grams of O2 per litre or whatever. Rego is at $3,000 because our heavy vehicles do a lot of damage to the roads, etc.. Mind you at this stage the petrol companies have cracked onto the game and now old smelly gas is at 5 bucks a litre because we need to continue to support the hobby car industry...

No new registrations will be accepted. So how long before all our classics and musclecars will become obsolete? 20 years? 50 years max! Let's not kid ourselves... The world is heading into a very boring time...

This is also what i believe will happen to owners of older cars, you can still own and drive it, but pay for the privalege, and to be hounest if there is an area where revenue can be raised for governments, its only a matter of time, so enjoy it while we can i say.

[JimNiki]

even if they do tax the crap outta rego's i'd just stop paying and drive anyway, if it came time for a car chase, i'd love to see the 12v cop car keep up with a V8 or boosted 6!

HAHAHA ...too funny...

unless it's a special edition "Ford" interceptor!

With a 12V ...500KW DR FUSION unit! with special commemorative badging and decals of course...

[302 XC]

didnt tony longhurst say once the 5 litre touring car class would die
and the 2 litre class would reign ????
guess that didnt work
old cars and parts will rise according to supply and demand
20 years ago noone wanted xa/xb/xcs ect so all were scrapped
as xe/xf/ea/ebs are now
the more get scrapped the less "raw material" to source for parts
hence a price rise
looking at the "great" hybrid cars and their "great"road manners or lack there of
(arent a large majority being recalled)cant say ill be lining up to buy one soon

[big_landau]

to be honest i couldnt give a sheet.all my cars are undercover and if i have to i will fill the carbs up with degreaser and run em.i will keep my old cars as an ornament rather than throw em down the dump so the soft corks can eat me.

[JimNiki]

Originally Posted by big_landau

to be honest i couldnt give a sheet.all my cars are undercover and if i have to i will fill the carbs up with degreaser and run em.i will keep my old cars as an ornament rather than throw em down the dump so the soft corks can eat me.

too right man...
They'll have to pry my cold dead hand off my B&M mega shifter!

[Dodge]

some guys are looking a diesel conversions, there is a production of new parts for my xb, so im all good for my old age cruiser

[vanman_75]

i will convert to whatever the trend is to keep the old girl on the road ...its only got to see me out ,dont think the next generation will care too much .... it is inevitable but no need being naive about the future it will come sooner or later ... mmm turbo diesel conversion might be a way to kick start it ...

[vanman_75]

woops

[jpd80]

Some of us look to the future like performance is dead but guess what?
Modern car are heavier, safer, and more fuel efficient and generally
much faster than similar cars from 20 or 30 years ago....


Performance doesn't go away, it just changes direction...

[Franco Cozzo]

Don't be quick to dismiss technology, it wont take 30 years for electric cars to become mainstream or the technology to be there.

I forsee the manual gearbox being the first to get the flick, how many electric cars and hybrids do you see in manual? Which is a big shame, nothing like changing your own gears.

[uranium_death]

With the promise of the future, I shall embrace the promise of death.

I'd rather live today.

[aussie muscle]

How do the guys get on restoring old 1930s cars? there wouldnt' be many available for them! i agree that older cars won't be banned outright, unless the green party gets control of both houses (could happen!)

[auxr]

Originally Posted by uranium_death

With the promise of the future, I shall embrace the promise of death.

I'd rather live today.

^^ Couldn't agree more - I would rather enjoy the benefits of today's technology, the best performance machines are on tap right now - plenty of rare spare stores around for that old part - 10-15 years in the future is a rather long time to contemplate what type of vehicle I would be driving - the time to enjoy is right now.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by uranium_death

With the promise of the future, I shall embrace the promise of death.

I'd rather live today.

I've always followed the rule of living now.
I enjoyed V8 XA/B/C/D 25- 30 years ago
I enjoyed EB/D/F 10-15 years ago
I enjoyed BA/F 5 years ago.

Now I enjoy FG.

I wouldn't replace any of those times but to go back now and do a restoration on something 20-30 years old?
No thanks, these are the good old days......

[JimNiki]

Originally Posted by jpd80

I've always followed the rule of living now.
I enjoyed V8 XA/B/C/D 25- 30 years ago
I enjoyed EB/D/F 10-15 years ago
I enjoyed BA/F 5 years ago.

Now I enjoy FG.

I wouldn't replace any of those times but to go back now and do a restoration on something 20-30 years old?
No thanks, these are the good old days......

You will never ever be accused of being an old sentimental fool!
something about 40 year old musty vinyl which appeals to me! hehe

[onfire]

Jay Leno made an interesting point on Top Gear last night.

That like the horse, people will see the beauty in such cars after the introduction of the next generation of vehicles.

We already have pollution laws for cars built after certain dates. So I can't see the Government completely outlawing " older cars " .. just think, realistically how many 30+ year old cars are driven daily?

And if you saw the new Honda last night, realistically the future isn't bad.

[The Yeti]

Originally Posted by aussie muscle

How do the guys get on restoring old 1930s cars? there wouldnt' be many available for them! i agree that older cars won't be banned outright, unless the green party gets control of both houses (could happen!)

it's not hard, but you just cant walk in to Repco for all your bits

Ive oredered parts from all over the shop but generaly its not overly difficult and thats for the Chev if it were say a 32 ford I could buy it all at the milk bar

[The Yeti]

Originally Posted by ogion

I went down to my local car parts shop to get a part for my ZG the other day, when I found out that no one makes that part anymore. ..

what were you trying to buy?

Ive been to the local parts joint for parts for an EA and been told no longer availabile


I think the authoritys trying to rid the roads of old bangers (lets face it the pen pushing suits think an XY GT is an old bomb) is somthing we need to be mindful of but I hardly think the sky is falling

[OzJavelin]

Originally Posted by aussie muscle

How do the guys get on restoring old 1930s cars? there wouldnt' be many available for them! i agree that older cars won't be banned outright, unless the green party gets control of both houses (could happen!)

I've seen a lot of "restored" cars handbuilt from scratch. A lot of parts are just made by men in sheds with lathes.

Anything for an old car can be re-manufactured (even as a one-off) - at a cost.

I'd hope real enthusiasts will continue to adapt and keep older cars on the road.

[WinterBrothers]

I seen a thing the other day with Jay leno he has got it right I think These new fangdangled cars ie hybrids and the new honda one will be the future but thats good for us old car guys as it frees up the petrol for us to use in our big V8's I agree with him They will never get rid of collector cars to many rich people like him into it and they can influnce goverments and as was said above if the goverment can make money out if it they will