What does the future hold for us?

[King Nothing]

No one can deny it now, the world as we know it is changing. An energy and water crisis is descending upon us, accentuated by the presence of global warming. Whilst I believe that people as a society will adapt, it is the impact upon our hobby that I am worried about. There is a greater focus now on smaller cars with better fuel economy. Some celebrities think it is cool driving round in a Toyota prius, rather than a rip roaring v8, and this is starting to impact on the average person. Even George W has set out a mandate for improving the fuel economy of cars. GM has put the zeta platform on hold.

The 380 was a flop, the Aurion isn’t a total hit, the VE isn’t selling as expected and Falcon sales are continuing to fall (I think I remember hearing they are almost as bad as the AU). The corolla, ever popular, is even closer to global domination than ever before. Second hand prices of the damn things are ridiculous, my 04 futura cost as much as some people are asking for base model 2000 corollas.

There is more and more talk of electric powered cars, like the lancer evo whatchamacallit with electric drives in each wheel. BMW is investing in hydrogen. Toyota is already looking beyond the prius.

As an engineer who believes that we can attain greater sustainability, especially now with the greater push on preserving the environment, I am excited. The possibilities of the future are incredible. Hydrogen powered cars emitting only water. Efficient electric cars, with instant low down torque, recharged with minimal impact from more efficient and environmentally friendly forms of power generation. Recycling of many valuable materials, especially water. The things we talk about are all sustainable progress, which is fantastic for us all (especially us young ones who have to live in this world for a while yet!).

But as a car enthusiast, I am worried. What will happen to our big aussie rwds, powered by big 6’s and v8’s? I in all honesty can see them fading into the past, and soon. We will still have big cars, our culture and our landscape dictates that. But I am concerned about the soul of our cars. Personally, I find the idea of a worked clevo, mechanical injection, old school stuff, far more preferable to the clinical blandness of electrically powered performance cars. I look at cars from the 70’s and drool. I look at future concepts and more often than not am disappointed to say the least.

I guess I think we are sitting on a sort of revolution. We are like people who had horses back a century or so ago. They looked at the mechanical contraptions, as we look at hybrid technology. Some people were excited about the possibilities, but how often did people think it would never replace the horse and carriage? They thought that the graceful beauty of a horse was far superior to the clumsy, souless wooden carriages that went by themselves.

But I guess 100 years from now, when the last of our Orion falcons are either crushed and recycled to make prius mk 99's, or kept by collectors and put on display for little kids to wonder at, they will all think “How did they live back then?”

[4.9 EF Futura]

If you want a swift kick in the butt, watch the oil docos on SBS tonight.

Once we all understand what happens as oil production declines, we'll collectively realise something needs to be done now. Oh hang on... this is the human race, yeah? We're all scr***d

EDIT: PS Hydrogen is nothing more than an energy CARRIER!!! So much energy required for its production. False hope.

[NAK302]

the only way to prevent this so-called crisis, is for the human race to simply stop reproducing.

[King Nothing]

Originally Posted by 4.9 EF Futura

EDIT: PS Hydrogen is nothing more than an energy CARRIER!!! So much energy required for its production. False hope.

Yeah I know that *sigh*, such a pity. Imagine if we could have almost no environmental impact in the majority of our industries. The most abundant element in the universe, with so much energy to be used, but we can't get at it. But we will find a way. Unfortunatley I can see a lot of bad stuff happening in the poorest nations on earth so that western countries will keep their affluence. As much as people don't like it, it will happen.

[4.9 EF Futura]

Originally Posted by King Nothing

Yeah I know that *sigh*, such a pity. Imagine if we could have almost no environmental impact in the majority of our industries. The most abundant element in the universe, with so much energy to be used, but we can't get at it. But we will find a way. Unfortunatley I can see a lot of bad stuff happening in the poorest nations on earth so that western countries will keep their affluence. As much as people don't like it, it will happen.

Darwinism doesnt seem like such a great idea when the "lesser" species is merely a human from a different continent hey....

[GasoLane]

Is there anyone on here who can remember back to before the first Gulf war?
US "Oil Experts" were warning us that we were running out of oil and we were all doomed!

Originally Posted by King Nothing

But as a car enthusiast, I am worried. What will happen to our big aussie rwds, powered by big 6’s and

And also back then I think Ford cutback on V8 production
and GM chucked a V8 into a Torana.

History repeats itself?

[Thornie]

Originally Posted by GT-0733

the only way to prevent this so-called crisis, is for the human race to simply stop reproducing.

practise is always good.

[4.9 EF Futura]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

Is there anyone on here who can remember back to before the first Gulf war?
US "Oil Experts" were warning us that we were running out of oil and we were all doomed!


And also back then I think Ford cutback on V8 production
and GM chucked a V8 into a Torana.

History repeats itself?

The availability of the substance that makes the world go around, the substance that keeps market economies ticking over... that's a pretty big game of cards to be bluffing on!!

Remind me never to play poker against this guy!!

[Fordman1]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

Is there anyone on here who can remember back to before the first Gulf war?
US "Oil Experts" were warning us that we were running out of oil and we were all doomed!


And also back then I think Ford cutback on V8 production
and GM chucked a V8 into a Torana.

History repeats itself?

Ford dropped the V8 in 1984 (for XF).

V8 (LH) Torana was 1974.

1st Gulf war was 1991.

Google if you're not sure !!!!

[gozza]

The world changes.....Do you know what happened a million years ago? Was the Planets activities documented with accuracy if at all?

Yes there is merit to the oil crisis, but think back when the fears started becoming apparent. People on here were acting like Future see'ers claiming we would see 2.00 2.50 even by Christmas......What happened there?

[trick_xd]

Damn Good read
It really makes you think what is in store for us in the years to come.
I just hope that my kids and my grand kids or even there grand kids will have the chance to do in there teens as I did in mine .
I want my kids to be able to drive a Big V8 if they want to .. I want them to be able to go out camping and have a fire pit and a few drinks if they want to.
Most of all I want them to be able to do it while breathing fresh air and not through a oxygen tank or respirator.

[RSgerry]

Great post. Who knows whats in store? It may get to the stage where normal petrol is so expensive that people will only be able to buy it for their 'old' cars to take them out once a month. The rest of the time we will be puttering about in electric cars with no soul. I hope not, but oil is a finite resource, and we are consuming it at a rapid rate. Opinions vary on how much is left, but one thing is for sure, it will run out one day.

What amazes me is that in a country like Australia, more effort is not put into developing solar power (well, I can undertsand Melbourne :-) ). Especially in WA, we have an abundance of sunlight, the technology is there, it just need wome work.

[aussiblue]

I know I feel increasingly very guilty about owning 4 cars including a V8. I am seriously think about getting something green (Smart car or at least smaller economical car like an MX5) to use most of the time.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by aussiblue

I know I feel increasingly very guilty about owning 4 cars including a V8. I am seriously think about getting something green (Smart car or at least smaller economical car like an MX5) to use most of the time.

Keep the cars, go with LPG

[kempster1]

Power Generation from the wind is a major step in the correct direction...

[Tote]

I was listening to triplej this afternoon and I'm still fuming, I believe that there are a lot of vested interests in the global warming debate and they are not all on the oil companies and industries side.
We should be improving our sustainability by doing things like replacing incandescent lightbulbs with fluorescent ones etc but this is hardly likely to have much impact when the Aluminium smelter in Gladstone uses the equivalent output of a power station on it's own and runs 24 x 7.
From here: Http://www.environment.gov.au/soe/20...osphere-2.html
Australia's greenhouse gas emissions are increasing. Net emissions are estimated to have increased by 2.3 per cent to a total of 564.7 million tonnes (Mt) CO2-e from 1990 to 2004 (DEH 2006b). While this overall increase is partly a result of population increase, the per person contribution to Australia's greenhouse gas emissions has declined during 1990 to 2004-from 32.3 to 28.2 tonnes CO2-e. Emissions per dollar of gross domestic product (GDP) have also declined from 1.1 to 0.7 kilograms CO2-e per dollar of GDP (DEH 2006b).

We don't see that figure quoted very often in the media do we? We're actually getting better....no point in spoiling a good yarn though. As mentioned above we just need to stop breeding.

The other thing that is rarely mentioned is that the world is a changing place, the climate has changed radically in the past and will continue to do so in the future, Greenland was so named for its rich pastures which are currently under feet of snow, is it an issue if the site of New York is covered by a glacier, not for me as it is unlikely to occur in my lifetime. The middle east was a much wetter place 2000 years ago and the are cities in south America and the Indian subcontinent that were abandoned due to climate change.

Yes we all need to do our bit to reduce waste but the electricity consumed by the manufacture of a new prius would keep my house warm and bright for a very long time.

If the green lobby was serious they would concede that Nuclear energy is a possibility for generating the base electricity load in the medium term until better alternatives are found instead of hysterically pointing at Chernobyl as a possibility in Australia.

Maybe we should dam the Franklin river to generate green power, there are trade offs for any course of action that we as a society take.

When we have scholars trotted out by the media to convince us of a particular truth we need to remember poor old Galileo and the trouble he had convincing people that the world was round when it was the fashion to believe that it was flat

I refuse to feel guilty because I own a v8 because it has become fashionable to drive a hybrid car.

/rant

Regards,
Tote

[Outbackjack]

Reading through these comments keeps making me think of Roger Waters song "our last hurrah" off the Amused To Death cd..... :

Great song, great cd.

[[Tonko]]

Great post, slow day at work ey? but still, great post....
this is the middle ages as far as cars are concerned, There will never be another road-going supercar to take your breath away, eg. Phase falcs, older GT's etc...
Everything is run on numbers and restricted...dark days ahead....
Reminds me of a Quote from fight club...
"We are children of the middle ages, we have no great war, No great depression, our great war is a spiritual one, our great depression, is our lives"

[GXL078]

I think I will just go and buy a Hummer.

[King Nothing]

Originally Posted by TonkoXR8

Great post, slow day at work ey? but still, great post....

That easy to tell, hey?

As far as solar technology goes, at the stage it is at now it is not viable. People install solar panels on their roof to take less energy off of the grid to lessen their impact on the environment. But in order to start being of benefit, they need to be operating for 20 years! Only after that long has the energy and materials consumed in the manufacture of the panels been offset by the energy savings. So pray it doesn't hail!

Primary manufacturers are starting to turn their game around. A big steel manufacturer has just invested a fortune to try and cut their greenhouse emissions. Businesses are starting to feel the pressure from environmental changes. Only slightly, but it is there.

Either way the world (by that I mean our society) is in for big changes, and in a relatively short span of time. Lets hope it's for the better!