ECO CLASSICS

Motoring

Actuarius takes on the mighty topic of climate change, arguing that opting for a vintage car will actually help rather than hinder the planet

Once you start looking into the ecological viability of different types of car, the first thing you will find is a total lack of complete, reliable and unbiased data. It is because of this that we must navigate our own way through the subject matter, the first step being to establish the core problems:

1. There is an airborne pollution problem in cities where a significant contributor is vehicle exhaust emissions (local). 2. Vehicle exhaust emissions are a significant contributor to climate change (global). 3. Buying a new car brings with it a cost to the environment (cultural).

“A new set of pistons and rings every 30 years or so, a new set of leather coverings for the seats every 50 years, sundry parts on a year-by-year basis: how long would keeping an old car going take to match the total carbon footprint of buying a completely new car?”

A classic MG BGT, yours for only £5,000-£10,000

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

From this and with a little knowledge, some common sense questions can be asked and theories with some basis in fact expounded. Whatever your view on the way forward may be, the least controversial (albeit still not entirely accepted) statement is ‘something must be done.’ So far so easy, but now we come to the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’, and that’s where it all starts getting a little shady. You may be wondering if the paperboy has delivered Popular Mechanics by mistake but stick with me because, by default, the readers of The Chap may just hold the key to the future.

It doubtful that a single solution can be found for all of the above, a view that sits at odds with electric vehicles being currently promoted as a general panacea for climate change. While electric cars certainly help the problem, we should take a step back and consider how effectively to move around cities. Public Transport still remains a convenient and locally ecologically sound principle. A bicycle provides an even simpler and cheaper solution. This doesn’t mean that you cannot own a car in a city, or that it has to be electric; you simply have to make the most of whatever opportunities exist to avoid using it when you don’t really have to.

Assuming that we want generally to retain the personal freedom that cars bring to longer journeys, finding the best solution to the global problem is inherently linked to the cultural problem. In order to establish and compare their carbon footprints, we need to understand the complete ‘cradle to grave’ impact for the various available vehicles. That’s the mining and shipping of raw materials, their refinement, the total energy needed to form them into useable components, the amenities needed by the factory, energy used for assembly, the maintenance, spare parts required during the car’s life and finally disassembly, scrapping and disposal. Then there’s the fuel and power required to generate all of the above – it is little wonder there’s no definitive answer out there.

The Rover P5, more than just a pretty object in a field, but be prepared for the extra effort of driving

THE ADVANTAGES OF A CLASSIC CAR

Given how confounding this all is, a more valid strategy could be to approach it from the opposite direction. The latest petrol engines are more efficient than they’ve ever been, but whether petrol or electric, manufacturing and supplying a new car accounts for a lot of damage to the environment. Especially when you consider additional consequences like an old car somewhere at the other end of the chain being scrapped, as it is no longer required. Even with their inherently outdated technology, you have to wonder if it’s in fact better simply to keep old cars going. A new set of pistons and rings every 30 years or so, a new set of leather coverings for the seats every 50 years, sundry parts on a year-by-year basis: how long would keeping an old car going take to match the total carbon footprint of someone buying a completely new car? Of course older cars don’t have modern driver aids, they are prone to leaking (rainwater in and oil out) and they do not have the crash structure and safety features of a modern car.

Keeping the rust at bay is a continual quest and you may need to develop some basic mechanic skills yourself. What you get in return is a level of engagement, class and style that’s difficult to find in any of today’s automobiles. Low slung coupés or square-rigged saloons, antique sports cars or former bank manager limos; due to the breadth and vagaries of the market, it’s relatively easy to find something to like in your price range. A tidy Triumph Spitfire will cost you £6k, an equally nifty Rover P5 £10k. You do have to actually drive such cars; you cannot simply press the pedal and vaguely guide your classic along while chatting on

“Some classic car drivers are going off a bit prematurely and already converting internal combustion-powered classics to electric. The mechanical and sensory elements of these cars are an intrinsic part of ownership and losing them removes a significant part of the driving experience”

The functional and luxuriantly carpeted interior of a Vauxhall Chevette

the in-built telephone, but the overall experience is invariably a treat. My MG BGT always makes me smile with its wood-rim steering wheel, chrome bezel instruments and view down the long bonnet. As does my Vauxhall Chevette, with its plethora of gauges, busy rally car urgency and exhilarating engine noise. You tend to find other road users respond favourably too. Although the cars mentioned are what we conventionally think of as being ‘classics’, there’s no compulsion to be quite so hardcore. At the time of writing, a rust-free, ‘drives like new’ 1993 Mercedes 190E can be had for the princely sum of £2,990. With that you get German build quality, most modern amenities and the warm glow of knowing that you’re helping to save the planet by eroding the culture of rampant consumerism.

One concern regularly raised to try to cause unrest is the spectre of the withdrawal of petrol. While none of us know what lies ahead, the chances of having nothing to put in our fuel tanks is minimal; the classic car and historic racing scene is far too big and lucrative. The only questions are how easy it will it be to get hold of and how much it will cost. Some classic car drivers are going off a bit prematurely and already converting internal combustion powered classics to electric, a process that makes absolutely no sense to me. The mechanical and sensory elements of these cars are an intrinsic part of ownership, and losing them removes a significant part of the driving experience. You are taking an outdated vehicle designed around the needs of an internal combustion engine and installing radically different technology, to create something that will be not only quickly become outdated but also inherently compromised.

What else do we need to consider to understand the overall environmental impact of converting classic cars to EVs? A working or repairable motor, transmission, fuel tank, etc will have been removed and either stored or scrapped. New batteries, motor and controller along with ancillaries like cables will be made for the electrified classic, all with their own individual cradle-to-grave footprints. And all that that is even before we get to the eye watering cost of conversion. If you want a car that looks like a classic but is powered by

The Mercedes-Benz 190E, German-build quality for under £5,000

electricity, you’d be far better off mounting a body that is superficially identical to a classic car on a new, bare platform designed for electric propulsion to modern safety standards.

So if you’re serious about saving the planet without living the life of an eco-obsessive hermit, buy an old bike for local journeys and an old car for further afield. Keep them going and only buy replacements if you absolutely have to, then look for something else that is old. You will find the whole experience more enjoyable and, best of all, you can smile the smug smile of someone who really is helping to save the planet.

When it comes to climate change, cars are always focused on, but they are only one of many consumables that we should be considering. If we’re serious about this, then every aspect of our lives should be looked at in the same way. For all goods, especially electronics, don’t buy something new if you don’t have to. If you absolutely must, try to obtain a second-hand replacement.

And finally, how, as I stated at the outset, do you hold the key to this? If I’m correct in my assumptions about The Chap readership, then I’d suggest you simply look around and see how much of what you own is new, compared to what was bought second-hand, vintage or antique, and what has been lovingly kept and restored. I’ll wager there is a lot more than simply the car in your garage. n

Is this truly the future of classic cars?