Wombat
New Member
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2003
- Messages
- 425
- Reaction score
- 16
- Points
- 0
- Age
- 59
- Location
- Bluff, Queensland
- Members Ride
- VX-II Lumina Sedan
OK, here's what I see happening over the next five to ten years with our beloved cars...
1: V8's will die. They have to...Holden for one is not facing reality by talking about a SEVEN LITER V8 as a possibility...does anyone honestly think oil is going to become magically half price from where it is now? The General should stick to developing a efficient twin-turbo Allytec V6 with a nice seven-speed auto behind it.
2: Much more strict environmental rules. Greenie idiots that can't see the difference between vast, sparsly populated Australia and New York at peak hour will push for this...expect a California-type yearly smog-test within I would guess five years? Without passing the test, you ain't driving nowhere buster! They have already tested a device that shines a light beam across the road, measures the exhaust output, and it is linked to a speed camera-type device that takes a photo of your car if it is above a certain level of pollution. This was a few years back in, I think, New South Wales. I would lay money on this one coming in sooner rather than later.
3: "Clunker Laws"...did you know that in a lot of places around the world, that old parts car you have in the back yard, if it is "clearly visible from a main road", it can be legally confiscated for the crusher from your property? As you watch your beloved old 350 Monaro that you were going to "do something with one day when you got the time" leave on the back of a tilt-tray for the crusher just because your nosey neighbor didn't like the old car sitting near his fenceline and called the environmental inspectors, just smile and know that you are doing your bit for the environment...
There is another linked law to this one which is in action in some US states and is being talked about in England...to keep a vehicle such as a parts car in your yard, it too must be fully registered...that's right, plates, sticker, and all, even if it is an empty rolling bodyshell sitting behind your shed...
4: The disappearance of wreckers yards. In England and Europe, thousands of wreckers yards had to close down...new environmental rules came in concerning contamination of the ground by oils and fluids from wrecks. They mandated that entire yards had to be concreted over, after the dirty soil was removed of course, and then a strict regime of draining all fluids from wrecks, removing recyclables, and paying for the clean disposal of the oils and fluids. This broke the back of small country wreckers were all the interesting stuff was tucked away, and most went to the crusher. I give local wreckers yards between five and ten years at the outside before it comes in here...
5: Mandatory fuel economy levels, if not personally set for drivers, then a minimum corporate "average" for a manufacturer's range of vehicles. This is handy because, if set low enough, can force a maker to produce piles of tiny fuel efficient cars, and very few larger polluting 6's and V8's. This is already in place in California. They also must produce a certain percentage of "Zero emmission" vehicles to be able to sell cars in that state...although we all know that there is no such thing as a zero-emmission car...and electric car merely shifts the exhaust from the car to the power station when you recharge it... :b:
This is the Biggy, and one I have a nasty suspicion may come in one day...
6: Regulated private vehicle usage. How many kilometers do you do a year? How about we set a maximum you are allowed to do each year, and you shall keep a log book (or maybe a manditory tachimeter) which will allow roadside inspections of the k's you are doing? Hey, you got a pushbike don't you?
...just close your eyes and think of how peachy-keen it will be for the environment... :bang:
1: V8's will die. They have to...Holden for one is not facing reality by talking about a SEVEN LITER V8 as a possibility...does anyone honestly think oil is going to become magically half price from where it is now? The General should stick to developing a efficient twin-turbo Allytec V6 with a nice seven-speed auto behind it.
2: Much more strict environmental rules. Greenie idiots that can't see the difference between vast, sparsly populated Australia and New York at peak hour will push for this...expect a California-type yearly smog-test within I would guess five years? Without passing the test, you ain't driving nowhere buster! They have already tested a device that shines a light beam across the road, measures the exhaust output, and it is linked to a speed camera-type device that takes a photo of your car if it is above a certain level of pollution. This was a few years back in, I think, New South Wales. I would lay money on this one coming in sooner rather than later.
3: "Clunker Laws"...did you know that in a lot of places around the world, that old parts car you have in the back yard, if it is "clearly visible from a main road", it can be legally confiscated for the crusher from your property? As you watch your beloved old 350 Monaro that you were going to "do something with one day when you got the time" leave on the back of a tilt-tray for the crusher just because your nosey neighbor didn't like the old car sitting near his fenceline and called the environmental inspectors, just smile and know that you are doing your bit for the environment...
There is another linked law to this one which is in action in some US states and is being talked about in England...to keep a vehicle such as a parts car in your yard, it too must be fully registered...that's right, plates, sticker, and all, even if it is an empty rolling bodyshell sitting behind your shed...
4: The disappearance of wreckers yards. In England and Europe, thousands of wreckers yards had to close down...new environmental rules came in concerning contamination of the ground by oils and fluids from wrecks. They mandated that entire yards had to be concreted over, after the dirty soil was removed of course, and then a strict regime of draining all fluids from wrecks, removing recyclables, and paying for the clean disposal of the oils and fluids. This broke the back of small country wreckers were all the interesting stuff was tucked away, and most went to the crusher. I give local wreckers yards between five and ten years at the outside before it comes in here...
5: Mandatory fuel economy levels, if not personally set for drivers, then a minimum corporate "average" for a manufacturer's range of vehicles. This is handy because, if set low enough, can force a maker to produce piles of tiny fuel efficient cars, and very few larger polluting 6's and V8's. This is already in place in California. They also must produce a certain percentage of "Zero emmission" vehicles to be able to sell cars in that state...although we all know that there is no such thing as a zero-emmission car...and electric car merely shifts the exhaust from the car to the power station when you recharge it... :b:
This is the Biggy, and one I have a nasty suspicion may come in one day...
6: Regulated private vehicle usage. How many kilometers do you do a year? How about we set a maximum you are allowed to do each year, and you shall keep a log book (or maybe a manditory tachimeter) which will allow roadside inspections of the k's you are doing? Hey, you got a pushbike don't you?
...just close your eyes and think of how peachy-keen it will be for the environment... :bang: