I think you're on the wrong ****ing board. This is home to traditional customs, not the 'Pimp my Prius' site.
Your premise has validity only if the "Global Warming Theory", now called "Rapid Climate Change Theory", has validity. It does not. Hotrods and customs and other motorsports will be enjoyed until there are no hotrods, customs or other motorsports to enjoy, OR no one left to enjoy them.
Personally I don't think it will ever happen in my life time so I don't worry about it. I would like to think that my grandchldren will be riding around in my car somday. BUT... If it comes to the point that there is no more gasoline. I will strap in an electric engine and keep on going like nothing ever happened. True, I love the smell of gas, oil and exhaust, But if that has to go away then I'll do what I have to do to keep my p***ion alive. As always I will forever refuse to drive anything newer than 1970 no matter what the cost. Whether it be a custom, a hot rod or a muscle car.
1st thought .... are you serious? 2nd thought ... is this spam data collection? Regardless... I'm all for saving the planet ... My answers: 1: Yes, all of these cars on the HAMB with open lakes pipes have converters hidden inside. 2: Gasoline won't be around forever ... hopefully as long as I'm alive. I'd like to run E85, but won't until it's more plentiful... but I want it cause it's high octane and I can run more compression ... and to help the farmers. 3: Fibergl*** - biodegradable plastic .... same thing when it comes to "vintage" ... I don't see why anyone running fibergl*** would have a problem - or why anyone who only runs steel would have one. Otherwise ... WHAT? I think you're asking in the wrong place...
Just an FYI, but steel is one of, if not THE, most recycled materials in the world. I cannot see how you could do better for the environment than using good old 100% recyclable steel for your car body. You'll notice that even now, with the MPG and emissions crunches currently going on, that nearly every car company still makes the bulk of their car bodies from steel. I don't think this will change in the near to mid range future.
My chevy can get 20 mpg, how bout a new chevy with the same size (3.8L) engine? 20 mpg city. I rest my case.
Hahahaha....Germ HATES us,,,,,,,,,but his WISDOM is appreciated by SOME of us..... I miss his BEATINGS,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
The cars I want to hotrod are always going to be made from steel...'cuz they've been made already...from steel.
Way to be ***holes, and as usual you have basically said nothing to support your argument. Just Blah Blah Blah. Anyways, I think that what we do in terms of traditional customs and hot rods is the very smallest portion of the problem. I don't think that these cars would be the same if you put eco friendly engines in them or used anything but steel to produce them. It is in those two components along with the way that they are built that the "SOUL" of a car lives. You cannot reproduce the sound and feel of an old car with the materials of today's standards. Today's cars are really sort of dead in the sense that they are only intended for a short life. So really we are doing eco friendly work by restoring and "recycling" the work of earlier eras. We use the same engine and parts that were made long before instead of supporting the production of new parts that create more waste. I think the pressure needs to be pressed upon bigger problems such as recycling products that are used by everyone. Computers are a big problem for us. We all upgrade every few years and it amounts to a great deal of waste. At least Apple is now using aluminum and low VOC plastics to produce their computers. Or what about things such a household cleaning products and interior paints? Those are things that I think need to be addressed and not just a small niche such as the hot rodding culture. It just does not make sense to focus on our hotrods when the problem really lies with the majority of daily driven cars. Do I think cars should have emmision standards? YES, but on newer cars only. I don't see the point in bothering the person who is driving the '78 Chevy C-10 or the guy that is riding around in the 1930 model A. But also if there is going to be emmision standards, there needs to be a compromise of how expensive these new cars are to fix. I mean I think more people would keep their cars for longer then two years if they knew they could maintain it for longer then that. It just seems easier to throw these new cars away and get a new one the rather trying to fix it. Could you imagine sixty years from now, people going to swap meets to find an 0-2 sensor so their car can p*** the emmision tests of that year? No way. most people will throw them away before they can give them problems. But without a doubt our cars would be nothing without the original materials and engineering. That is what makes them a hot rod. It is what gives them their soul. And the fact that they are still around 70 years later proves that sustainable engineering is not a new concept. It is one that needs to be reinforced with the products that are being used today. As for our techniques on how we build these cars? I am sure we could make improvements but again, we are the small factor in the big equation. It needs to come from the top to see real results. Traditional is Traditional PERIOD. There are no subs***utes for 40-80 years old steel bodied hot rods.
Imagination and creativity,which is how the whole thing started. ---------- During the first "energy crisis",in the early '70s, oil was $40 a barrel,and underpowered econo boxes got 23 mpg. 30+ years later,you can buy Cadillacs and Corvettes with 400+ hp from your dealer,and they get over 23 mpg while producing fewer emissions than the old 4 cyl. Oil is only double what it was then,most everything else has more than doubled.Some stuff has gone up 10X or more. ------------ The only thing certain in this life,is that it won't turn out the way you expected.
I will respond to your points in order. 1) A properly tuned and well running engine does not produce as much pollution as Al Gore would have you think it does. If gasoline suddenly becomes obsolete, convert to run alcohol, it's cleaner and produces more power anyway. 2) No need to go with electric or bio-diesel. See above about alcohol power. 3) The steel-not steel argument has been done to death. With the exception of a very small few, all of the cars talked about on this forum were originally steel bodied cars so this point doesn't even apply here. If you are wondering about cars of the future or the Toyota Celica the dip**** down the street has with the coffee can muffler hanging off the back, go ask him how he would feel if cars in the future were only made of plastic. I'm sure if he could tear himself away from his XBOX 360 long enough he would tell you he doesn't give a rats *** what car bodies are made of in the future.
Unkl Ian you are correct with the imagination and creativity part. We need more outside of the box thinking.
Lemmee see here..."kids, kids, kids"...that'd be about four generations from now (***uming you do not already have kids...and let's say for argumenative purposes...150 years. Do you really think those "kids" will want ancient conveyances like cars...??? 150 years from now, those kids will prolly look upon cars as most kids today look at Donkey Kong... "Drive"? What's that? Gasoline? What's that? I seriously don't think those kids will worry about "old cars"... R-
First of all, I think "global warming" is a bunch of hyped up pseudo scientific ********. They call it a "crisis" now. A crisis is something with immediate and dire consequences. Having the sea level rise a few inches in 150 years doesn't account for a crisis. Sea levels have been rising and falling for millions of years and the world somehow survived. Global temperatures have been rising and falling since the Earth began. Have you ever heard of ice ages where half of North America was covered in glaciers? I'd rather have a little global warming than another ice age. Sure, it's good to conserve oil and resources, but this hysteria about "the global warming crisis" is ridiculous. The rising cost of gas will put people into smaller cars that get better mileage, but that doesn't mean there needs to be an end to the whole car hobby. Most car hobbyists don't put 12,000 miles a year on some old V8. They're usually something they drive for fun on the weekends. A drop in the bucket compared to all the cars on the road. And most hotrodders take pride in keeping their cars tuned up right so they run pretty clean. Gas engines do not harm the ozone layer. They might put out CO2 and oxides of nitrogen in small amounts, but they don't hurt the ozone layer. CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) were what hurt the ozone layer, and most of those have been phased out of production, so the ozone layer is slowly recovering. Steel is one of the most recycled materials on Earth. Steel is not "eco-unfriendly". When they recycle cars, they often just burn all the plastic **** out of it because it's not worth their time to recycle a lot of the plastic. I can't see the gas engine being replaced anytime soon by anything else out there. These blowhards that think an electric car is the answer are full of ****, because the power to generate the electricity to charge up the electric cars usually comes from natural gas. The power transmission lines between the power generator and your house lose a lot of that power as heat through the resistance in the wire. It's more economical in the long run to burn the gas in your car than to burn it hundreds of miles away and send it through wires to your house. The main thing that's going to wreck the car hobby is a bunch of ignorant politicians making decisions about stuff they don't know anything about. Meanwhile they fly around in jumbo jets daily, burning up more fuel than I'll burn in a lifetime of hotrodding.
Let's see in a 150 years from now given the rate of progress the world has undergone I don't think cars will be driven, they still will be with us much like when we go to some museam and marvel at how things were done before our time. If your a hopeful person, we may be running around like the jetsons in our space cars, if your more like me you will believe that the world has destroyed itself because of the numerous idiots running around now trying to create global destruction. Most likely somewhere in the middle, the central government that now controls everyone has determined that we no longer need cars because the internet has evolved of course because of Al Gore has found a way to deliver anything you want to your door or space dock. Therefore there will be no need to travel. 150 years from now **** I have a hard enough time trying to get through the week.
Better sell off parts and cars right now while you can, there is no future. Come to think of it as I get older my junk won't work anymore and my wife's breasts will be to the floor, so I might as well quit right now, it looks bleak. Seriously, there may be changes future-wise concerning autos as we know them, but it's not all that dire. Creativity and imagination will prevail. I am heartened by the fact that I see my 21 year old son drive by my house nearly everyday in his 63 1/2 Galaxie. Evidently I taught him well as my father taught me so things will carry on. Traditional Hot Rods and Customs will be appreciated for many years to come.
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