Climate Change

Climate Change and global warming are big news for all car manufacturers at the moment, with engine efficiency, hybrids and electric engines all being top priority for any new car. But just how much will it change the industry? Will car enthusiasts, amateur motor sports and fans of classic cars and sports cars be looked at as ‘evil’ people because of the effect there hobby has on the environment? could people just be completely banned from owning anything other than a brand new Prius? This would never happen outright, but that doesn’t stop the government bringing in tighter and tighter regulations and rules, which will eventually leave only the very hardcore enthusiast (or richest..) with the ability to legally keep his  or her car on the road. The Ace keep an eye on everything happening about things like this, which is very helpful and it provides an organised front to present to the government and let them hear our voices. I really hope everyone who  has an interest in cars checks them out.

Lets not forget by driving and using old cars you would be recycling, the government wants you to recycle everything you possibly can….except cars by the looks of it! Do not get me started on the whole scrappage scheme fiasco! Everyone seems to think electric cars are a new invention as well, people really should read up on the first ever cars and how they moved. This is not to say I am against new technology though, anything that pushes the industry in new and exciting ways is always a good thing, I just hope the new breed of cars and the old can live in harmony. If I choose to use my quarter century old car for the foreseeable future I sincerely hope I’m allowed to without it being a constant struggle with rules and regulations.

If I did choose to get a second car and I didn’t want to buy a diesel people carrier, or whatever other mundane catastrophe the man at the showroom told me was best for the environment, what choices would I have?

First off would be the Hybrid, the most famous being the Toyota Prius, these cars have a normal petrol engine but they also have an electric engine, which cuts in instead of the petrol engine when going slow or braking etc. It is a very clever design but really just one thing annoys me about them, take a look at the types of hybrid cars around at the moment.

What do they all have in common? They’re all so damn ugly! The only reason anybody wants to drive something that looks like that is so they can have the satisfaction of thinking they are better than everyone else in there polluting petrol or diesel engine. It is getting a bit better though with normal cars being offered with hybrid engines alongside the normal petrol or diesel options.

The second choice available is the electric car. As well as the awful G wiz there are some quite interesting electric cars around and with battery technology getting better all the time, they really could be viable as a normal car soon. The Tesla Roadster is undoubtedly the coolest available. With 2oo lb ft of torque from 0 rpm and a redline of 14,000 rpm it shifts like a true sports car and does it all without contributing to climate change in quite the same way as a Lamborghini probably does! You just have to look at the thing to realise this is a cut above the normal ‘environmentally friendly’ cars

Of course you still have to charge electric cars and only a very small amount of electricity is made by sustainable sources, so they are still not exactly good for the environment. Therefore Hydrogen cars are probably the most realistic type of car to eventually take over from the normal combustion engine. They still use electric engines but they have there own mini hydrogen power plant on board and can produce a very clean running car.

Whatever happens in the future though, I will only start getting interested when they start making hover cars like we were promised in so many futuristic films.