One of the buzz-words of politicians is environment and all derivatives of this word.
I normally don't pay much attention to what they're saying, since it sort of gets old after a while, but people will often try to chat about all the good stuff they do if you are at a social gathering, and in those cases it is nice to have collected a few thoughts about what I do.
Some time ago I read that a study showed that the most environmentally friendly thing regarding cars was to drive an older car.
The new cars might use less fuel, but a lot of energy goes into producing the car, and a lot of raw materials as well. The funny thing is that I had actually used that reasoning earlier on but without the back up of an international study.
So this suddenly elevated me into being green and environmentally friendly.
Most of the time while at home I drive one of the Volvo Valps, and since they are both vintage cars, they are only required to go through MOT every 8 years.
This year I need to get the black one though MOT, so I started by assessing the state of the bodywork.
Not surprisingly, there is a bit of rust. Those of you who live in Arizona or California might never have heard about it, but rust it what happens to old cars to all of us that lives in a climate where the authorities sprinkle salt on the roads during the winter months.
The black Valp is a 1963 model, and was first abused in the Swedish Army by various hamfisted conscripts. Then by civilian rednecks and now finally by me.
After replacing a lot of rusted parts of the fenders, and a few other pieces of the body, I repaired a part of the frame and had the MOT inspection.
I don't really enjoy repairing rust on old cars, but it is still a satisfying thing to repair something and ensure that it can run for many more years.
In a couple of years, the green Volvo Valp will have to go through the MOT as well. That one still needs some welding, but both sides are OK, so basically it is only the front and the rear that still needs some work. I have earlier dedicated a couple of days in a home period for working on it, that way I don't feel like I am spending all my time welding and doing bodywork.
I saw on the news one day, that repair cafes were starting to gain popularity in Denmark, so perhaps there is a chance that it will again be normal to repair stuff instead of just mindlessly throwing it out and buying something new.
They can call that "environmentally friendly" or whatever they please, I just think it is perfectly normal to take care of the stuff that you have. (But I am as you know pretty old fashioned)
As you can see on the picture, the green Volvo Valp is still a hit with Gustav and his friends.
And I like to have a car that can handle having teenagers sitting on the roof without having to worry about scratches in the paint etc.
Ready to be driven to a party!
Right on Jonas!
ReplyDeletekeep them rolling.
Brgs
Bob and Rudy
Thanks Bob
DeleteIt takes a bit of work, but we need to keep those beauties on the road!
Besides it is one of the few cars where it is perfectly acceptable to place a wet and muddy Newfoundland dog on the front seat :-)
Brgds
Jonas
The best part is you can park them wherever you want!
ReplyDeleteNow that is true :-)
DeleteCheers
Jonas
New car are supposed to be environmentally friendlier but ... the manufacturer have been cheating with the norm ("diesel gate"). And they are full of unnecessary gadgets.
ReplyDeleteWe must all fight against "programmed obsolescence". Many things are simply impossible to open without breaking them. "Circular economy" is not the same as durable things and is only a lesser evil tan trow away.
Now in UE things must have a two year guarantee minimum. That is not enough for many things and we must require it to be seriously elongated.
Sylvain
Hi Sylvain
ReplyDeleteI know that new cars rarely get as good a mileage as the manufacturers claim, but they are still more economical in fuel consumption than those old Volvos. BUT back then cars were built to last, and to be fixable. I wont have problems with software updates or similar.
I think that you are right in that "circular economy" is just a smart expression that should lure people into thinking that all is good.
Consumerism like in buying and throwing away is really frightening I think, but with the very high costs of manual labour, it will sadly often be cheaper to buy something new compared to have something old repaired.
Many house appliances like e.g. washing machines have very expensive spare parts, so if you need to change a printed circuit board the price of the spare part and the technicians time will often lead to the the repair job might only be marginally cheaper than buying a new machine. And with the new machine you will have 2 years guarantee, so off course that is what people will choose.
Not all people are able to repair stuff themselves, and like you say often it is impossible to open an item without breaking it at the same time.
So I like to think that in keeping those old cars rolling - I am showing that there is another path than the one most often used.
Brgds
Jonas
This post really touches a nerve with me. I'm so frustrated with the "throw-away" culture in the U.S. I'm afraid that after my generation is gone, the next generation will have fallen hook, line and sinker for throw-away goods. What will become of the planet then? Good job on keeping the car running. My car is (only) 20 years old and I just put new tires on it, so I hope it will last a lot longer.
ReplyDeleteMatt
Hi Matt
ReplyDeleteI think that the best thing we can do is to try and be good examples for people that we know. But it is an uphill battle for sure.
20 years is still impressive for a car those days, and if the car works as it should - well then I don't really see why you should absolutely change it.
A thing that often makes me smile is whenever the talk is on the possibility of electronic hacking a car and thereby taking over the command of it. I would love to see how a hacker could do that when the only vital electric parts are a set of points, a spark coil and a distributor. :-)
Brgds
Jonas