2nd hand cars - the future

[Apache]

Watching the Toyota Pious advert just know I was struck by a thought (ok, doesn't happen often)

So the Pious is fuel efficient etc etc (though we know they're dirty to make and get rid of) but given the life and cost of the batteries is finite, and not that long at the moment, there will be virtually no 2nd hand value.

So, 5 years down the line, when you come to change your Pious to the latest and greatest lentil munching machine, who's going to want it? The cost of replacing the batteries will outweigh the value of the car. Therefore the only option will be to scrap it. I reckon manufacturers will offer some sort of buyback scheme in order to keep you brand-loyal, but the end result is scrapping.

How green is that? Currently, better engineered cars (Mercedes, BMW, Volvo... Toyota ) all attract reasonable 2nd hand prices, and surely as these cars have a 20 year or more lifespan, this is greener than crushing them and building a new one?

Given current (no pun intended) battery technology, these hybrids have a comparably very short life, which cannot be green by any stretch of the imagination. Therefore, why are we being encouraged to believe this type of car is the green option?

Oh, one day I'm sure it will be, but right now, it certainly is not.

[darkdezigns]

the very reason bmw have been making and using a hydrogen engine on the quiet as a prototype

[Apache]

N ow all they have to do is ensure it doesn't have the explosive power of (cue Tabloid Speak)seven Hiroshima bombs!

[cataclysm]

the explosive power of seven Hiroshima bombs!

Sounds more like the effects of Guiness...

[Chillitt]

the very reason bmw have been making and using a hydrogen engine on the quiet as a prototype

The Germans were getting on quite well with this, Berlin even has a few filling stations! I think their buses ran on it too. Oddly, the day Bush was elected, pretty much all the German research stopped dead... No idea why...

[nero279]

isn't there already something in the end of life vehicle directive that means the original vehicle manufacturers are now liable to cover the cost of depollution and recycling when a vehicle is scrapped. Certainly it's in there for vehicles produced after the directive came into force, but i think they also had to assume responsibility for older vehicles too.

[BUSHWHACKER]

It's gonna be like MadMax II soon, shooting each other for the last drops of fossil fuel.

[joker??]

sounds like fun

[Apache]

I've got a bigger gun than you.

Actually, despite this thing being real and in use, it does look badder than anything dreamed up by the Mad Max writers doesn't it?

[cataclysm]

Swweeeeet!
So, two standard forum questions:

- How many gallons per mile

- Will it run on Veg oil?



Edit: Just noticed the word "EXPERIMENTAL" down the side. That worries me in so many ways.

[Apache]

I took that photo at Yuma years ago - probably about 2003. She aint experimental anymore!

I dont know the fuel consumption figures - wasn't my area - but if you have to ask, you cant afford one

<edit> Same place, team pic



There's me standing, grey T-shirt, directly beneath the rotor head.

[div3r]

<edit> Same place, team pic



There's me standing, grey T-shirt, directly beneath the rotor head.

Arms folded?

[Leodis]

Was it the fat bloke on the left caused the ground to crack

[Apache]

but no.

Try 47 degree C summer temperatures.

[dieselboy]

N ow all they have to do is ensure it doesn't have the explosive power of (cue Tabloid Speak)seven Hiroshima bombs!

if my car did that everytime i opened the throttle i wouldnt be complaining!

seriously, why cant people in parliment/ power think this way? all they are doing is moving a problem to somewhere else. like catalytic converters. apparently the environmental cost of manufactuing them is more than what each car benefits on their lifespan on the vehicle. i dont know how true that is for smaller engines. but some bigger cars have 4 cats!

also did you mean the toyota prius?