Will classic cars be banned one day soon?

The world is changing and the focus on climate change has never been stronger. The big fossil fuel polluters are under pressure to shift to greener / more renewable energy – from the way we heat our homes and of course the way we travel from A to B.

Here at Trade Classics we’re following legislation closely to see what likely impact government changes will mean for us; the classic enthusiast. Of course our big worry is that one day our vehicles may be confined to museums and art installations – that’s a real concern for the majority of us that are drivers first.

Of course our environment is the most important thing we have. Without it we just wouldn’t be here and we must protect its future. However, we are also worried that classic owners could be swept up in broad brush legislation that may bring an end to keeping the cars we love alive and thus preserving our automotive heritage.

But are we really a big problem?

Well no, we’re just a small percentage of the pie – to put it into context, there’s just over 32m cars on the UK roads and according to FBHVC’s recent analysis there are around 1.2m being registered as ‘historic vehicles’, however of that total the actual number in use is just over 0.9m, as around 0.3m are registered off the road.

So our community owns about 2.8% and remember we drive far fewer miles than the average ‘daily’ car. We spent most of our time tinkering and running to shows and of course spending money on them that’s great for the economy.

What I’m getting at here is we’re not really a threat to climate change. The powers at be need to focus on the big polluters first. There’s still no real green plan for aviation that’s a huge contributor and what about all these rockets going into space that need to burn fuel to do so!

Is government focusing on the right things?

As usual in politics we may all have different views and opinions. However, I’m personally worried that the government may make decisions that seriously impact our future as enthusiasts. We’ve seen this a little with the introduction of ULEZ. The borders are ever expanding out from city centres and classic owners are caught up in the exceptions. Surely considering the low amount of cars and importantly their low usage, then is that really the right decision?

Is electric really the future?

The big automotive brands are brainwashing consumers to move to electric but don’t seem to realise that a big part of that energy is made from non-renewable sources. Harry Metcalf made a fantastic video about electric power and I urge you to watch it if you haven’t already – click here. In my opinion we need to talk more about hydrogen as a proper future source of energy.

What can you do?

Right now we don’t know what the future holds for us as enthusiasts, however, what I can say is that here at Trade Classics we’re following this subject closely, and will keep you updated in our weekly newsletter when we get more information – just subscribe below to stay informed:

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Also the FBHVC (Federation of British Historic Vehicle Club) is fighting our corner. We urge you to join and support the work they do – click here.

The bottom line is that we need to stick together to stay fully informed and make sure the right decisions get taken, at the right time and most importantly on the right facts.

Adam
Chief Petrolhead / Trade Classics

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