What are you driving in 2030?

[jez1272gt]

mk5 golf gti...
coz it'll be old skool then..

These days cars arent built like they were in the late 80's and 90's. Back then they were built to last and be servicable when something went wrong. Now cars are being built to be servicable for approximately six years or 100,000 miles, the last decade has seen the throw away society boom! I can garantee that there wont be many 2008 plate cars knocking around in 20 years time like there are 20 year old dubs these days!

[hardchargin40]

I blame America, their cars dont last long and aren't designed to.  Our Rental MPVs are fairly new but always have bits falling off them.  To see the state of older cars though out there is a joke!  I remember when wither top gear or 5th Gear did a test on a 1996 USA car and a british one, the yank one was totally foobarred and falling to pieces, the brit one, still going good!



What will I be driving?  Hopefully something Lotus!

[supercharged spaniel]

I disagree about the throw away society thing and cars.  Don't get me wrong here I'm not denying we live in a throw away society, i teach about the bastard but I think it's the mind set of society and the people within it rather than the product.  The quality of paint work, chassis' and rust protection is far superior to that of 80-90's cars so that alone will see many cars live much longer than you'd expect.  Mechanicals wise, well that just depends on wether the owners can be bothered to look after it and maintain it and aren't lured into another scheme or insentive.  I don't think it's a case of the cars not being built to last.  The engineering that goes into new cars is far more complicated than it ever was, computer technology has come on in leaps and bounds since the 90's, tools and machining is far more accurate and precise then it ever was so it's inevitable that the products they will produce will be built to a higher quality.  But societies mind set has shifted.  We are much more easily tempted by finance deals, and believe it's ok to throw old away and replace rather than repair, restore and most importantly 'refuse'!

[Tommo]

Im with spaniel, but the problem is that though modern cars may last longer, they are also much harder and uneconomical to repair or recondition. Its not long before the cost of a new one is less than keeping the old one going.

I disagree with american cars being poorly built too, american cars are pretty much the only cars left that are still over engineered, and they are undoubtedly rediculously reliable. Not sure it happens so much now but in the late 80's there were often european/jap cars that werent sold in america because they werent deemed reliable enough.

Lets not forget our useless government that would love to see every car over 5 years old shoved in a landfill site.

[hardchargin40]

Totally agree that a modern car is when it does go wrong is somewhat expensive due to computer diagnostics etc.  I remember once paying £80 (this is quite a few years ago now) to get my fault codes read on the g40.  The missus paid £60 the other month to get hers read as the EML came on on her 206.  I dread to think about something like a beemer or similar.

What gets me is the basic things on some modern cars that the average joe on the street aren't able to do anymore i.e. headlight bulbs!!  I think it was renault (may be wrong) that were charging £180 for a blown bulb change!!!  No wonder ive seen loads of people this xmas driving around with only one headlight bulb working


American cars... in the USA.  Cheaply built, plastic and crap!  I spend 4-5months a year in the USA (California area), older cars are rusty buckets, newer dodge, cryslar (sp?) etc etc, cheap crap.  Yeah the crossfire and more upmarket ones are alright but there cheap cars are just that, cheap!  American cars in the UK... better.  Saying that we had a Mazda 6 rental out there, great interior quality and body.. but the auto box screamed at you and a dodging grinding noise kept being heard every so often, lol.  OK, we may rag ours to death but spaking to americans out there, they agree too.

[manitas]

I expect to still have my G's...

in my best dream's,  I will alway's drive my G's.

[AlexG40]

I work for Nissan and they are saying that within 10 years we will begin to stop stocking internal combustion engines. Nissan believes that the electric car is the short term stepping stone as electricity already has a good infrastructure, however long term the hydrogen fuel cell is where it's at. Just a matter of time before the tech to harness the fuel gets simpler, cheaper and more accessible.

[scotsjohn]

That sounds much more realistic to me. Japan's always lived with the fear of losing a regular oil supply and for that reason they've poured mega-bucks into other possibilities. High volume electrolosis to obtain Hydrogen's the last obstacle and for that nuclear power's required. We on the other hand will have windmills.

[lance]

plenty nuclear shit in cumbria marra!