The End Of Classic Cars? What the 2030 Ban Will Mean Will You Still Be Able To Drive Your Classic?

As the UK Government brings in a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars - what does it mean for your classic car?

We run through:

- How long ICE will be on our roads?
- How long will we be able to get petrol and diesel for?
- What happens when petrol or diesel is no longer available?
- What is the true environmental impact of an electric car?
- What is the true environmental impact of a classic car?

Jump in the comments with your thoughts

[chrisbaker]

I’ve always made the assumption that driving a used car is way more efficient than buying a new car. Nice to see my assumption was right!

[johnssmith]

" YOU WILL OWN NOTHING AND YOU WILL BE HAPPY '' doesn't really sound like we are going to be able to do much in that regard

[gerardlacey]

I recently replaced the exhaust on my Austin a35 and was short of a piece for the tailpipe, after looking around for a piece of pipe I found an old bike frame with the crossbar exactly the size that I needed, a little over an inch in diameter which fitted perfectly. A short while later I was at a junction behind a big almost new people carrier thing with two big exhausts one either side and I remember thinking no one could make me believe that what came out of my little bicycle crossbar could be worse than those two big exhausts for the atmosphere. Lovely video. Many thanks. Gérard lacey in Ireland.

[FakeItalianoII]

My toughts :
Gouverment(s) will start increasing the price of gasoline ( petrol ) and yearly automobile registration
so consumers will eventually get rid of those cars.
Then we see the trap they have for us :
the price of electricity will go up, also gradually.
Governments will justify this by saying there is too much demand and not enough supply,
"we need to implement new energy producing means" ( what ever they will be ).

[maxwellgunning]

Long live internal combustion! Provided the shell of the car is a beauty.

[terrybrown]

What you didn't mention also is..
A. Every 2nd hand part used to keep cars running is better because it's recycled to be used again.
B. Kit cars... Motorsport cars, there's a HUGE industry out there. Building a kit car at home is THE most environmentally friendly car on the road regardless of the clouds it produces. 2nd hand low volume, and made by hand in a private workshop is miles more friendly than a new Tesla which brings parts from all over the world on container ships, is built in giga factories, and shipped out again on another huge ship. But people think that's the greenest car...it's not... Your current car is! Keep it...
Stop swapping stuff just because it's the "new model"
If you could see a car factory from inside you'd be STAGGERED what it takes to run it... Example Nissan at Sunderland... There's X3 body panel presses. Can stamp one 5000t press in bang, a roof, bang a hood, bang, bang bang... It drops every few seconds churning out panels..for scale... Just one of the machines is taller than a house, has a dozen press dies in each one. Each side of the press die weighs over a ton... To lift that die up and down take vast amounts of energy... A gear wheel in one cracked a few years ago... After 20 years use. The gear is 12ft wide not diameter but across the teeth!

And theres 3 of them.

Haven't even mentioned welding robots 12ft high, paint dips of hot lethal chemicals.... The list goes on and on of really huge equipment, the endless stream of trucks going in to feed the relentless line of cars... 2 cars a minute roll out the doors...

And that's just Nissan...

Your new car whatever it's green credentials are using fake credentials. Advertising that omits the carbon footprint it really has.

Factories like this have public relations department, go on a tour

[roudydog]

It all depends on how much tyranny you will put up with!! They do not have any right to ban anything!!

[russellbergersen]

My biggest question is about what happens when they get totaled or wear out? I see salvage yards turning into toxic wastelands. The chemicals and metals in the batteries are far more toxic than ant oils that could leak from current vehicles. How do they plan on dealing with this? Especially metals like lithium that can ignite on contact with water. When those batteries burn, they release things that are far more toxic than car exhaust. And having worked at a junkyard, I know that the vehicles will be left out in the elements regardless of condition.

[Barkevshadian]

60% of electricity generators in the US is powered by Coal, and abt 35% diesel. So yes, electric Cars will completely eliminate pollution. And of coarse, we all know how environmentally friendly producing and salvaging Lithium is.

[timpolman]

I saved 4 Saabs from the scrapyard now.. (1991 900 2.1i, 1994 900ng 2.3i convertible, 1994 9000 2.3t and a 2004 9-5 2.3t running on lpg)
Glad to see it was the 'right' thing to do. 😄

All of them have a sticker on the back.. "Think green, repair!, don't replace"

[ronseal]

Very interesting to watch and listen to your arguments. The government’s knee jerk reactions shows their inability to devise and implement public policy with a measured approach.

[darrennicholls]

I would like to keep my 20 and half year old Peugeot 306 meridian 1.6 going, such a good reliable car and excellent in fuel economy . If it's not broken don't fix it 👍.

[richardcarter]

Excellent video.

I intended to keep and enjoy all my classics.

No EV will ever get near the low level of emissions my 1963 Mini Minor I use for local/shopping trips most weeks, or the larger engined cars I use for holidays and events etc.

Synthetic fuels combined with a classic car, could be the ultimate low emission transport.

[petershepherd]

Totally agree with you, I have a classic Cortina and it's 38 years old and still got loads of life left in it.
If the ECU on your 10 year old car packs up it costs more to replace than the cars worth.
People we know that bought a new nissan Micra electric car 3 years ago now regret it after all the facts on electric vehicle are slowly emerging.
When my 2005 Skoda packs up and is not worth fixing the Cortina may be my main mode of transport.
I am 67 years old and if I last anothe 20 years I will be doing well

[Thinginator]

I hope the information in this video spreads. I feel like so many people misunderstand what we’re actually dealing with when it comes to electric cars and classic cars, and it’s resulting in some bad decisions which are going to absolutely suck to deal with. My car is almost 56 years old now, it’s lived through almost three normal car lifespans, and gets driven less than most modern cars. It’s totally better for the environment than a new electric. I’d hate to no longer be able to drive it :( I just hope synthetic fuels will become widely available quickly enough for the existing gas station infrastructure to adopt them.

[Hydrogenblonde]

Bloody brilliant. It's about time this was said.
If every car owner in the world went out tomorrow and swapped their existing petrol car for a new electric we would be in a much worse place than we are now.
It's important to think before you act.
Don't have a knee jerk reaction.

[geoffhalsey]

A lot needs to happen before EVs become a viable option for the masses, not least the generation a huge amount of extra electricity. My guess is that, that 2030 date will be put back by at least a decade.

[JonBvideostuff]

Thank you for a well thought out proposition.
As the owner of 3 classic cars... a '73 Datsun 240z (owned forever... 500 miles per year now, down from 8K), a '71 Citröen SM (again about 500 miles per year of absolute luxury) and a 1940 Fiat Topolino (actually bought because I thought it was the ideal vehicle to convert into a simple electric runabout for town, but still trying to work out how to do that!)... I am glad to be helping the environment by not adding to landfill nor adding to CO2 by the manufacture of yet another item of consumerism!
I also benefit from the fact that there is no road tax due, no MOT requirement (although I do get them MOTed for my own satisfaction) and no necessity to be ULEZ compliant (I live in Central London, but actually, when tested, they are still pretty damned good!).
Now well into my 70s, my main vehicle is a 15 year old Jimny... absolutely perfect, and saved our lives during 'The Beast from the East', with another potential 15 years in it.
However, I am being pressurised into going electric for 'environmental' reasons... but...
... the more I dig into the details, going electric does not really seem to help the environment (yet?), from use of rare materials to batteries being shipped across the world twice, disposal and use of fossil fuels to power them.
Confused!

[ripvanwinkle]

I agree with the guys who think the deadline will be extended. Look at the halfwits who made the decision and consider the facts they based it on, and let's not forget the completely inadequate supply of power to charge these things along with the fact that barely anyone is trained to maintain them. I have classis bikes but I won't be selling them in a hurry. Assuming we're still allowed to own a personal transport device, I'll take a classic over an electric vehicle any day.

[howardlake]

I think one factor that needs exploration, is tax on EVs. The revenue from petrol and diesel is so high, it will need to be replaced. I think fuel tax pays double the cost of the NHS 😳