Classic Auto Classifieds

Why are classic cars more 'green/recyclable' than later models?

The Classic car magazines/DVD's say saving/restoring/recycling a classic car is green and good for the enviroment. But then why are people given incentives to scrap their older car (which is much newer and much more enviroment friendly than a classic car) if they buy a Brand new one, saying that this is 'green' and good for the enviroment to get older cars of the road. This is a contradiction, please explain?

Public Comments

1. The incentive schemes that pay people to scrap older cars are based purely on exhaust emissions. A classic car won't have a catalytic converter & will therefore spew a lot more pollutants & greenhouse gases. BUT, they don't take into account the energy used in producing a new car as opposed to that of just buying replacement parts. When it comes to recylability, the classics win hands down [barring a few ultra-modern ultra-expensive 'green-mobiles'].
2. Older cars are more easily recyclable because of less plastic use in classic cars. But they are also less efficient and more polluting than modern cars. This is probably where your confusion is coming from.
3. I dissagree that restoring an older car is "green", I would like to see a statistic comparison on that, older cars are less efficient,spew more emmissions into the air,and it takes energy(factorys) to create replacement parts. Also most aftermarket painting systems are likely less efficient than factory paint systems,, I can think of a few more reasons but thats a start
4. I don't understand why an 1982 Honda CRX can get better gas mileage than a brand new hybrid. You'd think in a quarter of a century our technology would have improved in that area. Anyway, to answer your question. An older car produces more exhaust. However the big reason is that car manufacturers are the ones that are telling you to buy a NEW car that is more "green". They just want to make a sale and playing your guilt by saying it's "eco-friendly" is a good way to do it.
5. The "green new car" is a lie....exhaust emissions and fuel consumption are not greatly improved on....for example my husbands 30 year old land rover got as much to the gallon as his bosses 2 year old BMW. If you have an older car you can get parts and fix it. If you buy a newer car you will already be behind in the carbon stakes as they would have had to MAKE the car and transport it to the show rooms before anyone even turned the key....also look at cars now....If your car is over 5 years old its funked...."they don't make em like they used to". My advice is if you have an older car that you can still get parts on and drive sensibly to get max fuel efficiency then keep it. But if you want to buy a new car do your home work carefuly first.
6. When you buy a used car or keep your car longer you are not buying a new car. The philosophy is use what is here already so resources won't be spent to create new. Tons of cars are scrapped each year around the world, each of them is replaced with a newer car. The waste is outrageous. Many are squished with thousands of reusable parts on them, many more are stored in scrap yards never to be used to full potential, not to mention all the toxins dripping from them and polluting the soil. Another bad side effect of scrapping is the metals are generally not separated so instead of reusing the strong steal and light aluminum's, we blend them all together and get a much lower quality metal. The loss of resources is huge. Most older cars can be modified to increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. If you could calculate the CO2 or emissions of a new car every 5 years it would be greater than driving a less fuel efficient car for that same period of time.
7. Good Question : i think maybe because of the metals that were used but i don't know i still prefer a Classic Car too all the others and Classic Cars were made much better and to me have more Class who cares if they are old they were great cars and still are to me .