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Should "Beaters" Be Taken Off the Road? - READ ONLY

218 messages,  Last post on Nov 03, 2010 at 12:15 PM

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What is this discussion about? Car Safety

Messages Page 19 of 22

#179 of 218 Beaters Forever by hpmctorque

Jan 31, 2009 (9:31 pm)

I predict that as generic green transportation capsules replace today's cars in showrooms, due to federal mileage and emissions regulations, more people will keep their beaters rather than scrap them. Look for the average age of vehicles to rise.

#180 of 218 Re: Beaters Forever [hpmctorque] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Feb 01, 2009 (9:47 am)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Jan 31, 2009 9:31 pm)
That will probably turn out to be true unless air quality starts to deteriorate again in major problem areas. Right now, it's obvious that 40 years of emission regulation has cleaned up the air considerably. If the air quality starts to plunge however, and auto emissions are part of the culprit, then you'll no doubt see a "war on beaters", or at least on gross polluters.
 
What we call 'beaters" nowadays are probably still emission-controlled vehicles. It's not like the old days, the 60s, when one car's emissions might be the equivalent of 60 modern car's output.
 
I was disappointed that "sniffer" technology never worked out, wherein a state vehicle could sniff the tailpipe of a visually offending car. I often see cars spewing black (not blue) smoke and I know that this vehicle is putting out enough hydrocarbons to drop birds out of trees. These vehicles should be off the road.

#181 of 218 Re: Beaters Forever [hpmctorque] by lemko

Feb 01, 2009 (4:12 pm)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Jan 31, 2009 9:31 pm)
Generic green transportation modules are one thing, but the primary reason people will keep their beaters rather than scrap them is that many can no longer afford new or even late model used cars. Lower-income and frugal people will keep their older cars on the road for a longer period of time, especially during this dismal economy. I intend to keep my '88 Buick Park Avenue as long as possible barring any serious accidents or catastrophic mechanical failures.

#182 of 218 Re: Beaters Forever [lemko] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Feb 01, 2009 (5:06 pm)

Replying to: lemko (Feb 01, 2009 4:12 pm)
All well and good but nobody has the right to poison the air with a car that isn't running on all its cylinders, for instance. In fact, nobody has the "right" to drive under the law, much less drive a gross polluter. Driving is a privilege granted by the state by means of a license and a registration.
 
There are plenty of 8 cylinder beaters to be had for cheap. One doesn't need to be driving a 7 cylinder beater. You can buy running beaters on craigslist for $500 bucks. If you can't afford that, you can't afford insurance, and that is totally irresponsible behavior IMO.

#183 of 218 Update by hpmctorque

Oct 27, 2010 (6:01 am)

I recently read that average vehicle age is increasing, due to the employment situation and consumer confidence. Of course, vehicle quality generally improved steadily since the '70s and '80s, so higher average age may not necessarily mean there are more beaters on the road than, say, five years ago. The "Cash-For-Clunkers" program removed quite a few of them. Your thoughts; are there more of fewer beaters in service than five years ago?

#184 of 218 Re: Update [hpmctorque] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Oct 27, 2010 (8:24 am)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Oct 27, 2010 6:01 am)
That would be pretty hard to measure I would think. Probably the best you could do to get an answer is track the average age of cars on the road. They do calculate things like that.
 
I'm not so sure that the modern cars built in say 2000--2001 (given that the average age of cars on the road is something like, roughly, 9-10 years) would TOLERATE being neglected like an old 1970s American V8 would be.
 
In the old days, when Shiftright was younger and the earth was still cooling, you could easily patch up a car and keep it running. But now, all the duct tape in the world is not going to fix a faulty MAF sensor, nor can you disassemble your little DOHC 4 cylinder motor in your driveway so easily and hand-lap a new valve into the cylinder head.

#185 of 218 Re: Update [hpmctorque] by fintail

Oct 27, 2010 (8:29 am)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Oct 27, 2010 6:01 am)
Thanks to modern paint and body panels, most cars age a lot better than they used to, so I would say as time goes on there are less "beater" looking things on the road. But I would assume in the past few years there are more cars on the road with marginal brakes and tires etc, not to mention deferred maintenance otherwise.

#186 of 218 Re: Update [fintail] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Oct 27, 2010 (8:35 am)

Replying to: fintail (Oct 27, 2010 8:29 am)
certainly people will skimp on things like tires and body work---all but the crazies go without brakes, though.

#187 of 218 Re: Update [Mr_Shiftright] by fintail

Oct 27, 2010 (8:48 am)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Oct 27, 2010 8:35 am)
I bet there are a lot more older highline cars going without expensive scheduled servicing, too. I am sure there are more warped brake rotors lately.
 
I once drove my fintail knowing fully well it had a leaking brake line, I told myself it had "3 or 4 stops left"...but this was on deserted residential streets for only about a mile on the way to the shop.

#188 of 218 Re: Update [fintail] by lemko

Oct 27, 2010 (10:33 am)

Replying to: fintail (Oct 27, 2010 8:29 am)
Rust isn't this issue it once was. A lot of cars would be fine mechanically, but rust had seriously compromised the structural integrity of the bodies.

Messages Page 19 of 22

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