this damn government is going to stick it up us!!!

in this evenings local rag someone has written in to describe new legislation. i quote,
 "our labour government is now proposing to prevent people to work on their own vehicles.  this will stop restoration!  no more auto jumbles, salvage yards or parts on ebay!  every vehicle regardless of age condition, (even a box of parts) would have to be taxed!  local authorities will be given greater powers to seize vehicles on private land!  use of vehicles over a certain age will be severely restricted.  owners will have to submit to their local authorities details of their intended trip and submit a route for approval.  vehicles over a certain age that are not to be considered historic are set to be compulsorily scrapped.  all vehicles are to be fitted with a catalytic converter."

maybe a scare munger, but they made me think.

5 years of hard work and the council comes along and scraps my cherished GTI…no way!

On another note, the car scrap yards are disappearing at an alarming rate, has anyone noticed? Something to do with the added costs of draining and disposing of fluids. One scrapyard in Bicester crushed all the older cars in the yard because of the added labour costs.

Time to hoard the MK1 parts methinks.

ELV Directive is the cause. Scrap yards need  to have hard-standing floors rather than the usual 'mud' so that oil etc can't seep in to the land, plus like you say the draining of fluids 'depollution stations.' It gets expensive!

Hairy- that explains why the small car breakers are going to the wall. In theory the parts available will become more scarce as time goes on and so push up the price of MK1s, including basket cases.

I am seriously considering buying another 'good' mk1, simply for the parts, legislation is getting a bit nutty. What with manufacturers pushing ahead for hydrogen fuel cell cars we could be looking at a major 'sea change' in automotive history in the next twenty years.

Cheers,

Drew.

Maybe the future will be classic cars, but equipped with enviro friendly replacement power plants  8O

I have to say though that personally I think classic car ownership is on borrowed time as things stand. Enviro laws are getting tighter and eventually it will only be the incredibly wealthy that will be able to run classics on their own private circuits with special "pollution permits". May sound crazy, but 20 years from now I don't think classics as we know them now will still be around.

I think the smart money will be in replica kits using the latest powerplants. The Mk1 GTi of 2030 may well be a complete replica kit with a hydrogen fuel cell - indestiguishable from the outside, but a completely different car under the skin.

I say enjoy those classics now while you still can!

Chris