Driving a classic car for 37 years produces less emissions than producing 1 EV | Hacker News Reader

Driving a classic car for 37 years produces less emissions than producing 1 EV

theclassicvaluer.com

8 pointskenOfYugen7 comments

1200 miles is (per a quick google search) the average monthly driving distance in the US. So let's say you're driving the classic car like an average US driver (not like an average classic car) then the emissions go from 641.5 per year to ~7700 and the breakeven point is after ~3 years. After 3 years you have to start comparing the emissions from energy sources used for recharging the EV to the classic car's 7700 per year. Which is probably going to be in favor of the EV.

> The future is under threat, logic wins out in the end. The logic on classic car emissions holds, and this is more evidence of it. Spread the word.

Unless EVs are going to be driven only 1200 miles per year as well then there is no actual logic in this particular article.

I don't understand the goal of this comparison. In what ways is "driving a classic car 1200 miles each year for 37 years" some kind of substitute for "producing one EV"? Is this just about making classic car enthusiasts feel a little better about their hobby?

Yeah. The obvious missing comparison is the cost to produce that classic car…

And potentially recycling the EV battery and getting another car out of it, versus producing a second classic car.

Your implication is that anyone should continue producing classic cars, which is not the case. The idea is that it's more environmentally conscious to continue using existing vehicles than to produce more, especially if the existing vehicles are still functional.

If you are trying to decide whether to buy a new EV for reduced carbon emissions vs continuing to drive your old gas guzzler, this says to keep your old car.

Perhaps the author was being shamed by someone for not switching to EV?

> If you are trying to decide whether to buy a new EV for reduced carbon emissions vs continuing to drive your old gas guzzler, this says to keep your old car.

No, this really poorly considered article is saying that if you have a classic car and drive it like a classic car (1200 miles per year) then an EV is not a good replacement for that classic car. But if you do the math and consider the average driving distance in the US, the breakeven for that classic car driven like an average car would be in 3 years, not 37.

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