For new drivers with an affinity for DIY and a small budget, lovers and collectors of bread-and-butter cars as well as people who are simply critical of the throwaway society, the air is getting thinner and the selection is not only smaller, but above all more expensive.

Good cars can last a long time with good care

High-quality, well-made cars, especially those of German origin, always provide a solid basis including spare parts availabilitywhich is always worth preserving, repairing and continuing to use.

It is certainly an important goal to support the circular economy through recycling and thus boost the sustainability of our economy. But that brings us to the topic of sustainability, where the story takes a turn. Because what does that even mean, sustainable? Didn’t your grandma darn socks instead of throwing them straight into the trash when there was the slightest hole, or pass her grandmother’s salad bowl down through the generations? My father had a pair of pliers in his toolbox (which, by the way, he made himself from an old drawer) that my grandfather had bought during his apprenticeship. My grandfather was born in 1907 and began his apprenticeship in the Weimar Republic when he was 13. The pliers must have easily cracked the 100 years and are still hanging on the tool wall in the basement for use.

Even German Environmental Aid regularly calls for people to give second-hand gifts before Christmas; i.e. something repaired instead of giving something new to your loved ones. A few years ago, the Green Party parliamentary group presented a bill that would force manufacturers to only sell electronic devices screwed instead of glued in order to ensure that they can be repaired.

When it comes to cars, it’s “ex-it-all” instead of real sustainability

No device for everyday use should be disposed of unnecessarily. But when it comes to a car, which uses a thousand times more resources and energy to produce than an iPhone, suddenly “ex and hop” applies! Strange, right? Meanwhile it is the “Cuba effect” Due to uncertainty among customers and constantly rising vehicle prices, this has already occurred and our fleet is increasingly aging, currently at an average of 10.6 years.

So let’s assume that this average car emits an average of 120 grams of CO2 per kilometer and is driven 10,000 kilometers per year. That’s 1.2 tons of CO2 per year. Over 10 years that adds up to 12 tons. However, production emissions average around eight tonnes of CO2. Of the total “cradle-to-grave” emissions (from creation to scrapping), 40 percent over 10 years are attributable to production alone, without having driven a single kilometer. The longer the car stays on the road, the lower this proportion becomes.

Do you want to avoid CO2? Drive your car as long as possible!

This is precisely why cars should be driven, cared for, serviced and preserved for as long as possible in order to permanently reduce their carbon footprint. Especially given the fact that these cars are currently available as diesel engines without any technical modifications HVO100 and as a gasoline engine you will be able to use climate-friendly gasoline with up to 90 percent CO2 reduction in the future. This means the operational footprint is reduced even further.

By the way, the classic car scene isn’t just about shiny chrome and high-priced collector’s items, but sometimes about “bread and butter” cars, which make up the majority of older vehicles. In addition, in addition to the manufacturing sector in the automotive industry, there are also well over 400,000 people employed in the automotive industry who work professionally and at a high quality level on the repair, maintenance and servicing of vehicles with combustion engines. Since the increasingly popular electric cars require less or at least special maintenance, the Cuba effect actually offers many “mechanics” a rewarding task: professional care for cars that are used for well over the current average 10 years. Their number, but also their prices, continue to rise and with it their appreciation.

The more technology there is on board, the more popular old cars become

Considering the constant trilling, whistling and checking of the driver of new cars, one can perhaps even assume that these comfortable-driving, long-term classics that are 12, 15 or 20 years old will be in greater demand in the long term and will require an expert hand to operate them. Such cars then do not become consumer goods that are less and less cared for as the end of their lives approaches, but rather become companions for years that people are happy to treat. Because even if it may be difficult to understand from the saddle of an electrified cargo bike: the car remains the German’s favorite child. Owners of older vehicles, as well as fans of electromobility, want things to be cleaner and more climate-friendly. There should therefore be no religious war about the right type of drive, but only a cooperation in which everyone finds the right solution for themselves.