Has been
I don't doubt your car is impeccably maintained or that it’s significantly cooler than mine but my point was a little wider than one or 1000 enthusiasts.
See my post to RobP.
Neither did I impugn you engineering skills et al.
Your post didn’t seem to be anywhere on topic but focused on your opinion of the current government and how terrific your car is in comparison with the neighbours.
Hardly relevant.
BTW in context how is your buss box racer or what ever it is stand against crash test crumple zones, safety and emission comparisons etc.
i.e. the XU1 was a hairy beastie but if it come to modern driving around the city and likely to be involved in a prang my preference is for surviving in my Subi.

Dear examinator,

A few more thoughts...

1) Upgrade the road worthy certification standards
for used cars.

2) Police polluting cars by issuing citations -
fix it or get rid of it.

3) Slowly phase out old cars of designated years.
(Other then vintage or "collectors" cars - covered
by special conditions).

This whole issue reeks of stupidity and double standards.

If the Automotive Industry and the money hungry government weren`t so greedy in their grab for profit and revenue, there wouldn`t be half of the so-called wrecks driving around the countryside, as folk could then afford to buy a new vehicle!

Because of the ridiculous Import Duties and added on taxes, we suckers here in Australia are paying nearly double the price of a vehicle in the US, and nearly three times the price of a vehicle in Japan!....As well we are constantly being creamed by Fuel Excise Taxes, toll roads, increasing Registration Fees and Insurance Premiums!

Lets face facts as they are now!.... you buy a brand new vehicle ( after paying for all the add-ons, lose between $5000 and $7000 as soon as you drive it out of the Showroom. If you wish to retain your Warranty ( which you would be either very rich or very stupid not to!) you are required to get regular Dealership Servicings carried out, again at a much inflated cost for both parts and materials and adding $1000`s to your new car price!

You then have the ongoing worry of day to day driving in a "survival of the fittest" environment, where one has to have eyes swivelling constantly in a 360 degree arc to avoid contact with "budding Kamikaze pilots", who seem intent on destroying themselves and as many other fellow travellers as is humanely possible!

You park your new vehicle in any parking area and must NOT get upset to return to your vehicle after shopping to find that some inconsiderate yobbo with a beat-up 4WD has ricocheted down the side of it,....all unnoticed by other shoppers!

You will probably lose the odd windscreen or two regularly and suffer innumerable stone-hits if driving outside the city limits, while trying to enjoy the fruits of your labour, and wondering all the time why you have wasted all that hard-earned money to buy a brand new vehicle that is probably worth one third of it`s new price as a trade-in after 5 years!

Examinator, buss box is the term applied by motor enthusiasts, & many other general public to describe almost all modern/new small cars. EG, smaller Holdens, Mazdas Fords Toyotas, etc.

These cars, designed to comply with current design rules have very little torque, & there for have to employ much higher revs than older cars, to achieve any power. They there for "buss" like a bee.

Their designers deserve considerable credit that they have managed to keep the fuel consumption, & wear rate of these things down as low as they have.

Hasbeen,
Thanks for your info
Where I come from a "buzz box" referred to high revving (like a bee) small cars of indeterminate age. Separate from maintenance and/or condition. To be honest I haven’t heard that term in years probably because I’m not that interested in cars per see. Although I watch the BBC Top Gear but I avoid the Aussie one as it seems to be aimed at hoons and not entertaining.

The way you described yours it sounded like an MG or a Torana Xu1 in which case my comments were appropriate.
The question doesn't require "in" or “enthusiasts’” knowledge/terms or engineering skills. It was a matter of general policy

Most 20+years old cars on the road are either in bad repair or obsolete safety/emmissions technology. Often owned by invincible hoons, those of dubious driving skills or mum's with the second car status. Most of these cars are better, off the roads. My point was older cars 20+ are GENERALLY in the ‘rust bucket’ (unroadworthy) class.

Other people’s safety shouldn’t be compromised because of shortness of funds by the driver/owner. The drivers’ are entitled to risk their lives but others should be protected from such risky behaviour.

I suggested older cars should have regular safety checks and those that pass, should have premium paid for registration. Apart from your personal pocket, in the context of the question I’m still confused as to what your point was.

Examinator, my point is, that if I drive my 29 year old car, for the 10,000/13,000Km a year I usually do, it will not produce the same total amount of polution as will the production of the new car you wish me to replace it with. That is before I do a single mile in that new car.

My old car does propduce just a little more nitres oxide than my wifes new car, [buss box], & a fraction more CO2, if that's your worry, but at only 0.35L/100Km greater fuel consumption, the difference is very little. In fact it's nothing, compared to some of the very nasty things emitted during manufacture of those new cars.

If you really want to reduce pollution, & waste of resources, the exact opposite policy would be more effective. If people had to maintain & use their cars for a minimum 20 years, we would use a lot less plastic, steel, other materials.

My 29 year old car is in better condition & than most 2 year old cars, & will still be in better condition than most of the 2 year old cars in 10 years time. This of course is my choice, & no accident, but it could be required for all cars.

To achieve this there will have to be more skilled labour, & less use of resources applied to it, than the mew cars, I could drive in that time. Surely a better plan for the a sustainable future. We could even go back to cars which were repairable in 20 minutes, with a $1,00 bit of rubber, rather than todays cars which always require a $300,00 complete component & 3 hours of pulling bits of plastic off the thing, to even be able to see the offending part.

I wish I could remember which new French car allows 3 hours labour just to fit a replacement light bulb, such is their unnecessary complexity.

Have you noticed that new cars all weigh about 40% more than 20 year old cars of equivalent size. Where is the waste of resources?