Toyota is now #1

[DodgyAgent]

Not really, but I do think that private cars are a massive luxury which everyone treats themselves to without a second thought. Look at it this way:

If you want to go swimming then you have a few options. You could build a private swimming pool in your back garden; you could take out membership of the local private health club; you could go to the local community leisure centre; or you could go and swim in the nearest river.

Walking or cycling is the equivalent of swimming in the nearest river; getting a bus or the train is like the leisure centre; using a taxi or first class on the train is like the private health club.

Running your own private car, or more than one, is like having a private swimming pool in your back garden.

I'm sure I read that there are more families in the UK with two cars than families with no car at all. People see car ownership as a normal fact of life, like having running water and electricity, and they throw a hissy fit if anyone makes any attempt to reduce the damage being done.

It made me laugh recently when there was a letter in our local paper complaining about the state of the car park at an NHS doctor's surgery in town. The people that complained must have only ever parked in the Tesco's car park or the council car park, which are both well maintained. If they'd ever cycled or walked around town they would be aware that every road is a churned up death trap of pot-holes and worn surfaces. They don't ever see that because they never get out of their cars, and they're so used to speed humps and bumping up on the kerb to park that they don't even register the state of the roads as they drive along.

I'm not allowed to use rude words on this forum, but think of a really bad one and that's what most car commuters are.

So let us extend this argument then.

Why dont we:

Share washing machines (or not use them at all and wash by hand down at the local river?)
live in an apartment that has simple basics (no washing machines) and no spare "wasted" space,
No gardens, just share "common" areas.
share earnings

where do we stop?

Patricia Hewitt, Gordon Brown and Tony Benn must just love people like you

[ratewhore]

There is a school of thought that believes ultimately, western civilisation will return to localised living and working as fossil fuels dry up. That implies, as well as living and working in the same locality, sourcing all your needs locally.

So the death of the car (at least as we know it) would be a smaller issue than we believe it to be.

Of course, the unbelieveable part is an improvement in public transport...

[VectraMan]

I'm sure I read that there are more families in the UK with two cars than families with no car at all.

The local town centre Sommerfield here has just closed down, which is pretty much unthinkable. And it goes to show that even the old, poor, unemployable and single mothers can afford a car to drive to Tesco, Sainsbury or Morrisons instead.

[ratewhore]

The local town centre Sommerfield here has just closed down, which is pretty much unthinkable. And it goes to show that even the old, poor, unemployable and single mothers can afford a car to drive to Tesco, Sainsbury or Morrisons instead.

Don't Tesco's and the like offer free buses in some areas? Wouldn't hit the £5K/minute profit for Tesco would it?

[VectraMan]

Don't Tesco's and the like offer free buses in some areas? Wouldn't hit the £5K/minute profit for Tesco would it?

You're probably right about that.

I'd like to know what the eco-mentalists think trains and busses run on. Oh that's right: fossil fuels. If they got their way and outlawed all cars, then would they then all turn on the polluting trains and busses next?

And unlike cars, trains and busses run all day even when nobody wants them. We could reduce "carbon" emissions by limiting public transport to rush hour only.

BTW I work at home 2 days a week, which means I'm being green. Okay, so I do 200 miles on each of the other 3 days in my 33 mpg car. Better yet, I have a 25mpg car which I drive just for fun, and best of all take to trackdays and drive as fast as possible round and round in circles using a couple of tanks of petrol to go nowhere at all.

I'm guessing Dang65 doesn't approve.

[lukemg]

Jesus, save me from the middle class, hand wringing, apologising, pseudo-environMENTALIST, 'we-all-need-to-do-our-bit', no 'kin difference making w@nkers.
Wake up you brain dead f***s, it is getting warmer, regardless of what you think is causing it, anything you do WONT make any difference.
The Chinese are opening a new coal fired power station every month for the forseeable future. This will continue until fossil fuels run out, when things will revert to carbon neutral or fusion becomes viable.
Try to focus on things that matter = things you can actually do something about...

[realityhack]

Jesus, save me from the middle class, hand wringing, apologising, pseudo-environMENTALIST, 'we-all-need-to-do-our-bit', no 'kin difference making w@nkers.
Wake up you brain dead f***s, it is getting warmer, regardless of what you think is causing it, anything you do WONT make any difference.
The Chinese are opening a new coal fired power station every month for the forseeable future. This will continue until fossil fuels run out, when things will revert to carbon neutral or fusion becomes viable.
Try to focus on things that matter = things you can actually do something about...

Had a bad start to the week, luke?
I saw a documentary recently which suggested fusion was possible if enough Helium 3 can be mined from the moon. Of course, it's totally reasonable to spend billions on a project like this instead of tackling energy efficiency at home.

[XTC]

Toyota now officially produce no sports cars at all. They've just stopped production of the Celica and MR2. How krap is that.

[Numptycorner]

Mmmmmmm... repaired one of those the other month.

but probably not off a 5 year old car

[Troll]

Toyota now officially produce no sports cars at all. They've just stopped production of the Celica and MR2. How krap is that.

Quite right too... Sports cars are functionally flawed, limited by number of seats and load carrying capability; they exist solely to pander to the (usually male) ego.

All cars should be limited to a maximum speed of 70 mph, have a minimum of four seats and only be capable of a 0-60 time in excess of 16 seconds