Classic car ownership in a sustainable society

It has all been about electric cars and the environmental aspect during the last years. I do not have anything against development and innovations, but they should not leave the existing world in the shadows. Longevity is lacking in today’s car industry; I cannot see that a modern car would be driven for 30 years. The amount of natural resources needed for building modern electric cars that are not easy to recycle is huge. The aim towards sustainable fuels is very important and I hope that the environment will be the number one target instead of brand value for a company. We are looking at a global problem and if the possibility to produce sustainable fuel is located outside of the economic zone, the fuel should be used locally and not be shipped for us to use. Regarding biofuels in general, it can be said that CO2 emissions in the entire production chain are lower than in crude oil-based products only in e-based products such as e-ammonia and e-methanol. They shall therefore be produced using wind, solar power or water.

Most of our car’s date to the 80´s and 90´s, when the build quality was strong. These cars do not have any impact on natural resources anymore and should the event come along that some would be recycled, the cars are easy to break up and use again in other products. Usually, classic cars are driven very little every year and the occasions are linked to summer holidays or events where like-minded people get together. Often you hear and see stories of cars that at least 90% of the time are under construction or being pampered by the owners. Ownership can have different dimensions of enthusiasm. If a normal passenger car is approximately driven 15000km annually in Finland, a classic car usage seldom counts over a tenth of that. There are possibilities in the near future that will give an even smaller carbon footprint for our enthusiasm.

We are slowly seeing that sustainable fuel is finding itself into classic sports cars. Today, many car racing series already use sustainable fuels. There are different grades and production methods of sustainable fuels, and some production methods are dependent on the production plant location. Mostly these fuels are directly usable in your classic cars, but some adjusting of carburetors and fuel supply will surely lie ahead. I hope to be able to continue this sustainability dialog with you in the near future and during events we meet up at.

Yours,

Sebastian Classic Collection