Sep 15

What that funny pricing scheme says to me is:

1) people can afford £3500 for a new car
2) the car companies can’t afford to sell a car for £3500
3) The scheme amounts to buying a car for £3500 then sponsoring the company’s development of future models

What this really means to me is that, actually, we have enough cars. Cars do everything we actually need them to do. All that manufacturers can do is add “aspirational value” and use the iPod effect to hike prices. But people can’t actually afford the higher prices so, hey, let’s make up a number with the same number of digits and give them a big ZERO percent APR on it…

I wonder how much better off the environment would be if cars were only replaced when they wore out…


3 comments so far...

  • kate Said on September 15th, 2005 at 09:11:

    The environment would be a hell of a lot better off, and of course even better off without any cars, but that’s never going to happen as we’re too dependent on them, and they are very handy at times. People who buy second hand cars and run them till they’re worn out are great, they’re re-users, almost as good as people without cars (although I think people without cars do require cars at times, me included, so aren’t completely car free). People who insist on buying a new car each year or have more than one car are BAD. I wanted to include families who have more than one car, but I realise that sometimes it is a necessity, although I also think that people are often too lazy and just go for the easy
    option of using the car just because it’s there rather than considering walking, cycling or using public
    transport.
    I used to have a couple of housemates who were always complaining that they needed to lose weight and were always on a diet. So I could never understand why they would insist on driving to the corner shop when it was only a 5-10 min walk!

  • Lord Hutton Said on September 15th, 2005 at 09:11:

    I think you need a 2CV rather than a C4

  • Kouros Said on September 15th, 2005 at 16:23:

    I could never understand why people “upgrade” their cars from thei current one to one that is more environmentally friendly… what about the enrgy spen in making the current one? Someone will probably know figures to counter my opinion, but surely the energy cost of making car would outweigh the benefit of the minor fuel saving.

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