This is a difficult confession for someone so invested in environmental issues and who spends his time encouraging others to think about the environment.
I used to be a petrolhead!
I got my first Mini (which was ancient, even then) soon after I turned 17. I spectated at motor rallies and once drove from Yorkshire to Kent to watch the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch. (This probably tells you immediately that I’m no longer as young as I think I am!) I read books about Timo Makkinen and Paddy Hopkirk and their exploits in the Monte Carlo Rally. I subscribed to Autosport magazine and watched motor racing on television.
I now drive a sensible family car. I try to drive economically and only when it’s necessary.
I can’t help but be tempted by some of the car adverts I see on television and daydream about being able to drive the latest shiny new sports car or SUV.
But then, reality sets in and I see that the vision of car ownership portrayed in these adverts is nothing more than an illusion. When did you last drive along the meandering coastal roads of the south of France, or Italy’s Amalfi coast in glorious sunshine? And if you have done, when were you able to drive on these roads without encountering another car or, more concerning, a coach full of tourists or a juggernaut hauling 40 tonnes of stuff from the nearest port!
Car ownership and use is still being peddled as a dream of the open road, unlimited time and resources to enjoy the sunshine and scenery. The reality for most of us is very different.
For me, an almost recovered petrolhead, I’m now considering and, to some extent, looking forward to the time when I no longer need a car. This expensive, polluting metal box on wheels, which spends most of its time parked up and going nowhere, can become someone else’s problem.
I’m not even excited by the increase in availability of electrically powered cars as we still have to drive them on horribly congested roads. And in the UK, at least, we haven’t yet developed the infrastructure we need to support a wholesale shift to electric vehicles.
Has your relationship with cars changed?
If you don’t use a car, how do you travel?
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