Petrolheads better spark …

My cousin in the UK is an avid old car fan and has collected, and then sold on, dozens of them over the years. Every now and then I send him information on old cars selling in South Africa – because they are generally well-maintained and rust-free and sometimes worth importing.

Last week, though, when I sent him details of a ’80s model Mercedes-Benz 240D, he answered with a “fuel of the devil” comment because the old banger’s a diesel and he, like millions in Europe, is convinced they will choke to death in their sleep because of the noxious fumes the fuel supposedly emits.

The hatred, particularly among environmentally conscious virtue-signallers, reached fever pitch a few years ago when the Volkswagen Group was fined billions of dollars for using “cheat” software in its engine management systems so its diesel cars would illegally pass emissions tests.

In reality, diesel particulate emissions are less of a problem for the environment than carbon dioxide outputs from engines powered by fossil fuels. And that is the main reason behind the UK government’s decision, announced last week, that from 2030, no more fossil fuel cars – whether petrol or diesel – will be sold in that country.

That is quite a drastic step, considering the conventional car sector contributes hundreds of billions of pounds, and tens of thousands of jobs to an economy teetering from the effects of the Covid lockdowns. Already, there are many in the UK – and not just “petrolhead” fans of “old school” motoring – who are warning of the law of unintended consequences.

One motoring journo pointed out that Britain’s current electricity grid threatens to go into meltdown “when five million kettles are put on at half time during the Cup final”. Others have pointed out that, already, there are far too few charging points for electric cars, resulting in people charging them from domestic power points and along cables dangled from third floor windows into the streets below.

A number of these expensive pieces of kit have already been nicked, apparently. Then there is the question of cost and convenience. Electric cars are cheaper to run – on a “full tank to full tank” comparison basis – than petrol of diesel equivalents. But, using a domestic plug can take up to 14 hours to charge a car. And buying a “high power” charging facility for your home can cost the equivalent of R40,000.

Converting a whole country to electric transport will require expansion of the electricity grid – and then, how will that power be produced? Wind will only generate a small proportion and solar – well, forget that in a country with a handful of sunny days a year… Nuclear energy is also an option – but the bad press it is getting across Europe has already seen the Germans, who have a growing electric car fleet, going back to coal-fired power stations… and we all know how good those are for global warming.

I fear that soon, you will be regarded as a pariah if you don’t drive electric or, at the very least a hybrid electric-petrol car. And yet, when it comes to the industrialised Western nations, I look on in awe as they salve their consciences with “green” laws and directives – but their large cities are ablaze with billion of electric lights in unoccupied buildings every night.

Brendan Seery

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