Problems of Pollution
London has pollution. Now the newspapers online are saying that the mayor of London wants to increase the congestions charge and extend the area covered, with cars running on diesel paying as much as £10 a day. I have heard people saying, "I never go into central London with a car. It won't affect me."
However, one or two hospitals such as Acton are within the new zones, so the elderly who need hospitals and drive old cars and can't afford to buy new ones will be hit by the charges. The elderly are also the greatest number to be hit by pollution, so it is of concern to all ages, not just those working in central London.
In London, England, we did a great job solving problems of pollution in the Nineteen Hundreds by ending the pea-soupers, smogs in winter, by banning coal fires and turning to electricity. Now in 2006, diesel cars are going to be subject to extra charges in an attempt to cut pollution in London.
That is bad news if you own a diesel car. Sell it and buy a new type of car. But who will buy the old car? What if you have a diesel car to sell, as a private seller, garage or manufacturer?
What is going to happen to all the old cars? Will they be moved out of London to other cities, sent to landfill, sit in museums, be sold off secondhand cheaply to other countries?
The consumers and car sales people are miffed because back in 2006 we were told to change to diesel cars. Did they, do they, give out less CO2 and contribute less to global warming?
I went to a Jaguar show room in Watford. They were advertising refreshments. They have a coffee machine and were serving mince pies and chocolate biscuits and toast with yogurt dips. I looked at an old E type Jag and an F type Jag.
Here's my picture of the sales staff in their seasonal outfits. I asked the man wearing the suit and matching tie where he got it from. He said he bought it a long time ago on the internet and could not remember where. What great outfits.
Answer
What should you do as a driver, a private consumer or public company? Buy new cars? One sales person at Jaguar told me that the bigger problem for the Jaguar company is not the individuals buying cars, but the fleet cars. Large numbers of cars are sold to companies. After they depreciate, the would be Jaguar owner, who has aspirations to own a Jaguar car, but would struggle to finance it, can see a glimmer of opportunity getting a car sold off by the fleets when they upgrade after a year or two. You might even be able to buy a demo car which has been not he road for 6 months, used by a sales team.
Stories
Science Fairs and Cars
About three years ago we went to the annual UK science fair which changed cities and was in Birmingham within driving distance of London. We booked tickets to learn about the Range Rover cars and Jaguars.
How do they develop and test their cars? I didn't think I would be very interested in this but at the time and in retrospect it was very interesting. First they design everything on a computer.
Then they take out their vehicle prototypes on the road to test them. The only way to test an all-terrain vehicle is to go on all terrain, right across a country, or a continent, such as Asia or Africa, in the harshest conditions. What an adventure!
Car Factory Visits
The sales person I spoke to this week told us about his visit to a Jaguar car factory. He was impressed by how fast and efficiently robots are used to slot together the parts of the car. Even if a car factory is not open to the public, you may be able to get a tour if you work in the business or are the owner or buyer or one or more vehicles. This is for the true car enthusiast, especially if you are in the area.
Car Factory Films
What a pity they don't show a film of the car being made in the car show room. I am sure that would entertain and attract potential buyers and their families. I think I would be happy to watch whilst my technically minded family discuss the technical aspects. I said I would go home and check out car factory films on the internet.
A Car As A Christmas Present
If you want a no expense spared gift, buy a car for Christmas or a birthday. The car sales room can put a ribbon on your car and attach a Christmas card to the wheel. One year we needed a replacement car. The company had the idea of delaying the delivery until Christmas and putting a Christmas card on the wheel.
Instead of saying, "I can't get you any presents for Christmas, I just bought you a car," the family were able to say, "Look darling, we bought you the car for Christmas!" When asked what I got for Christmas, I was able to say, "I got a car?" (It was a second hand car. And the old one - I won't go into that. I can't even remember. But it made me really happy. It made us sound much richer than we were!
Car Accessories
If you want to buy presents for a car owner, and don't have the cash for a new car, (not everybody has several thousand to spare), you might like car accessories. The Jaguar show room was displaying Jaguar themed gifts including cuff links. I have also seen key rings. You can get gifts ranging from about £5 to £50 and up for many makes of car. Try your local car show room. Or look on the Internet, the usual places such as Amazon and Ebay.
Car Owners' Clubs
Another idea would be membership of an owners club, which sends you magazines about the car you own, or aspire to own, or just your favourite. That will put you in touch with shows and rallies. You can also buy books about classic cars.
Tips
The first step in answering any problem, before making a decision, is to survey the options.
In the same way, the first step in selling anything such as a car, is to get the attention of potential customers.
The first step in marketing, is to find a problem and offer to solve it. Or did a novelty to get attention.
Car Mailing Lists
Jaguar cars sent out an invitation to see new and old Jaguars. I know two people who have, or had, Jaguars in London. One of the London Jaguar branches was holding an event in aid of charity, Save the Children.
Aspirations - Electric and Hybrid Cars
So what is the future of cars? Ford reputedly said that if he's asked the consumer what he wanted, the consumer would have replied a faster horse. Think outside the box.
What about electric cars? It seemed a dream. Now the plug in points are appearing at car parks outside supermarkets all over London.
What about a hybrid car like the Lexis? If the government is going to tell us to buy cars using one fuel, if you buy a hybrid car, you can switch over to go into central London, or when the system changes nationwide. Hybrid cars are made by Hyundai, Lexis, Nissan and Toyota.
Dream Cars - Impossible Dreams?
My latest dream is of a car with an engine you can drop in and pull out and replace in its entirely. So many products nowadays are not worth replacing parts. It's cheaper to buy a whole new one. Yet the old style of classic cars is often appealing. Some of us like vintage. At one time Jaguar were promoting the fact that they have wooden dashboards and their own forest in England supplying the wood. Now all the cars have black interiors which are the latest thing and very modern. But what if you want a vintage car, with the latest engine, faster or less polluting.
The sales person who had visited the factory said it can't be done. But somebody said: "If an expert says it can't be done, get another expert."
Free Rides
When I am in the Far East travelling, or indeed living, I am in places like Singapore where only the very rich have cars, but the hotels have ranks of grand cars such as Rolls Royces outside. So for one day a year you might have a ride in a vintage car, or a brand new glamorous one. Some hotels will give you a free ride when they meet you at the airport. Others makes a charge.
Even if you are not staying in a hotel, you might go in for coffee and admire the opulent car on your way in.
Goodwill
What we like about Singapore is that everybody aspires to own good things and admires good things.
Because it's the dream, you very rarely get envy, or deliberate damage to a good car. In any case the security camera is overhead and the chauffeur is inside, so it would be very foolish and the chauffeurs and owners can be confident that they will be much more likely to attract smiles and enthusiasm.
I remember as a child when I used to see a bride drive past in a bedecked wedding car I would smile and wave. Like train spotters, for car spotters, a magnificent car is a source of joy.
Websites
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3676260/Drivers-diesel-cars-hit-new-pollution-charge-Plan-daily-10-fee-travel-cities.
https://www.lexus.co.uk/car-models/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_vehicle
http://www.jaguar.co.uk/
Photographs by Angela Lansbury, copyright, 2016.
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
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