I snapped this old beauty on the way to work a week or so ago. I love the blocky style of the mid-1960s Ford Galaxy 500. It weighs enough to stop a tank, should the driver encounter one on his way to work. It has no airbags or shoulder belts, so his safety was in his own hands.
I do love the style of old cars. But they pollute. The gas coming out of the tailpipe is significantly more polluting than what a modern car produces. Paris, Santa Barbara, California and Texas all have programs to take old cars off the road.
But it’s not necessarily an easy equation. Sometimes keeping your not-very-new car may be more environmental than buying a new one, because of the environmental impact of manufacturing a car (details).
I would totally support a ban on really old cars being daily drivers, or maybe a tax on using them as commuter cars. That would keep the environment cleaner. And the drivers would have less chance of getting in an accident and ruining that piece of history. Additionally, fewer drivers are out on the weekends, so each drive would be more pleasurable. Why not create an old car sharing club and split which weekends you get the old beauties? Then you will have some variety in which ancient iron you take to the highway.
And as I recently bought a bathtub mat to prevent slips and falls, I experienced tiny bits of pain from the soft bottoms of my feet. The mat’s spiky plastic tines poked into my soles. At first, I thought of taking the mat back. Then I realized it made my feet feel alive.
A recent Wall Street Journal article on triathlons had a sidebar featuring recommended equipment. the “entry-level” road bike was $1,449. that freaked me out a little until I realized that their normal readers are in a class where that price is entry-level.
