Supporting our future

[yahrt]

I am not a member of many organizations, the few I support I have chosen carefully. I am nearing the end of my build and am interested in doing my part to ensure that I will be able to enjoy the fruits of my labors for many years to come. Without getting political, let's just say that one could envision a day when driving around in our creations might not be widely appreciated and could face serious scrutiny/restrictions for all kinds of reasons. Thus my question, any recommendations on which organizations do the best job of advocating, lobbying, and supporting our passions? Tim

[Mike N]

For sure this one http://semasan.com/

[David Hodgkins]

Yep, SEMA for sure.

[GT53]

I am not a member of many organizations, the few I support I have chosen carefully. I am nearing the end of my build and am interested in doing my part to ensure that I will be able to enjoy the fruits of my labors for many years to come. Without getting political, let's just say that one could envision a day when driving around in our creations might not be widely appreciated and could face serious scrutiny/restrictions for all kinds of reasons. Thus my question, any recommendations on which organizations do the best job of advocating, lobbying, and supporting our passions? Tim

Hey Tim,

Unfortunately, little or nothing is exempt from politics these days but that’s the way it is. I haven’t even started my build as I just ordered it a few weeks ago and won’t see it until September, but about 30 seconds after I placed the order with FF, the thought crossed my mind about the very thing you brought up with this thread. I ruminated about it for a few minutes and came to the conclusion that I, or we, have absolutely zero control over what takes place in the political arena so I think I’m just going to ignore the noise and do something that I have wanted to do for a long time which is build a really cool car. I’m way too old to worry about what might happen but I can guarantee you that I’m gonna have a good time in the process and anyone who doesn’t like it for whatever reason can......go ahead and not like it.

In the meantime I will support the local Cobra Club and any other organizations that promote the things that all of us like do and I would encourage everyone here to do the same.

Greg

[ggunter]

I have been thinking about the same thing as far as our hobby goes and with the big push for electric vehicles and what it takes for the battery technology, that is improving rapidly, I see them increasing the cost of gas until it is economically viable for everyone to own an electric vehicle and of course phase out the nasty fossil burning demonds that we all drive. Now the time span that that happens, who knows but it is coming fast. I work for a Mack truck dealer and the first electric Mack rolled off the assembly line last week and the factory is pushing us hard to become involved with selling them. They are not feasible for anything other than city use in a stop and go environment because the range is only 80-100 miles right now. But that will change rapidly. I hope our hobby stays around for a long time but it seems like the writing is on the wall for a lot of things in this country changing and not necessarily for the better. Sorry don't want to get polictical.

[BrewCityCobra]

I, too, wondered about this when ordering my kit last year. Electric vehicles do appear to be the wave of the future but I think it will be beyond our lifetimes before it gets to the point where driving a ICE vehicle will be cost prohibitive (I don't think it will ever be made illegal outright). The wonders of living through a major paradigm shift in society I suppose.

In my opinion, the future of our hobby will come down to consumables and parts. When will operating an ICE engine become cost prohibitive for your average gearhead because he or she can't get something needed to run the car - be it gas, parts, a machine shop that even knows how to work on an ICE engine, etc. Fortunately for us car culture in the United States is pretty big so I have to think parts will continue to be manufactured for the foreseeable future. I mean, classics are classics and people will always want to run that old 300SL, HemiCuda, air-cooled 911, and Cobra which means there will be a market for ICE engine blocks, parts, etc. Hell, my father-in-law can still get babbitts poured for his Model-A engine and those have been outdated for a hundred years. Will the things we love become more expensive and harder to find as electrics take over - absolutely - but hopefully not to the point of killing off the hobby as only the super-rich can afford to do it.

Gas is the big one for me - how far out is it before there are so few ICE cars left on the road that "gas stations" turn exclusively into "charge stations" so we have to go to a specific store to get gasoline.

As for Cobras/kits in general - those will be safe well into the future. Someday in the future FFR will offer an "electric Cobra" or "electric 818" alongside the kits we know today. Then some day beyond that, only the electric versions.

[dlud]

I just finished my GTM and thought about this a number of times. Due to the number of ice vehicles in this country/world, the limited infrastructure for ev charging and the range limits of ev's it is my thought that ice vehicles will be with us for a long time. Nevertheless, I do think that the infrastructure issue and ev technology will improve with time and that will be the future. I am nevertheless excited. My wife drives a Prius Prime and it is a fun car to drive on battery power. I am currently researching Tesla swaps and that will be my next project car. No, ev's don't have the rumble and adrenaline rush of a high powered ice but they do offer a thrill of their own.

[ggunter]

I agree that ICE will be here for a while, but with California saying ICE free by 2030 that is going to push the culture to move in that direction. Im 68 now, in 10 years, if I live that long I probably won't be able to push the clutch in anyway. So for 10 years I'll give it Hell.

[Blitzboy54]

I plan to eventually convert mine to an electric motor. I will then put knobby tires on the back and mount an oversized playing card in the wheel well.

It's going to be incredible

[GTBradley]

I really appreciate how hard Hagerty Insurance promotes driving culture.

I personally think the best way to support our hobby is to go to events. People love to be reminded of what they loved from times past and, in turn, they support what we do. Technology will move on, guaranteed, but nostalgia never will.

[CABulldog]

I personally am not against electric cars, I currently have a plug in hybrid which is a fine car to drive. The hybrid I had before that was a lot of fun to drive. Electric cars have instant torque and amazing acceleration, the hobby will continue in some form. That said I read these comments and wonder if in the late 1800's early 1900's a similar conversation went on about horses and carts. Today they are still used just mostly for fun. I read somewhere (not sure where) that a major oil company were working on an eco gasoline to replace regular gasoline, there may already be alternatates out there, they most like cost more right now. I would not be surprised to see ICE continue on in a hobbyist/classic/collector car form. I am worried more about self driving cars, even then there maybe some benefits for us, imagine no stupid idiot drivers on the road. The down side is I assume getting a license to actually drive may become difficult or impossible. I for one have no desire to put my life in the hands of software engineers, it is my career and I have just interviewed far too many I would not trust to code a toaster let alone put my life into the hands of.

[OSU Cowboy]

IMHO - I don't see EV's taking over the world. At some point, the populace will do the talking with their spending. EV's are not all they are cracked up to be. I'd argue that environmentally they are more harmful long term vs. gas and diesel powered vehicles are now. Why do I say that?
1) Energy efficiency. Electricity is generated from petroleum by and large. When energy is converted from one form (petroleum) to another (electricity) there is a significant efficiency loss of energy. The electrical transmission lines are also an efficiency loss. The battery charge is also an efficiency loss.
2) Mining for the materials to manufacture the batteries requires massive amounts of petroleum, and, it's called "rare earth materials" because, well, they are rare.
3) Imagine the environmental issues surrounding the disposal of used batteries. Moves the concern from the air we breathe to the water we drink.
4) Say you live in a state with an already dicey electrical grid - eg - California in hot summers with rolling blackouts. The grid is not able to sustain existing loads ... how would it support the additional burden of millions of EV's needing a charge?

[John Ibele]

I really appreciate how hard Hagerty Insurance promotes driving culture.

I personally think the best way to support our hobby is to go to events. People love to be reminded of what they loved from times past and, in turn, they support what we do. Technology will move on, guaranteed, but nostalgia never will.

I think this is right. As the technology moves on, the tiny bit of gasoline consumed by enthusiasts won't be a practical contribution to any worldwide problem. If there are enough enthusiasts looking after our hobby and lobbying legislators, my hope is that it's like lobbying for access to non-oxy gas today.

[Mike N]

100 years ago everybody had a horse and only the wealthy had cars. Today everybody has a car and only the wealthy have horses. No doubt the cost of an ICE versus EV will swing in the favor of EV's over time. So long as I can still have my hobby vehicles I'm OK with the move towards EV's.

[CP82AERO]

I'm 61, and have had the good fortune to retire a couple of years back. This allowed me to pull the trigger on a roadster kit, which should ship early July. I can't wait, and in the meantime have just completed a build of a Dart/Scat/Trick Flow 351W/427, Ram clutch and Tremec TKO600.

Born and raised in Southern California, I grew up in Pasadena and was just old enough to appreciate the (waning days) muscle car era and the associated high school parking lot, well represented with Chevelles, El Caminos, Mustangs and Road Runners (along with Pintos, Vegas and Datsun B210's) along with the day-after stories and exaggerations from the previous night's cruise on Colorado or Van Nuys. So high performance V-8's and drag racing bit me hard, with a half-dozen 1/4 mile tracks in my local area in operation. We all worked on ours and/or our friends' and parent's cars, typically lacking funds to do much more than repair and maintain them, in an era thankfully devoid of gaming and other digital temptations. For me, this immersion led me to aeronautical and mechanical engineering degrees and a related career. It was a logical progression for me after high school.

If this posting has a point it's that I'm All In. All in in terms of supporting the organizations that are dedicating themselves to prolonging our passion, to fighting legislation that is not based on a political agenda but on science or physics, to giving back and helping others here--once I have some build experience to do so!

Growing up with asthma in the LA basin of the 60's and 70's has me respecting the oft-times painful decades-long development of pollution control devices, and a turn to cleaner energy, but Goddamit, prove to me that electric cars are truly cleaner than ICE cars with fuel and energy production and transmission--and end of life motor and battery disposals are taken into consideration.

I'm lucky. If I remain healthy my car will get built and enjoyed in my remaining lifetime, a culmination of a rich and glorious passion. I hope and will work to prolong our culture for those younger than I--which includes my four sons!
Thanks to all of you on this forum who "get it" and derive soulful joy from helping us on our first time builds.

[Andrew Davis]

Thank you CP, well stated. Though not flying, am still a member of EAA. My roadster is in the go cart stage. Already thinking of the next project.