[eekowarrior]

I've recently retired, well, actually not quite, 6 working days to go. The company car was a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, I could do the 20 mile journey there on a full charge, recharge at work and then another EV only drive home. Now what car to get now I'm handing that back?

I am concerned about this wonderful planet so my choice will seem very contradictory. A 1981 Series 3 gas guzzling Land Rover. Why?

1. I can service and tune it myself.
2. It's been restored to original condition, it has a galvanised chassis, rustproof alumininium body panels and will probably outlive me.

But,
1. It has the aerodynamics of a brick.
2. It'll be in 2 wheel drive most of the time and I'm not fitting freewheeling hubs, so it'll be expending energy rotating the front axle and drive train.
3. The 2.25 litre petrol engine was only ever claimed by the manufacturer to be able to achieve 19mpg. I'll do my best to keep it in tune and at max. efficiency.

2nd but,
1. It is generally accepted that the carbon footprint of manufacturing a car is roughly equivalent to the CO2 emitted during it's driving lifetime.
2. The CO2 emitted during manufacture is higher with all-electric/hybrids and then there are also additional toxicity concerns regarding lithium battery production.

That being the case, driving a car that, before restoration, would have been destined for the scrapyard, it has already impacted the environment with the manufacturing CO2 and henceforth I need only worry about the impact I make driving it during it's extended lifetime.

I will post on here the mpg I achieve (and any other event that would adversly impact planet Earth.) and compare that to what the same impact would have been if I'd opted for a new car.

And at the end of it's life or mine, it will be sold on or broken up for spares, which, because spares of this model are so sought after it will remove the environmental impact of those components being re-manufactured.

I'm convinced my choice will be better for the planet overall and will search on here for anyone that has done the same or other useful tips. Comments welcome.