Factors affecting value.....

[JonB]

Thanks Mark, I stand corrected! Great to know there is another option, just in case.

P.S. I have news for you..

[The Veg]

+1 For the Strombergs. They're just a larger version of the Bings on old BMW motorbikes (with which I also have experience) and in either case, my experience is that they're pretty much set-and-forget and enjoy many miles of reliable operation.

I've also heard exciting things about retro-fitting Mikunis on engines that originally had Strombergs, supposedly a real boost in performance.

[Sinbad007]

I have an S4 with Strombergs. The car was nut and bolt rebuilt by the previous owner. I have owned it for 4 years. Other than topping up the dash pots I have not touched the carbs at all. 'Starts and runs well, nice and smooth. Very economical too. And I love the power bulge, although a LHD car would be odd?
Webers are sexier but no complaints from me re. Strombergs so far.

[h20hamelan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs0-G2vIWiU

Harry, more about newer cars, but...

[sng]

Just to play devils advocate and deliberately provoke:-

What place does a 6 Litre V12 hyper car have on UK roads? Even ignoring the 20mph speed limit these sorts of cars are far too capable to offer any real enjoyment at legal speed limits. One of the main reasons I own my Elan is that I do not have to break the speed limit to enjoy driving it. If people like driving so much why is there not a lot of cheap lightweight sports cars with small economical engines in the true British sports car tradition. I would suggest owning these cars is not really about the driving pleasure.

Most of the electronic safety aids on cars are to stop the average driver killing other road users. When I say average I mean somebody driving to work after a late night while thinking about how cute the new member of their team is. As a cyclist I find it ironic that lots of car drivers complain about cyclists but admit they won't cycle as it's far too dangerous. For most car drivers it's always the other person who is a bad driver. If somebody turns off the safety aids and then has a preventable accident should they be held more accountable?

The real question here is do these safety aids actually work, I would assume it would be really difficult to empirically measure this with lots or people having an opinion but not many facts.

Another use of electronics on cars is to reduce the emissions, I am sure the demographics on this forum would criticise this but if I talk to my 18 and 21 year children they are worried about their future on this planet. People may say there are so few hyper cars that it makes no difference but why should rich people be allowed to pollute?

Is it possible to build a great drivers car that is safe and emits less than 100g of CO2 per km, I think so but we don't, why ?

Electronics on cars also play a part in keeping the occupants of the car safe, this also adds a lot of expense to a car. When buying a car people like to see a 5 star rating but I often think they far too easily accept a low rating for pedestrian safety. Just put a five year old in front of a large SUV and it's frightening to play out that scenario, we are all basically selfish.

One final hand grenade to throw, I look at Harry standing in front of a wall full of 'soft porn' photos and then look at my two young daughters and think the age of the dinosaurs is coming to an end. It's interesting that Diana Rigg always thought the role of Emma Peel was too sexualised and also fought for equal pay that Patrick MacNee did not support, she was a very talented and intelligent actress who should be remembered as such.

Hope people are not too offended but when considering a topic people need to consider both sides of the argument, I am sure their are more pro's and con's.

[JonB]

The real question here is do these safety aids actually work, I would assume it would be really difficult to empirically measure this with lots or people having an opinion but not many facts.

You don't measure things by asking people what they think. However, in this case I think it is reasonably easy to gauge the effectiveness of safety aids once vehicles so equipped start being sold in large numbers. What happens is you see a statistical downturn in accident figures and when broken down by vehicle make / model, it can be seen that those modern cars with the aids are involved in fewer accidents. Once you have a significant fleet of cars on the road, it starts to become clearer.

For example:

Tesla autopilot accident stats

Hope that is self explanitary.

Another use of electronics on cars is to reduce the emissions, I am sure the demographics on this forum would criticise this but if I talk to my 18 and 21 year children they are worried about their future on this planet. People may say there are so few hyper cars that it makes no difference but why should rich people be allowed to pollute?

Why indeed? Yet as a citizen of a first world country, you're rich by some people's standards, and you pollute too. "Rich" is a relative term, don't forget.

Is it possible to build a great drivers car that is safe and emits less than 100g of CO2 per km, I think so but we don't, why ?

Of course we can. They are called EVs. And although they are quite heavy (no heavier than the average large sized SUV though) and you can feel the weight of the battery in the corners, some of them go like stink and have prodigious levels of roadholding. Not that I am advocating owning one for absolute driving pleasure (this is why I have the Elan), but doing 0-60 in under 3.5 seconds sure makes me giggle. Full disclosure: I have a Tesla Model 3.

Electronics on cars also play a part in keeping the occupants of the car safe, this also adds a lot of expense to a car. When buying a car people like to see a 5 star rating but I often think they far too easily accept a low rating for pedestrian safety. Just put a five year old in front of a large SUV and it's frightening to play out that scenario, we are all basically selfish.

A five year old's chances in front of any car are slim, once speeds are above 20mph. But I agree with you about how selfish we are. The busy mums parking right outside the school gates in a huge 4x4 that never sees off road action for example.

One final hand grenade to throw, I look at Harry standing in front of a wall full of 'soft porn' photos and then look at my two young daughters and think the age of the dinosaurs is coming to an end. It's interesting that Diana Rigg always thought the role of Emma Peel was too sexualised and also fought for equal pay that Patrick MacNee did not support, she was a very talented and intelligent actress who should be remembered as such.

Dinosaurs, yes quite right, and this is IMHO affecting classic car values, too.

If Diana Rigg thought that, why did she agree to dress up as a dominatrix and whip the bad guys (literally) into submission in the Avengers episode "A touch of brimstone" (1966)?

Oooh I can hear the Google searches right now...

[Andy8421]

Just to play devils advocate and deliberately provoke:-
The real question here is do these safety aids actually work, I would assume it would be really difficult to empirically measure this with lots or people having an opinion but not many facts.

Deaths on UK roads continue to decline. In spite of very significant increases in population, miles driven and number of cars on the road, casualties are close to an all time low - so clearly something is working.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reported_Road_Casualties_Great_Britain

It has been my assumption that our beloved Elans are pretty much death traps on the road in an accident.

Tara Browne Elan

tarapressphoto.jpg (76.96 KiB) Viewed 206 times

Although reported by the newspapers as having been travelling at 120 miles per hour, it seems likely the papers had confused top speed with actual speed. His girlfriend was reported to have said that they weren't going 'very fast' and had swerved to avoid an overtaking car and hit a parked van. Apparently Tara was known to Lennon, who had read the article about the crash the weekend he wrote 'A day in the Life'

[draenog]

One final hand grenade to throw, I look at Harry standing in front of a wall full of 'soft porn' photos and then look at my two young daughters and think the age of the dinosaurs is coming to an end. It's interesting that Diana Rigg always thought the role of Emma Peel was too sexualised and also fought for equal pay that Patrick MacNee did not support, she was a very talented and intelligent actress who should be remembered as such.

Dinosaurs, yes quite right, and this is IMHO affecting classic car values, too.

If Diana Rigg thought that, why did she agree to dress up as a dominatrix and whip the bad guys (literally) into submission in the Avengers episode "A touch of brimstone" (1966)?

Oooh I can hear the Google searches right now...

Diana Rigg designed the "Queen of sin" costume herself. One of the required characteristics of the actress playing the role was that she had to have "man appeal". In fact the name Emma Peel is a play on m-appeal, short for man appeal.