Pagoda SL Group
W113 Pagoda SL Group => General Discussion => Topic started by: JamesL on March 17, 2006, 16:29:17
-
no, not one of the multitude of colours but the ecological shade of green
Given the mpg discussion below, is it environmentally sound to own a Pagoda?
Gas mileage is not that high - although higher than some big SUVs etc. It struggles to meet emissions regs, or is exempt from them.
On the flip side, the resources used in maintaining the car and recycling parts are typically less than required in building a new car - although incresingly in Europe there are tough standards on the % of a new car that must be recyclable...
How Green Are Our Pagodas?
-
The car itself is definitely not green (as you note, very high consumption, moderate to poor tuning and condition of many of the engines, no or very limited emissions controls), but the fact that 95% of them are not used for daily transportation I would think renders this discussion moot.
On that flip side, they are very pleasing to the eye, and so enhance our environment. They keep many grown men confined to the garage and the keyboard, so we have less time to spend in other cars, on motorcycles, in boats or engaged in other environmentally taxing activities.
From an environmental perspective, live events should be discouraged. Take the 2005 Ohio tech session: the number of flying and driving miles (California, Dominican Republic, Netherlands to name a few) add up.
But if the 'peak oil' and similar predictions bear truth, within a few short decades, our cars could well be no more than stationary museum pieces. Now there's a scary thought ...
Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic
-
Cars today are 99% cleaner on average than cars of the 70's.
So it woud lbe hard to argue that they are green by today's standards. But I think the point made earlier is correct that because they are typically not driven every day, the potential impact isn't very bad.
Ken G
1971 280 SL
Silver/red
-
There's also a pretty good chance that a Pagoda SL on the road today will still be on the road in 20 years. Many of today's "greener" cars will doubtless be rotting away in a landfill by that time.
Douglas Kim
New York
USA
-
But... the embedded energy used in construction is so high for a new car, vs that which has been embedded and well used over 40 years for an old one. It's sort of live recycled... 8)