What will the world of classic cars look like in 20 to 30 years?
Admittedly, you can probably only be wrong if you look 20 to 30 years into the future in today's fast-moving world. Nevertheless, we can already see trends today that will influence the classic car hobby in the future:
- Environmentally oriented bans and restrictions
issues such as road pricing, low emission zones, speed limits depending on emission behavior, etc. are in principle hindering all individual mobility, but classic cars with exhaust emissions similar to those of the time they were built are particularly affected. This makes it more expensive and more difficult to drive around in a classic car. - More and more telematics systems in road traffic
If the majority (or all) vehicles are equipped with telematics systems that prevent collisions, minimize vehicle distances to increase throughput and improve driving comfort (reading the newspaper while driving), then it will be difficult to merge into the flow of traffic with a self-steered classic car (with long braking distances and acceleration performance that is not always up to date). This could even be banned one day in the interests of road safety. - Alternative fuels and electromobility
As the number of consumers increases, filling stations will increasingly focus on consumers of alternative fuels (including electricity). Super petrol (or Super Plus) could increasingly be pushed out of filling stations. Only one in three or ten may then offer conventional gasoline, which today's classic cars need. In extreme cases, petrol might even have to be purchased from aftermarket retailers or even pharmacies (as was the case 100 years ago). - Supply shortage of conventional petroleum-based fuels
Things could get even worse if conventional fuels are no longer available or can only be obtained at a high cost per liter.
All these trends are foreseeable up to a certain point. The only question is when it will happen and what the consequences will be.
- Will we only transport our classic cars on trailers in future and then drive them to closed events for the enjoyment of spectators?
- Will classic cars generally become "stationary vehicles" and thus pure museum objects?
- Will our beloved classic cars lose most of their value as a result, or which cars will still be able to shine with value appreciation in such a horror scenario?
I speculate that, just like steam locomotives today, old cars may also have a place in the future, but that the legal and socio-political framework will have a major influence on the "popularity" of our classic car hobby in the future.
And, perhaps it would not be unwise to look for a post-war wood carburetor model now in order to be independent of petroleum-based fuel in the future and simply burn your cheminee wood ...
