Not sure if this has reached the other side of the world yet, but an energy company here in NZ has converted a 57 retractable to electric power. Now, I'm not a tree hugging greenie, but I do try to do my bit to be environmentally conscious. However, this crosses the line in my opinion. They have taken a perfectly good retractable that most of us on here would be happy to own as it was before they converted it. The TV advert promotes as clean, green and quiet so all the tree huggers are saying how wonderful it is, whereas the classic car lovers are absolutely hating it because they know the true value of such a car. The energy company are taking it around various car events and promoting it as the way to be able to keep using your classic car in an environmentally friendly manner. What they aren't telling the general populace is that they are having to truck it to these events as it only has a range around 120 - 130km - not much good when most of the cruises we do are in excess of that. So, not only has it ruined a valuable classic car, it's not very practical.
I'm interested on your guys opinion on it. (Hopefully the link works for you)
https://www.mercury.co.nz/Evie/Get-to-know-Evie
YUCK :005:
After looking at that, I'm sick.
Different strokes......
Bill, this one doesn't even have strokes,I think it just goes roundy round, lol
I love yellow, btw, but that one obviously was formulated solely to be an eye catcher.
To make the electric thing at least a bit more viable they shouldn't have started with a 4500 lbs. car. A Little Falcon would have been a better choice, just wouldn't have
the appeal of a big ol' 57 though.
Most of the fun of driving these old things is listening to the V8 play its tune when you hit the pedal on the right! It's gotta suck driving that wreck with just a little hum or whatever it does.
Thank you for the link, Steve.
So finally, they put their hands on a 57. people are doing this all over the world with collectable cars. especially , Porsche, Volkswagen, beetles and buses. Possibly just proving that it can be done. We know already now it can be done. I wonder why they chose a 57 Retractable. why not a Mustang, or a 57 ****?
We can start a discussion for weeks right away. I love nature and do everything I can to save it. I do hug trees when I am out fishing. Therefore I drive 60+ year old cars. not joking. First of all I think about if I really need to take it for a drive. If I don't, I'll leave it be. then I keep my cars at peak performance, saving so much fuel already. Do I floor the pedal once in a while. Sure ! Do I do that all day long and at the same time step on the brakes like most any 'modern' driver does all day long - no way. how often did my 60 year old car need recycled in the past 6 decades. None. Did it cause emissions to recycle like any other needs in ten years ? six times None. Does it bring joy to me, my family and hundreds of onlookers ? all the time !
I think electric vehicles can be powerful, intersting and economical. they can. but they still aren't. with each EV delivered I want to see a bill of energy and efficiency. INCLUDING the way the raw material for the accu packs got shipped around the globe 3 times. I want to see where the batteries go AFTER they have been exhausted. I want to see the environmental friendly nuclear power plant that produces the recharge. I have yet to see a power panel on anybody's garage roof. where are they.
What I am asking. Will photovoltaic power stop earth warming.never. it will increase it. Not using the sun's energy means a whole lot of it is reflected to the stars each day by houses, sand, stone. whatever. it goes back to from where it comes. if we started using and absorbing much more of it, reprocessing it to electric power, using that and returning it into heat. now where is that heat ? right here.
I do respect EVs and seeing how even Dr' Porsches first car (1904?) was a 4WD All Electric Austro Lohner, which he won a mountain race with.
anyways, any of our 50+ yr old car that's still here and getting used in reasonable manners will be easily as green as one of those none stinking, but oh-so-dirty 4000pds Electric monsters.
It makes a bit of a mockery of "clean/green" when they have to truck or trailer it to events using a fossil burning vehicle, as it has such a poor range.
From good friends of mine, who have been in your beautiful part of the world before, I have heard about the roads and distances driven. I am not even refering to an Aukland/Wellington drive, but any few hundred kms out of town is impossible with a 130km range. Maybe they should add a battery trailer :003:
So how are they going to set a speed record with that thing at 90 Miles Beach, when they don't even make it there? hahaha...
That's exactly right. Most of us are happy to drive out of town to support other car events, but even a relatively local one would have a round trip in excess of its range. I guess they would just have to hope there is somewhere to plug it in while parked up at an event so they can drive it home again.
It is copping a lot flack from the true car enthusiast that appreciate the real value of any classic car, but there are hoards of people oohing and aahing over it cos it looks like a cool old car and "what a neat idea to make it electric".
If you notice , when the engine is removed its an F.E. not the original Y Block that would have come in a 57.
Time marchs on but then I"m :deadhorse:
Oldmics
No Thanks.
The FE would still be preferable to the electric motor Oldmics
Quote from: junior58 on 2018-03-22 17:05
The FE would still be preferable to the electric motor Oldmics
It always could be worse, it could have had a 350 sbc dumped into it.
I like the car, not the color, not something I would do to a 57 but at least some tacky customizer isn't trying to tell you what a bad job Ford did designing the car (Bitchin rides) I don't see any difference than if someone replaced the engine with a 302 or a 390. Again not something I would do , but as I've been told may times here "To each his own"
The fact they picked an such innovative car as the '57 Ford Retractable is a complement.
It was chosen to get attention and the publicity is going to get brings more awareness to how innovative Ford was in 1957.
I'm sure the fact it was so far ahead of current technology when introduced may have been one of the reasons it was chosen to be used as an example of what we can(or may need to) do in the future.
Realistically Retractables had a good survival rate because of it's novelty. There are plenty of Skyliners available for sale at any given time and yes, at least they did not try to redesign(butcher/customize)Fords already beautiful design.