End of Modding?
Joined: Mar 2001
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From: Hertford
Originally Posted by MarkB,Mar 27 2008, 11:14 AM
But where would the innovation come from?
A lot of kit manufacturers have evolved through racing and finance their activities through selling road cars. Westfield wouldn't be here today if they had to crash test every iteration of their car, neither would we have had TVR, Lotus, Aerial or many other small volume maker apart from possibly Morgan (splinter injuries anyone?) who only had one model with 2 engine variants since Deuce's roamed the earth.....
Yes, the makers of the hideous will disappear, along with the small manufacturers who make the good stuff but for a niche market.
And yes, you are a dinosaur
A lot of kit manufacturers have evolved through racing and finance their activities through selling road cars. Westfield wouldn't be here today if they had to crash test every iteration of their car, neither would we have had TVR, Lotus, Aerial or many other small volume maker apart from possibly Morgan (splinter injuries anyone?) who only had one model with 2 engine variants since Deuce's roamed the earth.....
Yes, the makers of the hideous will disappear, along with the small manufacturers who make the good stuff but for a niche market.
And yes, you are a dinosaur
But to a certain extent, mechanical innovation is almost over. Most of the clever stuff is now electronic, or takes squillions in research to do electronically. It's not as if any of these companies is in a position to compete with Bosch, Ricardo or Honda.
Part of the reason for TVR's failure was they couldn't produce a car with the sophistication that Porsche can. Much as I love TVRs as is, people want all those wanky features like airbags & ESP and HIDs and all those other FREDs.
And since most Atoms etc are trailered to the track, it hopefully will affect them less.
Don't get me wrong; I'd rather nanny state farked right off and died. We have too much legislation already, most of it crappily drafted and duplicating/contradicting existing crappy legislation. It's been like two tablets a day since Moses' time, and it's now got stupid. But it's a fait accompli, if the europrats need to justify their salaries a bit.
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From: North Yorks
Originally Posted by Nick Graves,Mar 27 2008, 04:35 PM
True.
But to a certain extent, mechanical innovation is almost over. Most of the clever stuff is now electronic, or takes squillions in research to do electronically. It's not as if any of these companies is in a position to compete with Bosch, Ricardo or Honda.
Part of the reason for TVR's failure was they couldn't produce a car with the sophistication that Porsche can. Much as I love TVRs as is, people want all those wanky features like airbags & ESP and HIDs and all those other FREDs.
And since most Atoms etc are trailered to the track, it hopefully will affect them less.
Don't get me wrong; I'd rather nanny state farked right off and died. We have too much legislation already, most of it crappily drafted and duplicating/contradicting existing crappy legislation. It's been like two tablets a day since Moses' time, and it's now got stupid. But it's a fait accompli, if the europrats need to justify their salaries a bit.
But to a certain extent, mechanical innovation is almost over. Most of the clever stuff is now electronic, or takes squillions in research to do electronically. It's not as if any of these companies is in a position to compete with Bosch, Ricardo or Honda.
Part of the reason for TVR's failure was they couldn't produce a car with the sophistication that Porsche can. Much as I love TVRs as is, people want all those wanky features like airbags & ESP and HIDs and all those other FREDs.
And since most Atoms etc are trailered to the track, it hopefully will affect them less.
Don't get me wrong; I'd rather nanny state farked right off and died. We have too much legislation already, most of it crappily drafted and duplicating/contradicting existing crappy legislation. It's been like two tablets a day since Moses' time, and it's now got stupid. But it's a fait accompli, if the europrats need to justify their salaries a bit.
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From: Hertford
I thought the car industry already had!
I didn't know Strathcarron had resurfaced, actually.
I know Ariel has a sort of tie-up with Honda. I could see that as being beneficial for both companies. In the same way as with what was BAR.
Such innovation will still continue; remember that EA827 was converted to 16V and stroked to 1.8 & to 2.0L using Oettinger kits back in the 1970s. M-B bought AMG because of their engineering.
I realise that argument falls down in the UK a bit, but hopefully, Tata will join Honda in respecting what British engineering is capable of and collaborate with the tinkerers.
I didn't know Strathcarron had resurfaced, actually.
I know Ariel has a sort of tie-up with Honda. I could see that as being beneficial for both companies. In the same way as with what was BAR.
Such innovation will still continue; remember that EA827 was converted to 16V and stroked to 1.8 & to 2.0L using Oettinger kits back in the 1970s. M-B bought AMG because of their engineering.
I realise that argument falls down in the UK a bit, but hopefully, Tata will join Honda in respecting what British engineering is capable of and collaborate with the tinkerers.
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From: South Coast
The French boys hate this.
Change anything on your car and you are stuffed. Alloys, exhaust, suspension kit, anything and you're breaking the law, plus your insurance is immediately invalidated.
They have recently introduced new measures whereby they test your car for emissions whilst interrogating the ECU via the ODB II port, the data is then fed directly to the Prefecture (administrative centre).
I suppose you could even argue that fitting non OEM tyres would be a transgression of the law.
Change anything on your car and you are stuffed. Alloys, exhaust, suspension kit, anything and you're breaking the law, plus your insurance is immediately invalidated.
They have recently introduced new measures whereby they test your car for emissions whilst interrogating the ECU via the ODB II port, the data is then fed directly to the Prefecture (administrative centre).
I suppose you could even argue that fitting non OEM tyres would be a transgression of the law.
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From: Hampshire
Originally Posted by dreamer,Mar 26 2008, 01:18 PM
I predict a rise in the purchase of trailers, and more kit car owners SORN'ing their cars and just using them for track toys.
The comment re: the French is pertinent - they are subject to the IVA, not the SVA. And if the consultation with the DVLA goes ahead, the IVA will be implemented in the UK by 2014, meaning yes, we won't be able to mod anything...
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Originally Posted by Nick Graves,Mar 26 2008, 02:59 PM
Exactly.
It's why I keep having Dr. Phibes-type fantasies about murdering hacks & politicos;
It's why I keep having Dr. Phibes-type fantasies about murdering hacks & politicos;
Joined: Mar 2001
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From: Hertford
Interesting point.
It's almost as if the nacissistic puppets you see don't matter anyway; it all happens as a fait accompli from the civil servants, or some entente secrete. For example; most countries have simultaneously been damaged by excessive PC-ness, at the same time. It's rare you get one swinging to the right whilst the rest are swinging to the left, any more.
It's almost as if the nacissistic puppets you see don't matter anyway; it all happens as a fait accompli from the civil servants, or some entente secrete. For example; most countries have simultaneously been damaged by excessive PC-ness, at the same time. It's rare you get one swinging to the right whilst the rest are swinging to the left, any more.
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