Set at The Quail Lodge Golf Club during the famed Monterey
Classic Car Week, notable industry figures including Michael Kunz, Director of
Mercedes-Benz Classic Center; Corky Coker, CEO, Coker Tire; and Wayne Carini,
Host of Discovery HD's "Chasing Classic Cars" joined Master of
Ceremonies McKeel Hagerty, CEO of Hagerty for a discussion on Top Threats to
the Classic Car Hobby.
While traditionally historic vehicles have not been the
direct focus of attacks, technology and public policy are advancing and
developing with a growing bias against the traditional automobile and the
combustion engine. Increasingly, historic vehicles are suffering as byproducts
of well-intentioned regulatory action or technological evolution. While those
in the hobby support cleaner air, safer vehicles, and petroleum independence,
broad sweeping, ill-conceived strategies can unintentionally impact the ability
to freely use and maintain historic vehicles.
The most immediate threats to the collector car hobby
discussed during the panel included:
1. Disappearing Infrastructure - Evolving transportation
technology means the skills essential for repairing, restoring and
manufacturing parts for historic vehicles might eventually erode if not
nurtured and supported. If there is any question about this, one has only to
consider how many steam-locomotive technicians work in major cities today. So
too, then, may dissolve the capacity to rebuild carburetors, troubleshoot
breaker-point ignitions and repair tube radios as these likewise become relics
of our industrial past.
2. Environmental Regulations - At a state level there
remains keen interest in emissions. Currently, there are 93 bills in 26
different states that deal specifically with emissions. As new cars become
increasingly cleaner and the number of cleaner cars on the road grows, the more
historic vehicles may shift in status from novelty to nuisance. This means that
as state air quality standards get proportionately tighter, the number of cars
meeting lower emissions standards will grows; which, in turn, will make older,
more polluting vehicles a bigger, more visible target.
3. Alternative Fuels - The US is on track to comply with the
federal law requiring us to quadruple our production of alternative fuels by
2020. The EPA and Department of Energy are working jointly to implement the
most aggressive alternative fuel production standards that include E-85 and the
highest corporate average fuel economy standards. The direct consequence of
wide spread, pervasive implementation of alternative fuel on historic vehicle
owners is evident- a disappearing fuel infrastructure.
4. Aging Demographic - The average age of the historic
vehicle hobbyist is 55. And 75% of the hobby is 46 years old or more. Social,
economic and technical forces conspire to divert the interest of youths away
from the automobile. If these trends are left unabated we will continue to see
the hobby age, declines in the number of enthusiasts and the value of vehicles,
clubs will shrink and support services will become scarcer as more enthusiasts
exit the hobby than enter it.
Each of the issues outlined during the panel discussions are
going to fall under the proactive initiatives of the HVA in North America. The
HVA was founded by Hagerty Insurance and appointed by FIVA as their exclusive
North American affiliate in October 2009. The HVA will organize and serve the
Historic Vehicle Movement in the United States and Canada by coordinating
political and practical initiatives that serve the long term interests of its members.
The HVA is actively monitoring regulatory developments,
collecting data to establish fact-based positions on issues affecting historic
vehicle owners, developing a uniform system to identify and classify historic
vehicles, and providing support and resources for all aspects of the historic
vehicle lifestyle (clubs, events, museums, businesses and related educational
institutions.
Article Credit: http://classiccars.about.com
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