Are older cars worse for the enviornment in comparison to newer?

Question

I'm deciding whether or not purchasing a used car. It's quite old but when I saw it I was immediately drawn to it and I honestly can't stop thinking about it. It's a 1973 Chrysler (I forget the model). The only thing really delaying my plans is my sympathy for our air and the emission of carbon.

So are older cars better for the enviornment?

(my other choice was a Prius but although I love the earth I couldn't help but feel like a sheep, what with so many Pruises out there nowadays--I'd rather help the environment by other means i.e. public transportation more frequently than the use of automobiles, less usage of electricity)

Answer 1

are older cars worse for the environment? yes and no. it really depends on the condition of the car, and the state of tune of the engine. i have had older cars that make newer cars look like gross polluters. if you choose to buy the older car, make sure it is in good condition, and get the tune up right on the car, and you will have something both fun and unique to drive.

Answer 2

Yes, if it's carbureted, it's worse for the environnement. Carbs can only be tuned to a certain degree, most of them can only be tuned for 1 thing, usually power which is roughly 12.5:1 AFR, where-as injected cars have endless tuneability. If you stomp it the computer automatically richens it to it's peak power AFR, then when cruisin down the highway it leans it out to about 14.4:1 - 14.7:1 AFR. Carbs are being outlawed for a reason now'a'days. Notice everything becoming fuel injected? And becoming a 4 stroke? Snowmobiles being a big one, up here anyway. Half of them are 4 strokes now, and 3/4 of them are injected now.

As far as the Prius goes, what are you using it for? If you're doing highway driving, stay away from them. They're actually less efficient than a gas-only vehicle when it comes to highway speeds. But if it's being used in the city, go for it. But being a mechanic I see the benefeits of a hybrid to be far too minimal to spend the extra cash on them, when my little accent makes twice as much power as one, and get's 43mpg combined city/highway (roughly half and half). When a hybrid in the city gets 60, then plummets to about 35 on the highway

Answer 3

Older cars are less fuel efficient across the board.  Some of them have higher emissions levels, you'd have to look up the exact make and model.  And, buy the Prius if you want to help the environment.  Don't worry about "being a sheep", who cares?

Answer 4

Being a 1973 vehicle, it is probably exempt from most states' emission checks, being more than 25 years old.

If you are concerned about air quality - The current NHW20 Prius is rated AT-PZEV (alternative technology partial-zero emissions vehicle) in California emission states.  That means that it meets the SULEV (super ultra low emission vehicle) standards (about 90% cleaner emissions than an average new vehicle), and also has zero evaporative emissions (no unburnt hydrocarbon emissions from the vehicle when it is just sitting there not even on - no emissions from the gasoline just evaporating out of the vehicle).  I sincerely doubt that a 1973 vehicle could be as clean as that.

The amount of CO2 and maybe CO depends on the fuel economy of the vehicle.  Does the current owner of the 1973 Chrysler have any gas logs (tank to tank) to tell you how fuel efficient it is with their driving?

At least you have plenty of Prius owners reporting their fuel economy, averaging in the mid-high 40s in combined driving:

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/mpg/MPG.do?ac...

http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/milea...

On the EPA testing (recently changed to better reflect actual driving), the Toyota Prius still comes out as the best new vehicle for fuel economy in the US, at 48mpg city/45mpg highway, for 46mpg combined.  I have no idea where people are getting the idea that they're not good on the highway...  Doing an advanced search on http://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/Advsear... for 2008 vehicles with an EPA highway rating greater than 40MPG, the Toyota Prius is tied for first with the Honda Civic Hybrid at 45mpg, and the only other car with highway MPG greater than 40 is the microcar SMART Fortwo.

There are no commercially-available plug-in hybrids on the market so far. (So you cannot plug a hybrid in, other than the same gas station pump that most other regular/conventional cars use.) The hybrid battery is recharged either through regenerative braking (kinetic energy from coasting/slowing down spins a generator to make potential energy in the battery) and/or by taking excess power from the gasoline engine (use the gasoline engine as a generator) to recharge the hybrid battery. There is no plug. No charging off the mains/local electric supply.  So you'd have the same local impact by the same less usage of electricity, whichever car you choose.

Answer 5

No they put out more emissions but if it's a '73 charger or challenger in good shape, then buy it and s***w the enviroment, have fun with it.  It will cost you more for gas, but what you'll save on new car payments will cover it.

Answer 6

Not necessarily! Some older cars produce LESS pollution than newer ones...but there are caveats. During the late '70's, and early '80's, Congress mandated a whole lot of new emission regulations and safety mods, and CAFE gas mileage requirements. TO meet them, the car makers had to futz around with computers, catalytic converters, etc. to get the job done. It was a mess, and there was little deep engineering to it, just enough to get them to pass when new. Many pollute WORSE, now that they're older.Many older cars from the '60's are cleaner than the newer ones! It all depends on make/model/engine, etc.

  Your '73 is probably ok, although it was the first year for the safety bumpers and catalytic converters. If it's tuned up properly, and not worn out, then it should be fine, if a possible gas hog. If it has the small 318 V-8 in it, that's a fine motor. Go for it.

- The Gremlin Guy -