I was in Amsterdam yesterday. Lots of lovely young women with short skirts riding bicycles! But of more interest was the number of older cars still driving around and appearing to be in good condition. Not lovingly cared for classics, just lots of cars from the period say 1980 - 1995 that in the UK would have been scrapped.
Far fewer brand new cars, far fewer executive cars.
Interesting.
I saw a few W123 Mercs that were clearly still going strong. I love those cars.
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Curious. The Netherlands has a damp maritime climate like ours, which I would have thought would militate against such longevity. On the other hand, its society is more egalitarian and less status-obsessed, so perhaps there's a tendency to choose the transport you need and keep it running, rather than have something new and swanky for the sake of keeping up with the, erm, van Jonkerses.
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Do they use as much salt on the roads as we do?
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>>Do they use as much salt on the roads as we do?<<
Probably not, as the terrain is mostly flat.
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Similar observations in Italy. I work with some people who earn good incomes over there but they don't tend to spend it on cars on the surface of it anyway. They seem to be happy enough with basic transport which they keep for a long time. Admittedly cars are quite expensive there but even so, they just don't bother very much. One guy I know is a very senior executive for a large fashion design house and lives in a fabulous house but drives an old base model Fiat Uno diesel with a ding in every panel. Another similarly successful chap I know doesn't have a car at all of his own and uses a motorbike. His wife runs around in a ten year old, fairly tatty Golf.
They love their supercars over there of course but family transport doesn't seem to get the same level of priority as here.
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On the way back I read in the EasyJet mag that its takes 10 years to get a parking permit in central Amsterdam. Maybe that has something to do with it.
Oh - and I saw a new model Saab 9-5. Lordy - its huge! Like they took the old model and stretched it like elastic so looks lower, wider and longer.
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I know a joke about a dutch girl who won all the gold medals for swimming at the olympics. An athlete totally unheard of previously, when interviewed, she admitted to having been a hooker in Amsterdam...
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>> she admitted to having been a hooker in Amsterdam...
Didn't know Amsterdam had a Rugby team.
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Well, I do seem to remember in the longer version of the story she mentions a fondness for odd shaped balls so there might be something in what you say...
Anyway, Amsterdam, old cars etc...carry on...
:-)
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Here in Austria it always amazes me how many older cars there are around, given the harsh winters and salting of the roads. Can't tell what they are like underneath but the bodywork usually looks pretty good. I do wonder whether it's anything to do with the fact that many people here have car ports rather than garages, and that the exposure to the air dries the cars out rather than leaving the damp to fester in a closed-in warm garage?
And even more amazing, the prices of mid-late 90s used cars are comparatively high - €3,000 for a 1998 Passat estate?
Last edited by: Mike H on Fri 19 Nov 10 at 15:38
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Price of new cars may be a factor too. Not sure about the Netherlands but Denmark for one imposes a very high purchase tax on new cars, which presumably encourages owners to keep making do with the old one.
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Yes, just returned from Copenhagen and apart from the numerous attractive female cyclists (and my wife spotted an equal number of attractive male cyclists) there was a dearth of "prestige" cars. Is this Nordic functionalism ie cars are just a form of transport.
Back to the bicycles I noticed that these were also just a form of transport; most machines well used, definitely not new and no special cycling clothing worn except for the occasional helmet.
vitesse
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As I alluded to in another thread a couple of weeks back, us Brits seem to spend far too much money on cars, compared with many other countries!
Car tax in Denmark is 100%, i.e. the car price more or less doubles. Anyone fancy a new Panda for 12 grand? Same tax applies on importing or registering used cars. That said the car fleet in Denmark used to be very tatty around 15 years ago, and prosperity has led to a lot of newer cars on the road over the past 5 years.
The average age of all the cars in NZ is 12 years old. Loads of 15-20 year old Japanese imports still going strong here, even though this is a damp maritime country too. Not much tin worm in evidence believe it or not.
Used cars seem to cost a lot less in Britain than other European countries, which is a bit of a contradiction considering how many fancy new cars get sold every year...
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Some people "wear" their cars. Others just use them. The irony is that few people care very much what other people drive. Even though this is obvious to anyone who cares to give it any thought, some are deluded into thinking that others will have any opinion at all about them based on which car they choose to drive that day.
Ask yourself the question, does it even slightly matter to you what kind of car your next door neighbour drives ? Unless you are a bit weird the answer is a firm "no". So why in the name of anything you might find holy would you even begin to imagine that he/she gives a toss what you drive ?
Startling clear isn't it ? But for some reason, many Brits worry about stuff like that. Our continental neighbours, for the most part, just don't.
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To me, car's didn't seem the best option for Amsterdam, scooters seemed to have it all -- you can use the cycle lanes on a scooter over there.
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>>Ask yourself the question, does it even slightly matter to you what kind of car your next door neighbour drives ?
My neighbours have personalised number plates, so it appears it matters to them.
As you may know, I've a KIA Pride. It cost me fifty quid five years ago.
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"Some people "wear" their cars."
Most of us probably if we're honest. Since we don't have antlers or peacock feathers to advertise our superior genes over the next bloke (and it's no longer considered appropriate to kick the crap out of other males and steal their tarts). Cars, clothes and gadgets have become our bill boards.
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>> "Some people "wear" their cars."
>>
>> Most of us probably if we're honest. Since we don't have antlers or peacock feathers
>> to advertise our superior genes over the next bloke (and it's no longer considered appropriate
>> to kick the crap out of other males and steal their tarts). Cars, clothes and
>> gadgets have become our bill boards.
>>
Very true.
I would say the type of car a man drives, accurately reflects the size of his p.......
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......personalty.
well... you know what I mean.
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Amsterdam yesterday - WillDeBeest
