I have an electric golf cart that I can take on any roads 35 mph or lower, I’m saving for a lithium upgrade so I can go farther than 15 miles round trip. I had my last vehicle stolen when cars were not available at the beginning of COVID. I bought a mini van to replace it, it cost twice what I wanted to pay but I have to have a good vehicle for the family and a sedan just wasn’t realistic. Luckily insurance also paid out over twice what my stolen vehicle originally cost me because of the market at the time. I love my mini van but I usually only drive it once or twice a week, most of my daily trips are in the golf cart.
Cars from the late 80s and early 90s are still fine today if produced;
Unfortunately they can not even be bought used because they’ve all rusted through (Japanese ones anyway, others are hit and miss)
relatively safe
Citation needed, they’re usually missing most of the new safety features, that’s why they can be so small and light
good fuel economy
Maybe if you’re in the US where diesels are the devil and everything has to be a truck. Modern cars have better fuel economy at even twice the weight. You can get similar or better highway fuel economy out of a 2.5 tonne Audi SQ7 tdi compared to a small 1 tonne 90s Honda Civic. Diesel of course helps a lot in that regard. But if a huge ass performance SUV gets similar mileage compared to a 90s ecobox, imagine what a normally sized modern car can do.
air-conditioning
Was by no means standard on those, at least in Europe. Be lucky to have heated seats in a 90s Japanese ecobox, AC was nearly unheard of, and wasn’t standard even in the 00s.
That’s not even getting into emissions, which are the reason you don’t get these cheap and simple 80s and 90s engines anymore. Now you need EGR to manage NOx, catalytic converters to manage CO2 and if it’s a brand new car, even petrol engines need to have particulate filters.
Do any of these even have proper heating? Or like how do you demist the windshield between September and April when it’s too cold to drive an open vehicle and too humid to not have heating and ideally AC to reduce humidity in the car?
The Honda Civic has had the same fuel economy now since the late 80s https://www.fuelly.com/car/honda/civic at 30mpg
The VTEC engine has been computer powered for the same time, and has used a Catalytic converter that whole time. Only now, with an electric motor for first gear, do we see any mpg improvement.
The main safety feature, is that they gotten heavier.
I have an electric golf cart that I can take on any roads 35 mph or lower, I’m saving for a lithium upgrade so I can go farther than 15 miles round trip. I had my last vehicle stolen when cars were not available at the beginning of COVID. I bought a mini van to replace it, it cost twice what I wanted to pay but I have to have a good vehicle for the family and a sedan just wasn’t realistic. Luckily insurance also paid out over twice what my stolen vehicle originally cost me because of the market at the time. I love my mini van but I usually only drive it once or twice a week, most of my daily trips are in the golf cart.
Cars from the late 80s and early 90s are still fine today if produced; relatively safe, good fuel economy, air-conditioning. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Civic_(fourth_generation)
Heck, 4/5 people would be happy with a side by side ATV as a form of transportation in urban/suburban areas. https://www.utvdriver.com/utv-news/cheapest-utility-side-by-sides/
A golf cart is suitable for at least 50% of people currently driving in cities, as the majority of small cars are just grocery getters. https://www.utvdriver.com/utv-news/cheapest-utility-side-by-sides/
Something is fundamentally wrong with the transportation; size, power, cost of cars.
Unfortunately they can not even be bought used because they’ve all rusted through (Japanese ones anyway, others are hit and miss)
Citation needed, they’re usually missing most of the new safety features, that’s why they can be so small and light
Maybe if you’re in the US where diesels are the devil and everything has to be a truck. Modern cars have better fuel economy at even twice the weight. You can get similar or better highway fuel economy out of a 2.5 tonne Audi SQ7 tdi compared to a small 1 tonne 90s Honda Civic. Diesel of course helps a lot in that regard. But if a huge ass performance SUV gets similar mileage compared to a 90s ecobox, imagine what a normally sized modern car can do.
Was by no means standard on those, at least in Europe. Be lucky to have heated seats in a 90s Japanese ecobox, AC was nearly unheard of, and wasn’t standard even in the 00s.
That’s not even getting into emissions, which are the reason you don’t get these cheap and simple 80s and 90s engines anymore. Now you need EGR to manage NOx, catalytic converters to manage CO2 and if it’s a brand new car, even petrol engines need to have particulate filters.
Do any of these even have proper heating? Or like how do you demist the windshield between September and April when it’s too cold to drive an open vehicle and too humid to not have heating and ideally AC to reduce humidity in the car?
They just look like nice summer toys.
The Honda Civic has had the same fuel economy now since the late 80s https://www.fuelly.com/car/honda/civic at 30mpg The VTEC engine has been computer powered for the same time, and has used a Catalytic converter that whole time. Only now, with an electric motor for first gear, do we see any mpg improvement.
The main safety feature, is that they gotten heavier.
15-minute duration, covering approximately 9.3 miles at an average speed of 18.6 mph" https://en.phongnhaexplorer.com/qna/travel/what-is-the-average-distance-of-a-car-trip.html#gsc.tab=0 Most cars don’t even heat up in that time, an ATV or golf cart would be fine.