Part III
On the other hand, our LBCs are all analogue; using carburetors, mechanical PI
and simple 12V systems that have no complex controllers to become obsolete. The
mechanical bodywork is built around a look that was designed to be classic
(well not the TR7/8, but there's an exception to every rule). Forty years from
now when they are all running on hydrogen conversion kits or whatever, they
will still be seen as classic machines with a great smile factor. I am not so
convinced that the present complex drive-train and control packages are going
to be that easy to maintain for hobbyists. Keeping a new-model car from today
on the road 30-40 years from now is going to involve a lot of electronics
manufacturing using totally obsolete components. Mechanicals might be fine. You
can easily set up an NC mechanical shop to make some special brake or gear
parts. It should be even easier in the future. Doing the same for today's
electronics in 2040 is going to be a very rich man's game. Anybody who buys a
nice new sports car today, had best consider buying 2-3 complete ECUs and
dashboard assemblies for future value, or give up on any idea of originality
starting about 15 years from now when the NOS stock starts to disappear. Of
course you could just dump the car when your 3-year lease is up and buy
another, and another, and another. Feeling like a Consumer on a treadmill yet?
Don't worry, after 3 or 4 leases you will.
Anyway after having just put out on the curb or in the dumpster equipment that
conservatively cost the companies, or the tax-payer, over $4M to buy only in
the past 15 years (and really was almost worthless after 5), has taught me a
lesson:
Classic = retained value and smile factor.
Futuristic = soon to be worthless and garnering only grimaces of pity from
bystanders
Now how to get the prototype electrically-cooled super low-light fluoroscopic
medical-imaging system out of the basement. All digital. Contains a nice stack
of clustered Pentium 1 motherboards. I busted my hump building that in the
mid-90s, now it's worth less than the pile of firewood stacked against it.
Aaargh, the waste!! Sob...
Cheers,
Mark
|