For example, I could never be a vet. The idea of standing in a freezing cold cow shed at three o’clock in the morning with my right arm buried deep into a cow somehow fails to ignite my ambition. I don't think I could really be a dentist either, simply because few things horrify me more than mouths filled with decaying teeth. Being an RNLI volunteer would be REALLY daunting. I can't think of anything that fills me with more dread than towering waves during a raging winter storm. Don't get me wrong, thank God that all these people exist. I take my hat off to them all.

Possibly, one of the most daunting jobs of all right now must be to be CEO of a car making corporation. That's because every single thing that car makers have learned over the past century or so must soon be consigned to the dustbins of history. Never before has the motoring world been struck by such a huge earthquake. The entire automobile world is reeling and the tsunami hasn’t even struck yet.

The great EV transition has been painful to observe as everything that could go pear-shaped has gone pear-shaped. Worse still, no one seems to have any actual remedies? All the uncertainty that surrounds electric cars has negatively influenced the way I think about motoring.

Messiness and confusion

The messiness and confusion began when the political classes decided that climate issues could only be remedied if all middle class people could somehow be convinced to drive battery operated cars. This is all a complete nonsense of course, because producing millions of brand new electric cars isn't remotely eco-friendly. Sure, I can see how banning combustion engines from big cities like Beijing or London will be advantageous but I really don't believe that the wholesale banning of fossil fuelled cars will actually help the wider environment and influence the climate. Obviously, fossil fuels are finite, so I understand the need to look for alternatives. I accept that this process has to start somewhere. I'm really not an old die-hard who ups the ante simply because I can't abide the idea of modernity and progress.

Anyway, the Europeans (EU) decided that from 2030, it will no longer be legal to sell passenger cars with internal combustion engines. Therefore, as things stand, petrol and diesel engines are either destined for the scrap heap or they'll be whisked off to museums.

All this has been going on for quite some time. The original idea was to lure EV adopters with lucrative incentives such as zero road tax and even free charging. But sadly, that was only bait. Because now, EV drivers (in the UK at least) are due to be verily clobbered.

Trying to capitalise

It hasn't come as any surprise that car manufacturers are trying to capitalise on the EV fad. They’ve invested billions of their precious capital developing brand new EV cars of all shapes and sizes. However, just as the earliest examples appeared, customers realised that battery operated cars weren’t particularly convenient; mainly because it takes such a long time to charge them. Also, there still aren't enough charging points where this can be done efficiently and economically. To make things even stickier, various governments around the world decided to withdraw subsidies from EV owners. In addition, the cost of fast-charging an EV at a motorway service station has shot up.

Credits: PA;

What motor car companies have ended up with is an ever expanding range of new electric cars which are so hideously expensive to own that no one really wants them. And there’s another thorn in the sides of European car makers. The Chinese!

It's obvious from looking at the figures that China can make most manufactured goods for a lot less than any British or European manufacturer can. That applies to complete cars or their component parts. Chances are, if you buy a VW, it's probably going to have some Chinese components. A good chunk of the Volvo range is now wholly made in China and even those that aren't sit on Chinese underpinnings.

Once upon a time people really cared about who made their cars and indeed where they were made. A German-built Mercedes-Benz was a much better proposition than a Mercedes-Benz made by Chrysler in Detroit. It just was.

These days motoring enthusiasts might hope that some of that old proprietorial pride has prevailed amongst their ranks. Surely, the great car-buying public would sooner drive a Swedish built Volvo rather than end up behind the wheel of a battery-powered utensil that's just been chucked off a giant conveyor belt at a Beijing mega-factory?

But I'm afraid that those days are long gone. I’ve noticed that electric car buyers aren't really all that passionate about cars. Most EVs are leased or come as some sort of dotted-line subscription package. In that case, who cares how well cars are built, especially if they end up getting a brand new one every three years or so?

All this means is that drivers are no longer really all that bothered. Not in any traditional sense at least. All they want is an affordable means of getting their hands on an EV and that the end product provides reasonably long range alongside Google, Alexa and Spotify connectivity.

I vaguely remember a time when most cars didn't even come with a stereo radio. Even a luxury S-Class only had a push button LW/MW radio unless their original owners had splashed out on a few extras when they were buying it new. You'd be lucky to get a steering wheel as standard back in those days.

“Good old days"

I guess it was all really pretty dreary back in the “good old days". City centre buildings were blackened by soot and other airborne grime. It was a time when gentlemen wore ties and boys wore itchy woollen shorts. It was a world filled with Russet Brown Allegros and punk rockers. A ghetto blaster was about as compact and portable as stereophonic music got. And - I was madly in love with Kim Wilde.

Back then the best everyday car was almost certainly the Volkswagen Golf GTI. It was an absolute blast to drive, it was cheap to run and it even came with fold-down rear seats which meant it was practical as well. The VW Golf was the new benchmark. It was the tour de force that every other manufacturer needed to emulate, simply in order to survive.

All by itself, the Golf GTI represented the death-knell for traditional British sports cars. After the Golf came along, no one really wanted old-hat Triumph TR’s or an unreliable MG. Deep down, we all knew that the Golf GTI was superior in every single way, it just took a while for that bombshell to sink in. I guess we're heading the same way with EV’s. Once again, I'm just going to have to suck it up.

Author

Douglas Hughes is a UK-based writer producing general interest articles ranging from travel pieces to classic motoring. 

Douglas Hughes