zlacker

Is it a death trap? Totally. But you could put a cat on it and dramatically reduce emissions. Consider also that initially producing a car is a major contributor to the environmental impact of a car.

>>AirMax+(OP)
> Consider also that initially producing a car is a major contributor to the environmental impact of a car.

Not if you drive it very much/for very long. See this graph [1] (from this article [2]) for instance. Note that they're evenly diving 173,151 miles across the 13 "years" (and don't ask me why they decided to make the x-axis "years").

And that's with a modern fuel efficient car, not some ancient one.

[1] https://graphics.reuters.com/ELECTRIC-VEHICLES/EMISSIONS/rlg...

[2] https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/when-d...

>>AirMax+(OP)
Last I calculated this, a new car emits in the range of 8-15 tonnes CO2e (lower range for gas cars, upper for some EVs before they started guaranteeing renewable energy in production).

Driving emissions numbers I remember off the top of my head are Swedish averages, around 2.5 tonnes CO2e per year (15000 km/year). This is averages for the Swedish car fleet, which tend to be smaller models and more modern than many countries.

So: sure, production emissions are a big factor, but driving the car can easily win the efficiency savings back in a fraction of the car’s lifetime.

>>AirMax+(OP)
Not sure about that. Some actual engineer may speak up, but it's my understanding that old engines were often run 'rich' and catalytic converters are somewhat fragile and won't last long if too much unburned fuel enters them.

>>stefan+KE1
Yes, but not everyone drives an average amount. I drive about a third of that.

On the other hand I also know people who drive a multiple of that.