Vehicle Modding Is Dead In the European Union; Now What?

nicholastanguma

Los Angeles, San Francisco
A Belgian chap over on the Speed Talk forum posted this a few months ago:

"The gov here implemented tech inspection every 2 years for oldtimers between 30 and 50, every 5 years when older than 50. The sad thing is that all mods are banned. They may only be original.
Right now about 50 % of all oldtimers here are banned from the road as a consequence. Mine included (for the only reason that I have an ITB fuel injection on the engine - rest is original...)

It sure is a victory for the purists.

I really start to hate the EU which is at the basis of this regulation. It has become sort of a communistic regime..."


Aghast, I asked:

"Does this leftist nonsense apply to motorbikes, as well? And what's going to happen to all those gorgeous performance modded 2CVs in France, and all those gorgeous performance modded VW Beetles, Porsches 911s, and NSU Prinz TTs in Germany, and all those gorgeous performance modded Fiat 500s and 126s in Italy and Poland?


Monsieur Belgian's reply was:

"In 2022 bikes equally will have to pass tech inspection.

And yes the VW Beetles, Porsches etc fall under the same nonsense."


This discourse took place in the Vintag Engine Tech subforum of Speed Talk, so clearly everyone in that thread is very much biased toward pro-vintage motoring legislation. I understand plenty of you reading may not care about vintage metal at all--fine, to each his own, we can still be entirely civil to one another.

Some folks on the ADVrider and Royal Enfield forums confirmed that yes, indeed, this anti-fun legislation now rules the EU. Non-EU countries apparently are still doing their own thing, for instance in the UK mods are still allowed on vintage vehicles (40 years and older) and the Netherlands allow anything for vehicles 50 years and older, etc. But presently unless there's some Divine Intervention, it seems the days of modification fun for both new and old vehicles are gone in Western Europe.

All that history, all that culture, all those annual events, all those businesses, just gone in a flash. Glemseck gone, the Sultans of Sprint gone, Wheels and Waves gone, the vintage rallyracing in Poland gone, the vintage roadracing in Italy gone, all that classic hillclimb racing in Germany just gone. What's going to happen to all those glorious old machines now that they're illegal and their annual venues are illegal? I'm so sad for Europe's enthusiasts right now. :cry:
 

rruff

Explorer
...for example periodic safety inspections with some defined flexibility for reasonably well engineered modifications and old survivors

I've lived in states that had inspections and states that didn't. Inspections were always a joke... just a way to collect $$$. Definitely no "flexibility"! That would require some expertise, intelligence, and time.
 

billiebob

Well-known member
A Belgian chap over on the Speed Talk forum posted this a few months ago:

"The gov here implemented tech inspection every 2 years for oldtimers between 30 and 50, every 5 years when older than 50. The sad thing is that all mods are banned. They may only be original.
Right now about 50 % of all oldtimers here are banned from the road as a consequence. Mine included (for the only reason that I have an ITB fuel injection on the engine - rest is original...)

It sure is a victory for the purists.

I really start to hate the EU which is at the basis of this regulation. It has become sort of a communistic regime..."


Aghast, I asked:

"Does this leftist nonsense apply to motorbikes, as well? And what's going to happen to all those gorgeous performance modded 2CVs in France, and all those gorgeous performance modded VW Beetles, Porsches 911s, and NSU Prinz TTs in Germany, and all those gorgeous performance modded Fiat 500s and 126s in Italy and Poland?


Monsieur Belgian's reply was:

"In 2022 bikes equally will have to pass tech inspection.

And yes the VW Beetles, Porsches etc fall under the same nonsense."


This discourse took place in the Vintag Engine Tech subforum of Speed Talk, so clearly everyone in that thread is very much biased toward pro-vintage motoring legislation. I understand plenty of you reading may not care about vintage metal at all--fine, to each his own, we can still be entirely civil to one another.

Some folks on the ADVrider and Royal Enfield forums confirmed that yes, indeed, this anti-fun legislation now rules the EU. Non-EU countries apparently are still doing their own thing, for instance in the UK mods are still allowed on vintage vehicles (40 years and older) and the Netherlands allow anything for vehicles 50 years and older, etc. But presently unless there's some Divine Intervention, it seems the days of modification fun for both new and old vehicles are gone in Western Europe.

All that history, all that culture, all those annual events, all those businesses, just gone in a flash. Glemseck gone, the Sultans of Sprint gone, Wheels and Waves gone, the vintage rallyracing in Poland gone, the vintage roadracing in Italy gone, all that classic hillclimb racing in Germany just gone. What's going to happen to all those glorious old machines now that they're illegal and their annual venues are illegal? I'm so sad for Europe's enthusiasts right now. :cry:
agree 100% it is a loss. But we'll survive. The world has decided fossil fuels are wrong, And in that fact, anything fossil fueled is history. I'm thinking fighting the reality will be like flogging a dead horse. Best to adapt.

ps, the only change is the source of power, all those great sports can be as dynamic as ever, just with more reliable, torquier electric motors. None of this is new, the only reason the gas engine took off was Henry Ford and Standard Oil, before them gas vs electric was pretty equal. Actually in the early 1900s electric motors were the preferred choice. Clean, quiet, maintenance free. UPS even had fleets of electric trucks

5a8daa02e0bd3b1a008b47e5.jpeg

Doctors and socialites preferred the clean, effortless, reliable electric car.

618664.jpg


Gas became the choice only because of an intense oil lobby in the USA. Not sure why but Europe and the world were lock step.

pss, The Pikes Peak Record is held by an electric VW.


I remember Edmontons Trolley Busses, silent and with acceleration to knock you off yer feet. I went for a ride in a Tesla S 7 years ago, acceleration to put a 1970 Corvette to shame.

Edmonton_CCF-Brill_trolleybus_202.jpeg

But yes. I too will miss the cackle and smell of a nitro burning Top Fuel Dragster.


 

billiebob

Well-known member
Ultimately it is all beyond our control likely the anti fossil fuel industry will win. Countries bucking the anti fossil fuel trend will be penalized. Corporations/Manufacturers bucking the trend will at best face heavy tariffs if not out right bans. VS companies embracing the trend away from fossil fuels will become preferred trading partners.

But all that besides the point, even if you think Global Warming, Carbon Load is a hoax...... Electric motors are superior in every aspect of vehicle performance. They always have been. Gas is the industry standard only because the very things we are complaining about which favor electric motors and penalize fossil fuel engines drove the dominance of the gas engine today. Standard Oil and Henry Ford were both complicate in lobbying and driving legislation to favour their corporations. Corruption eventually craters like every Ponzi Scheme.

And here we are today, wondering how to repower our vintage iron.

1939-Chevrolet-Pickup-Electric-Conversion-slideshow-019.jpg

Look at that, 5 wires and zero plumbing, how is that bad?
 
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pith helmet

Well-known member
The best judgement of the common folk just cannot be trusted anymore. We need our moral betters in government, i.e., those who have no life skills, to let us know what’s best for us.
My state stopped inspections 3 years ago.
 
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nicholastanguma

Los Angeles, San Francisco
Though getting better, battery technology and charging infrastructure is the main limiting factors for electric power. Until that is resolved, ICE will stay around.


In summer of 2020 California's green energy infrastructure was so pathetic that the state had to enact forced rolling brownouts. The summer heat combined with a spate of wildfires literally overloaded our power grid, so that Governor Newsom was forced to put out a PSA stating the state's green energy program was simply proven untenable--the California windfarms and solar fields couldn't produce enough energy for everyone in an emergency.

Then, just a few weeks later, he puts out a PSA stating he's just signed a gubernatorial executive order that our state will ban the sale of new ICE passenger and commercial vehicles by something like 2035 or 2040. So I suppose by then the rolling brownouts will have become official state policy just to make sure everyone can have a half hour's worth of car charge every night.
#-o
 
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billiebob

Well-known member
it takes me about 3 minutes to put ~6000kWh worth of diesel in the tanks
Well say good bye to the smell and forget the 3minutes, plus the time to drive to the pumps, cuz with electric motors, it refuels while you sleep. The grid has plenty of capacity between 11pm and 7am. All you have to do is plug in when you quit work.
 

Alph

New member
I am for regulations and restrictions. In California, the state which is considered in the forefront of environmental protection, young jerks modify mufflers and install bright LED headlights, waking up people at night and blinding other drivers.
 

Peter_n_Margaret

Adventurer
Presently the most economically inexpensive method for producing isolated hydrogen is by burning immense amounts of petroleum so take a guess how that would play out commercially.
Not for long.
Australia plans to be a major manufacturer and exporter of hydrogen produced from excess renewable (mostly solar) energy.
It will become the fuel of choice for long range heavy vehicles, trains ships and aircraft.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome
 

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