Banging on

If people are keeping their old cars running for longer, it won’t only be for economic reasons. A car is like a member of the family. Over time, they become personalised: outdated stickers, coffee stains, a unique aroma of wet dog and fast food. Some are given a name. And after Viv or Nigel have driven us around faithfully for so many years, don’t they deserve a chance to keep on going – with an oil change and a little tune-up?

Will the cars being sold today stand the test of time so well? Newer cars have dashboards that look like mission control: an electronic marvel, perhaps, but less easy for amateur mechanics to tinker with and keep on the road. Laugh all you want at the old banger, but it will still be chugging along the high street while a younger, hi-tech model is taken to the knacker’s yard.