How long will my car (parts) last?
Old-style junkyards have themselves become an endangered species, but catch a glimpse of one, and the impression it leaves is that of decay. Rows of cars, with cataract headlamps and big chrome teeth missing from their grilles, slowly sink into the earth while corrosion returns the metal to a more elemental state. While more ancient vehciles might decompose away to nothingness, modern cars are filled with materials that just won't go away. That's not to say Neff's SHO will be recognizable as any kind of automotive touchstone when it's unearthed from somewhere below Cleveland in ten centuries. What will remain of our vehicles is a mish-mash of petrochemical fodder that will surely be creatively interpreted by future archaeologists.
No metal, no leather, nothing organic will be left. Even the tires, after providing a snack for rubber-eating microbes, will then have the inner steel belting eaten away by the elements. Plastics will likely look as fresh as the day they were ejected from their molds. Seat foam, too, has shown amazing longevity in recent tests, degrading not one whit after being buried in a landfill for 700 days. Glass is pretty much the only other thing in your car that hangs around as long as the oil-based stuff, having a shelf life conservatively estimated at one million years. Wouldn't it be grand to see the window switches, headlamp clusters, and other bits and pieces artfully arranged into some kind of "artifact" that never existed? Too bad we're not going to be around to see what kind of sense future man makes of our automotive trash.
[Source: AOL Autos | Photo: Ben Merkel/Hemmings]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
vwboyaf1 5:23PM (4/19/2009)
I hear so many times that plastics and foam will last a long time. Why is it then, that in so many cars built in the 80's have dashboards that crumble at the slightest poke, and seat foam that has turned into a sticky powder? I doubt that the plastics in these cars will last even 40 or 50 years. I think the sun does a terrific job of breaking down petroleum based products. Perhaps its the UV and other types of radiation.
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Rick C. 5:37PM (4/19/2009)
They've broken down beyond the macro size that we humans see, but chemically, the particles that made it up are still there. And now they are sized for direct absorption into living animals, and later, the rest of the food chain. Watch Discovery's (or History Channels) 'The World Without Humans'. Good book by that title also.
Sea Urchin 5:43PM (4/19/2009)
Rick i believe it's The World without Us.
http://www.worldwithoutus.com/index2.html
click on the "House without you" video.
Seminole 6:02PM (4/19/2009)
Sea Urchin,
I think he was referring to "Life After People" which aired on the History Channel and other Discovery Network channels as a two hour special.
It must have had a good response, because now it is being turned into a series:
http://www.history.com/minisites/life_after_people
Rob 9:34AM (4/20/2009)
ASSassyn:
Go type in "Glacial Retreat". If you think global warming is BS you obviously lack the knowledge of even a basic geology class. Glaciers have not been retreating this fast, EVER.
Rjo 5:25PM (4/19/2009)
How bout carbon fiber? Alot of supercars are made of carbon fiber perhaps they might survive?
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len simpson 5:25PM (4/19/2009)
When I was in the biz, & times were a little slow, the mobile crusher was always a welcome sight
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Sea Urchin 5:32PM (4/19/2009)
I hope you all recognize recognize what Dan wrote. This was Autoblog's own environmental manifesto. Autoblog's editors finally recognized that we need cars that are much easier to recycle
Now repeat after me, Global Warming is real, CAFE works...............Al Gore my idol.
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Pokey 10:22PM (4/19/2009)
Yes, "global warming" is real. It has been since the birth of our planet.
Mazda FTW! 5:46PM (4/19/2009)
This isn't a manifesto. This is simply a realization that being efficient, clean, environmentally-conscious and making sure we keep a clean planet is in everyone's favor. It's silly the future of the planet is made into some sort of quaint left vs. right political chess game. The future of the planet won't be periled just because some free-market whackjobs can't let go of their trucks.
Sea Urchin 5:55PM (4/19/2009)
" The future of the planet won't be periled just because some free-market whackjobs can't let go of their trucks."-------------the planet will survive, but if the nut job won't give up the truck the quality of life will go down substantially.
Funny how many in here think that when gasoline exits from the tailpipe it just disappears and forms those wonderful white clouds that look so good on blue sky. Heck, many in here only think about emissions in winter, because they can see them, otherwise out of site, out of mind.
Assass1n 6:34PM (4/19/2009)
Almost everything in Al Gore's Inconvenient truth has been debunked by many different scientists the world over. Yes, there is a problem with global warming- it stopped in 1998. Look at the data, the earth has not warmed, and in fact it has cooled slightly since that year. But all this is moot anyway as it's just a natural cycle. The earth was a giant desert at one time; it was also a giant snowball at one time- it will be like that again and there's nothing humans can do about it. In fact, to think we can change the earth's temperature is a very naive and arrogant way to think. This whole AGW thing is just a front for bigger governmental programs. Think about it, the progressives have been trying to find ways to tax and spend for years- now they finally have an issue that's entirely fabricated, and we have fallen for it. They can now tax the hell out of us all in the name of saving the planet, they can tell us what cars we can and can't drive, hell they are even now telling us what kind of light bulb we have to use in our homes.
paul34 6:35PM (4/19/2009)
>> Funny how many in here think that when gasoline exits from the tailpipe it just disappears and forms those wonderful white clouds that look so good on blue sky.
Combustion by products exit the tailpipe, unless you're running really rich. Not gasoline. Gasoline dissipates into the atmosphere all the time. Try dumping a can of gasoline onto your driveway. It won't be there anymore after a few minutes. It is a volatile liquid.
>>Heck, many in here only think about emissions in winter, because they can see them, otherwise out of site, out of mind.
That's water vapor you see during the winter, as it suddenly hits the cold air and begins to condense... not emissions.
Sea Urchin 7:28PM (4/19/2009)
"Think about it, the progressives have been trying to find ways to tax and spend for years"----------Is this policy any different from cut taxes, spend, borrow and spend?
Sea Urchin 7:32PM (4/19/2009)
Assass1n
If you think that this whole pollution thing is a BS, let me ask you this, why do you think that in China people wear face masks, because they are weird like that?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9tJNcktVWc
Rochester, NY 5:58PM (4/19/2009)
Well, that was a pointless article. It must be an AutoBlog Weekend.
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mr.ed 7:38PM (4/19/2009)
What you can't see is the noxious chemicals in the ATF, brake fluid, antifreeze, etc. leaching into the soil and eventually into your drinking water. Bottoms up!
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Frank 9:34PM (4/19/2009)
I can't speak for all salvage yards but my local U-pick-it yard that I have used in the past drains all the liquids from a car before they put it out in the yard. They take out everything, including the battery, that could cause environmental damage. I would imagine that all yards do the same thing now.
mr.ed 5:29AM (4/20/2009)
The thousands of older, traditional yards are recognizable by their smelly, oil soaked ground. When they fold, the local and federal governments have to clean this mess up. That's you, bro. While a transmission case may be an alloy that won't rust, the internal parts and drain plug will corrode and leak the contents out. If the case is cracked, either through accident or dragging the carcass into place in the yard, out spills the red stuff. And what does your pick-a-part do with the fluids they harvest? I'll bet quite a few cheat by using our sewer system. You pay again.
Frank 7:43AM (4/20/2009)
I can't imagine that the EPA doesn't have rules about draining fluids from cars and if you're caught breaking them you risk a heavy fine, or suspension of your license to operate your business.