Governments in many countries have introduced Cash-For-Clunkers-style programs recently which are proving controversial. While the clear motivation of these schemes is to increase new car sales and remove older, dirtier and less fuel efficient vehicles from the road, some powerful organisations have begun voicing concerns that untold numbers of classic machines may be lost forever for no good reason.
Now, new car buyers in the UK are reportedly heading to Hyundai dealers with a range of older vehicles ready for the scrapheap. According to Tony Whitehorn, Hyundai UK’s managing director, “For many [the scrappage scheme] is an opportunity to buy their first ever new car, and is enormously exciting. Some people look a little embarrassed when they turn up at a showroom with an old car which is literally falling to pieces but we’re happy to take anything as long as it meets the government’s criteria. Other buyers have taken the decision to wave goodbye to cars which have been in the family for a generation, but their sadness soon disappears when they get into their new Hyundai.”
So, what kind of metal is being sacrificed for a new Hyundai? The Korean automaker reports that both a Jaguar XJ-S and XJ6 have both been scrapped, as have 34 BMWs, 22 Audis and 32 vehicles from Mercedes-Benz. Six Mazda MX-5′s, seven MGFs, a 1966 Austin 1100 and a 1968 Morris Minor were also condemned along with at least one Citroen that lost a wheel on the way to the dealership.
