Listen, son... Monster trucks just aren't cool anymore. Real winners drive Tesla Roadsters Soon tots will be able to throw their toy cars at the 4K TV and claim it was Autopilot what did it, Daddy. Tiny automobile purveyor Matchbox is changing tack from the petrol-guzzling steeds of yore to introduce a line based on real electric vehicles like the Tesla Roadster. As if Tesla boss Elon Musk's head wasn't big enough …
My Number One SonCat prefers a plain cardboard box over any "toys" marketed especially for them.
His eco credentials end there
*Number One Son - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chan
Ah yes, but isn't it a fact that every parent learns that you spend stupid money on buying toys for toddlers (and pets), and then they remove it from the box, take one look at it and spend hours playing with the box, ignoring the toy?
I can also honestly say that each of the last 5 cats we've had over the years has liked nothing better than an Ikea paper bag to play with and hide in.
In the days of my youth when one saved up enough pocket money to buy a Matchbox car it arrived in a cardboard box... quite similar to a matchbox.... odd thing that.
Die cast metal would be more difficult to find as a recycled product I guess, though Matchbox seem to think this is not a problem, and as for bio-friendly plastics the world is awash with them already - just pick one that suits.
I am, however, wondering about bio-friendly paint and also why the stainless steel wouldn't be recycled - after all we aren't looking for medical grade stainless steel are we?
How hard can it be? obviously hard enough for a corporate bigwig to make a statement about it - or perhaps this whole thing is just a bucket of greenwash?
Looking at the photo on the BBC report for this, the quality of the casting for the Tesla is terrible compared to the original Matchbox cars I used to collect as a lad, when they were made by Lesney back in the 50's and 60's. There was more fine detail in the modelling back then. I didn't know the brand still existed.
May be Matchbox are trying to be true to the original!
See this post and others to the same article...
'Recyclable' is one of the most weasely weasel words in the whole green-wash business. What does it mean? It means it's made of virgin trees and oil, which can - if you feel so inclined - be put in the recycling bag when the kid is bored. Monster trucks - real ones - are 'recyclable'.
Why would they bother, they last near forever.
My matchbox collection is in (mostly) working order, they still roll along the floor when pushed*.
One sprog did ask why he saw real (original) Minis but never real Austin 1800 & Victor cars, being told they stopped making then 20/30 years before he was born resulted in 'what else do they still make' - only the Landrover.
*I didn't say they rolled straight or have much paint left & I binned the most valuable bit - the boxes!.
"Die cast metal would be more difficult to find as a recycled product I guess"
Not sure if sarcasm... but metal is pretty notable for being recyclable. Die casting does mean you can't just use any old alloy, but I'd imagine the tolerance on a hot wheels car would be looser than say a piece destined for an airplane.
"I'd imagine the tolerance on a hot wheels car would be looser than say a piece destined for an airplane"
Depends where you buy that part. There is a market for "budget" spare parts, which look just like the real thing but take some shortcuts in resistance and capacity...
You can have a limited, 3-box collectors edition comprising of 6 cars, 6 tubes* and 3 cardboard boxes. Yours for only $53.99m, look for the Tesla Vegas Expo edition in a store near you.
*Tubes not included. LED lighting pack for only $79.99 extra. Safety scissors optional. See also-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91-qwftOYVc
Paff. Why lug around an IC engine if you don’t have to? The fast ones after pure electric.
Pah. ICE cars get better power to weight and efficiency as they're driven, EVs get worse. Consequence of an ICE losing weight as fuel is consumed, but EVs having to haul heavy batteries regardless of charge. Which I guess is a bit of a non-standard efficiency metric, but may be more relevant for Tesla semis. So the impact of semi's weight would presumably impact on the maximum loads hauled.
Is it just me, or are others now thinking about the absolute gobs of torque a full diesel electric hybrid monster truck could pump out?
With the right control electronics and a proper IMU, you could even have it balance on the front or rear wheels.
Add in a shifting mass, and you could possibly have it balance on two side wheels, or maybe a single wheel.
Just think of the stunts that you could pull off...
I'd be all for electric/hybrid monster trucks.
Just as kids pretend hands/fingers are pistols, and sticks are rifles/machine guns, they will pretend the toy, non-fuctional electric miniatures are actually 2.5 ton trucks, Monster Trucks, tanks, armored cars and the like. It's called "play", it stimulates the imagination and is an important part of growing up ... a point the hand-wringers and namby-pambys seem disinclined to understand.
I think the problem is, that nobody tells you where the electricity comes from. Usually, it's from a coal-burning power station or, worse, from a nuclear power station. How green is coal slag or radioactive waste? On a side thought: The world's supply of lithium is even lower than that of crude oil, so what happens when the lithium runs out?
You've obviously never been close to either a coal or nuclear power station, as you'd know the difference between one which continually belches out tons of slightly radioactive waste in to the environment, and one which is spotlessly clean, meticulously monitored, and only produces a small amount of radioactive waste which is very carefully disposed of.
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