About 35 years ago VW launched its new car VW Golf. It was a nice car, felt modern and good to drive. It carried with ease and comfort 4 people on trips and easily held a speed exceeding the normal speed limits.
Now 35 years later a number of different updates of the VW Golf has occurred, it still carries with ease and comfort 4 people on trips and do easily hold a speed exceeding the normal speed limits. So what is actually new?
During the 35 years the VW Golf has grown considerably. The car is now 50 cm longer than before and 17 cm wider. Of course the 4 people it carried 35 years ago have all grown fatter, so that must be why. But the car itself has also grown noticeably fatter. 570 kg more stuff in the new basic version than 35 years ago. Why? What does those extra kilos comprise. Air bags are new and so is ABS, but at the same time new lightweight materials are being used in modern cars, so still the big question is: Why has the new VW Golf gone up 72 % in weight compared to the first one? What have they put in demanding those extra 570 kg?
35 years ago the big oil crisis happened. The oil price rose during two month from USD 3 to almost USD 12 per barrel. Shortage of gasoline was everywhere, and private driving restrictions were imposed in many countries. At that time we realised how vulnerably we were as to our dependency of oil, and this knowledge has definitely not lessened during these last 35 year. How come, that, at the same time, the car industry is making bigger and heavier cars instead of refining those very good cars we had back then? Of course it is a matter of demand from customers, still it seems that the current debate of CO2 is merely talk and our actions are much different.
35 years ago the polar bears were amongst threatened species. And now it seems like a big surprise that they may be in danger of extinction.
35 years ago there were war in Vietnam, war between Israel and Egypt and Syria, war between West Sahara and Morocco, war in Angola, war in Lebanon, in East Timor, in Cambodia, and of course the so-called Cold War was on its heights.
And people were suffering.
35 years ago the news coverage was not as reliable as today. We did not have the Internet, and much information was kept out of our knowledge, still we knew very much. But today we know everything, almost, and in the very moment it happens. We can interfere in things; we can let our voice be heard of things.
So why have we not learned anything during the past 35 years?
Today there are wars going on in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Sudan, in Somalia, in Kongo-Kinshasa, in Tchad. There are rebellions and acts of war happening in Colombia, in East Timor, in Georgia, in Turkey, in Chechnya, in Spain, in Pakistan, in Lebanon, in Zimbabwe, in Sri Lanka. And there are utterly mad despots and dictators hurting people in Myanmar, in North Korea, in Iran, in Uzbekistan, in Kirgizstan, in Eritrea, in Haiti, in Saudi Arabia.
We know about all these things, almost as they happen.
Have we not learned anything during the last 35 years? Will we not learn anything in the coming 35 years? Of course, learing we probably do, but will we change anything?
Now Barack Obama will be the new president of the USA, and his slogan was OBAMA FOR CHANGE. I really do hope that he will stand by his words, as we most certainly need a change, a real change. Nobody should need to suffer like many do today. For change.
Facts:
VW Golf 1974, length 370 cm, width 161 cm, weight 790 kg
VW Golf 2009, length 420 cm, width 178 cm, weight 1360 kg
