The Good Life 'car'

[quercusrobur]

I was rewatching some Good Life videos the other week (got them off of Freecycle - their previous owner had replaced them with the DVDs!), and it struck me that there was always this big deal about that car thing they built using a petrol mower engine that they chugged around on... Now why didn't they just do the obvious thing and get themselves bicycles, they could have got down to those pub trips with Jerry and Margo much more quickly and efficiently without apperaing like eco-nutters, kept themselves fit, generated less pollution and generated some good PR for low tech human powered vehicles in the same way they did for allotments and growing your own veg... And they could have invested in or built a bike trailer for when they needed to move bulky or heavier items...

Probabaly not as much comic potentail in 2 bikes and a trailer, but they must have been a bit thick to have never even thought of such an obvious solution to their transport woes...

[quercusrobur]

Probabaly not as much comic potentail in 2 bikes and a trailer,

Though that said, the BBC did seem to get away with putting an old man in a bath tub on wheels and sending him down a hill in Last of The Summer Wine every week, so I'm sure they could have had similar runaway-bike-trailer-with-margo-in-it fun...

[the.fee.fairy]

Don't know if i'd like to cycle with a pig in a trailer though...or goats!!

[Andy Hamilton]

Perhaps a flintstones car could have been the way forward, you know with a hole in the bottom so you could run.

Yep you are right they should have perhaps had a cycle powered car. The lawnmower engine is more polluting than the car engine. Although a car run my a lawn mower is funnier than one ran by pedal power that might have been the thinking behind it.

[quercusrobur]

Perhaps a flintstones car could have been the way forward, you know with a hole in the bottom so you could run.

Ah, so you've seen the fleet of mini-busses at my workplace then!

[kimbobill]

Global warming wasn't even on the horizon when the good life was made.
So you have to look at it from a different angle,
It wasn't a case of save the planet, it was escape the rat race.

Also getting nicked for drink driving was almost unheard of.

[eccentric_emma]

i always wondered why they smashed up their greenhouse to make it a chicken house! ilove the good life though. it always makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside!

[SarahJane]

i always wondered why they smashed up their greenhouse to make it a chicken house! ilove the good life though. it always makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside!

I agree with you it doesnt matter how many times I watch it I enjoy it every time and I wondered the same about the greenhouse

[Stonehead]

Don't know if i'd like to cycle with a pig in a trailer though...or goats!!

Oh, I don't know. I found some comic potential by googling and discovered at least one Kiwi has been there, done that...

[contadino]

As an optional extra for my rotavator, I could buy a trailer/saddle thing. I did some maths and figured that it would cost me roughly twice as much in fuel to get into town (4km away) and back than in my 750cc Fiat Panda.

I must say I was rather disappointed.

[Wombat]

As an optional extra for my rotavator, I could buy a trailer/saddle thing. I did some maths and figured that it would cost me roughly twice as much in fuel to get into town (4km away) and back than in my 750cc Fiat Panda.

I must say I was rather disappointed.

Bummer!

I must admit I saw quite a few on the roads when I was working in China some years ago. They looked like fun to drive!

Nev

[JasonP71]

I remember reading a Philip K Dick story where in a bleak future (of course) engineless cars were pulled by horses. Hmm, think I'd manage to look like Steptoe in mine! lol! It's a thought though...

Jason.

[mrsflibble]

bear in mind, Tom and Barbara wern't ever into self sufficiency to be eco-friendly as that concept was still in its infancy and therefore had no comedic value; they were in it to be as self sufficient as possible and "stick it to the man" as it were.

[theabsinthefairy]

Here's our daughter taking 'good life' style driving lessons with our rotavator and trailer.

[old tree man]

Thats really good
many years ago i planted some trees for the camphill trust and they let me use thier rotorvator/trailer and it was so usefull carrying and fetching the tools, trees and tree guards and my tired back at the end of the day
well done
all the best

Russ