Green Daily

For the longest time now, I've had this dilemma concerning my vehicle and its carbon footprint. See, I drive a rather old car which doesn't really have any smog-reducing features. In fact, it was made before smog-reducing features were even created. Without going into the story of why I even own something like this, let's just say I'm "thrifty", and I have a fascination with old, original stuff that still works.

To state my case, I drive my car maybe 10 miles a week. Working from home has afforded me this luxury, and living 2 blocks from a major street allows me to walk or bike to the grocery store when needed. I realize that when I am driving this car, the ozone layer is probably unzipping directly above me, so I need some opinions from the readers about this topic.

Is it better to repair an older vehicle in order to reuse and recycle it? Does the creation process of a new car have an eventually deeper carbon impact than the occasional use of an old one? I realize there are many determiners here, and I don't want to make this all about my own personal situation, but in general, would this be advantageous in your opinion?

There have been a few debates about this issue in the past, comparing the carbon output needed to create a Toyota Prius versus the efficiency of an older small car. These are extremely valid points, and the numbers don't lie. So through this research I've decided that I don't need to go all-out and replace my old clunker with a brand new car. A vehicle doesn't have to be brand new to be efficient, and in many cases, it's the better choice. So what are your thoughts?