Imagine climate change and armegddon came at the same time but incredibly there is still a late shop running which is 20 miles from your house. You may need to do this one a week..
to get to it you need to cross a small stream, drive through some woods and light mud, up a snowy hill and then finally across a small icy lake !!
In that scenario I feel pretty sure there would be no fuel for any vehicle and the late shop would soon be looted.
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Imagine climate change and armegddon came at the same time but incredibly there is still a late shop running which is 20 miles from your house. You may need to do this one a week..
to get to it you need to cross a small stream, drive through some woods and light mud, up a snowy hill and then finally across a small icy lake !!
In that scenario I feel pretty sure there would be no fuel for any vehicle and the late shop would soon be looted.
Exactly. And without a shotgun to defend yourself and lots of ammo , you would be dead.
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This becomes a "which car makes the best coffin" thread very rapidly, given the premise
So Fiat Panda. Its cute, small enough to be easy to bury, if there is anyone able and willing to do that, and you dont need it to last.
No really so different to the buying criteria in "normal" times
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Osama bin laden travelled thousands of miles on a Honda Step through which he could easily hide when threatened and dismount to climb over a hill or mountain.
But he also drove a Toyota Corolla saloon which was buried under 20 feet of rubble when he went into hiding. And yes it started first time after being left three months !
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Osama bin laden travelled thousands of miles on a Honda Step through which he could easily hide when threatened and dismount to climb over a hill or mountain.
But he also drove a Toyota Corolla saloon which was buried under 20 feet of rubble when he went into hiding. And yes it started first time after being left three months !
Osama bin laden travelled thousands of miles on a Honda Step through which he could easily hide when threatened and dismount to climb over a hill or mountain.
But he also drove a Toyota Corolla saloon which was buried under 20 feet of rubble when he went into hiding. And yes it started first time after being left three months !
Well this is the thing isn't it, do we really need 4wd?. The Top Gear boys proved on numerous occasions that the answer is no.
But if we ignore the specific and rather bizarre scenario presented by the OP, surely the obvious post armageddon transport would be an animal. I think a camel would be my first choice, but a horse would probably be easier to find in whatever was left of the UK.
If it simply had to be something motorised, then good ground clearance would certainly be desirable, but mechanical simplicity would be the aim. After all, i'd assume any maintenance and servicing is going to need doing ourselves?. This would suggest something older rather than a brand new Hyundai as was the preferred choice in The Walking Dead (always wondered where they plugged in the diagnostics for servicing?). I'd actually suggest a vintage car would be a sound choice, maybe a Model T if one could adapt to the idiosyncratic (next to what we are used to) controls.
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The one thing missing will be normal fuel, the most likely to still be running will be compression ignition engines with robust fuel pumps capable of passing all sort of burnable oils.
The real worry is various politicians itching to have their very own war during their tenure, no normal person (ie any of us here) wins a war, propagandists working for the side that comes out wealthiest write the story to suit.
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Osama bin laden travelled thousands of miles on a Honda Step through which he could easily hide when threatened and dismount to climb over a hill or mountain.
But he also drove a Toyota Corolla saloon which was buried under 20 feet of rubble when he went into hiding. And yes it started first time after being left three months !
Osama bin laden travelled thousands of miles on a Honda Step through which he could easily hide when threatened and dismount to climb over a hill or mountain.
But he also drove a Toyota Corolla saloon which was buried under 20 feet of rubble when he went into hiding. And yes it started first time after being left three months !
Well this is the thing isn't it, do we really need 4wd?. The Top Gear boys proved on numerous occasions that the answer is no.
But if we ignore the specific and rather bizarre scenario presented by the OP, surely the obvious post armageddon transport would be an animal. I think a camel would be my first choice, but a horse would probably be easier to find in whatever was left of the UK.
If it simply had to be something motorised, then good ground clearance would certainly be desirable, but mechanical simplicity would be the aim. After all, i'd assume any maintenance and servicing is going to need doing ourselves?. This would suggest something older rather than a brand new Hyundai as was the preferred choice in The Walking Dead (always wondered where they plugged in the diagnostics for servicing?). I'd actually suggest a vintage car would be a sound choice, maybe a Model T if one could adapt to the idiosyncratic (next to what we are used to) controls
Multi-posting? I've been doing that for a while, assumed it was my semi-broken laptop, but maybe its Windows
Anyway, re 4WD, in the Imperial War Museaum they have an NZ LRDG truck exhibited just as it was when recovered from the Libyan desert in I think the 70's, and its a 2WD Chevrolet, which rather predates Top Gear
Probably part of the reason iwas fuel economy (the LR bit) but it does suggest 2WD can cope with challenging conditions.
There must have been a similar question posted recently (sign of the times?) since I can remember mentioning John Wyndams Death of Grass, and how his characters avoided driving across starving Britain because of the ambush risk.
I suppose bicycles might be a compromise. The trouble with animals is (a) you have to know how to control them, potentially unedr fire, and (b) you have to feed them all the time(though I suppose sometimes they can feed you)
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If you seriously want to survive post armageddon the time to act is now. Travelling anywhere would carry major risks - vehicle failure, availability of fuel, ambush etc.
Within a few days (possibly a few weeks) all resources would be looted and jealously guarded by whoever then has possession. No point in travelling anywhere unless you are prepared for a fight when you get there.
There will be marauding ever more desperate groups roaming the countryside and cities for several months. After a year most will be dead - conflict, starvation or health issues. Once existing supplies of antibiotcs and aspirins have been, used even minor infections can kill.
Plans no doubt exist to restore government control - even if they are disciplned and effective full control and stability may take many months to achieve.
Take a leaf from the US prepper book - fill your impreganable cave with all needed to survive until normality (or at least stability) returns - food, fuel, weapons, etc. Personally I would plan on at least a year.
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I love the answers.. maybe you can sense I want to be an author lol
thanks again for the suggestions and very funny answers
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Excuse me but after the Armagedon what are you using to buy anything? Your paper Fiat currency won't buy you a thing.
So either carry hold, jewels etc.
Or
Carry a gun and take what you want.
But since civilisation has collapsed I'll assume you can find and refine your own fuel and lubricants. Manufacture your own tyres spares etc. Will you also have orderly roads to use your vehicle too?
If I'm around I'll be the heavily armed old guy with the pushbike or a horse. Building an impregnable bunker. Expect the kind of society as in "Lord of the Flies". So a fancy car wouldn't be of much use. You'd be better off with an army armoured vehicle.
Ever watch that old BBC series 'Survivors'? No fancy cars in that.
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If I'm around I'll be the heavily armed old guy with the pushbike or a horse. Building an impregnable bunker. Expect the kind of society as in "Lord of the Flies". So a fancy car wouldn't be of much use. You'd be better off with an army armoured vehicle.
A remote island would be easier to defend, grow your own veg and firewood, a population of rabbits would be a bonus, constructing traps would save ammo for intruders.
I'm all in favour of being heavily armed, not easily achieved legally at present, but after Armageddon might well be possible.
In "The Death of Grass", a firearms dealer was recruited to join the group of survivors with his sniping equipment.
When I read it I wondered why he didn't supply others with stock from his shop instead of leaving it for looters. In such situations clear thinking under time pressure may not be easy.
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Is this armageddon scenarion before or after we've run out of fossil fuels? Once that's happened, presumably climate change will gradually go into reverse and we'll have global cooling!
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Like it.. an Island. Obviously given it more thought than me.
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I have a boat, which itself is a sort of island, and could get me to an actual one without using any fossil fuel.
Its fibreglass though, and even a steel hull probably isn't bullet proof, (though I did once hear of someone who had built a deckhouse from surplus armour plate, just because it was available cheaply. Must have been a heavy boat).
You would probably also be very vulnerable to fallout, if thats the particular whimper that ends the world. Maybe one of those no longer fashionable ferrocement jobs would be a better bet.
Should be cheap if you can find one that hasnt fallen apart
boats.waa2.com/detail?id=c52cfa84cb4e229e74695777cfdd9b50&q=ferro cement ketch
OTOH, my AI likes ferrocement from a ballistic POV, so its probably a daft idea
Edited by edlithgow on 15/09/2025 at 02:07
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Had I been the Will Smith character in I Am Legend I would have moved my lab to a gunboat, or possibly inside a heavily mined Statue of Liberty building if I needed proximity to New York resources, but I'd have kept the gunboat for a getaway vehicle, perhaps with a zip line from the Torch to the dock (but perhaps that would only work in the movies)
A boat is less useful when the threat is people, (than which there is nothing more dangerous) since they have access to boats too, and there are a lot of boats
Edited by edlithgow on 15/09/2025 at 05:16
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Like it.. an Island. Obviously given it more thought than me.
I've considered the islands in The Forth, many of which come with bunkers, from this perspective, but then probably so have lots of other people (Ian Banks, for example) which is one of the snags. They are too close to a city, which (a) is full of those dangerous humans, and (b) is a likely nuclear target
Another snag from the nuclear threat perspective is they are mostly probably too close to Rosyth Naval Dockyard, (a very likely nuclear target) and its associated facilities, including the underground weapons stores at Crombie Defence Munitions depot,in Ironmills Bay, directly opposite where my boat is
Its probably not very realistic to make much effort to survive a nuclear exchange, a conclusion that seems to be reflected in government policy. When I was in the TA there were a number of home defence exercises, which I never participated in, but I was told by people that did that they simulated up to the point of an initial tactical nuclear exchange, and then stopped.
Strategic nuclear exchange wasn't really considered at all
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Armageddon scenarios - nuclear, biological, tsunami, pandemic, meteor strikes, solar flares etc etc have many common characteristics:
- communications breakdown leading to supply chain failures - food and fuel shortages, spare parts, materials, medical supplies etc etc etc
- infrastructure failures - power, sewage, water
- with failing food, fuel and infrastructure - breakdown of public order
- imposition of martial law (if possible)
- ultimate degradation of skill base making recovery slow and incomplete - it took 800+ years to recover the knowledhe lost on collapse of the Roman empire!!
A personal risk minimisation strategy is likely very similar in all cases:
- act now - events will dominate once it happens
- stock up on food, fuel, medical supplies, weapons, tools
- train in critical skills - health, fitness, food production, self defence, diy etc
- accept there can be no reliance on external sources
- understand that those less well prepared are the risk to your continued existence
In summary - buy a smallholding, well above sea level, at least 20 miles from any major population centre.
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So "prepping UK" has, what, about half a million quid as a prerequisite entry fee?
Or acquiring it is a part of the prep
Alternatively, I suppose one could more cheaply train and arm oneself to murder your way into a smallholding, and then hope the same doesn't happen to you.
I think at my age I'll just resign myself to a probable early incineration, with, if that is avoided the possibility of a bit of a cruise before the end.
Easy to say, of course
Edited by edlithgow on 16/09/2025 at 05:11
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Alternatively: buy an old stone built house. With fireplaces and chimneys,
Add steel window shutters external - with padlocks. Recess retaining bolts with strong cement.
Steel door covers.
Your OWN well preferably inside the house (had a house like that )
A radiation detector .
Air filtration and heating.
etc etc..
You will still be killed by a mob with a JCB - unless you have a roof mounted bazooka
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It might be best to keep a low profile, stealth defences, under cover of darkness dispose of whatever might be incriminating.
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It might be best to keep a low profile, stealth defences, under cover of darkness dispose of whatever might be incriminating.
My wife's parents lived next to graveyard - full before 1900 and decaying. Ideal place to hide dead bodies. Largely not maintained (small country village largely abandoned) and moles kept producing mole hills with bits of bone.
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