Warming up the car?

Question

I read an article via E&T magazine the other day about the carbon cost of 'warming up the car' on winter morning s before driving off and wondered how many people still do such a thing? 
 I remember in the 1970's some of our neighbours would always have their car idling for a while and vaguely remember them saying something about getting the oil circulating around the engine first before driving off. But as far as I'm aware, there is absolutely no need to do that nowadays with modern cars, if it was ever needed before anyway! The manual of my own car specifically states that it should not be started and left in an idling state but should be driven as soon as the engine is on. 
 Warming up the interior of my own car on a winter's morning consists of me making sure the heated seat is on (which can be felt around 2 minutes into the journey ) although one thing I struggle with on occasion is de-misting the windscreen which can take longer. However I bought myself a telescopic handled de-mister pad that I wipe over the inside before I switch on the ignition. 
 Out of interest is it (or was it ever) necessary to idle a car before driving off? Were my 1970's neighbours correct? 
 Deborah-Claire McKenzie any tips from the experts in the Automotive and road transport systems Network?

Chris Pearson · Accepted Answer

I am told that oil pumps in modern engines raise the pressure almost instantaneously, but they took a little while in old cars. Compared with the past, modern engine oils are very thin so they will circulate more readily too. 
 Occasionally in winter, I have to wait for the screen to demist too. Quite why Ford has kept heated front screens to itself is a mystery, but they are superb. 
 This is what the instruction book for my 1931 R-R says. 
 The engine should be allowed to run for a few minutes before taking the car on the road, during which it should be noticed that the oil pressure is registering between 20 to 30 lbs. The car should not be driven hard, however, until the water temperature has reached 60&deg; C. 
 In fact the oil which I use (10 - 60W) takes only about 20 sec to reach full pressure. In practice, by the time that I have got the car out of the garage, closed the garage doors, driven into the road, and closed the gates, enough time has elapsed to be able to set off straightaway.

Warming up the car?

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