THE CAR IS DEAD. LONG LIVE THE CAR.

YESTERDAY THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE BEGAN ITS DRIVE OF THE GREEN MILE.

So, on the day I shall be told by doctors when I can drive again the car is sentenced to death. The UK government has, as you will have heard, announced a ban on sales of petrol and diesel cars from 2040.

The internal combustion engine will have come and gone in what, three generations? It was a fad, a passing phase. The V8, the straight 6, the flat four; they were Beatles haircuts, soda streams and loon pants - no more permanent than a pop song. Countless millions of people made engines their life. They dreamed about them, worked directly in them and their lives rang to the sound of them.

It was a social mover and shaker like no other. It's oily gyrations powered not just our cars but the inspiration behind music, poetry, literature and art. And now it's execution date has been announced. The internal combustion engine is sitting in its cell, staring through the bars at the scaffold.

Except it was dying anyway. Advances in battery technology are being shoved along by the power of commerce - a far mightier engine than the internal combustion one it will replace.

Infrastructure, the means to charge cars, represents not a problem but a huge, quivering opportunity glistening with money and power. Humankind is not generally inclined to pass by such opportunities. 2040 is 23 years away. 23 years ago we didn't have social media. Now it's become the new engineer of social ranking and, arguably, democracy. At the current rate of technological progress there's every chance the internal combustion engine will have died on the way to the scaffold.

I might have had a shaky experience in an electric car recently - I'm on my way to the hospital to find out when I can drive again - but I'm still very, very excited about the future of cars.

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Comments (526)

  • ironically,electric cars will eventually lead to the same environmental degradation that the government is running from.Toxic materials used in the production of such batteries will cause adverse problems,these batteries sooner or later may have to be disposed of and if not done so properly toxic chemicals can leak out into soil,cause soil acidification and further contaminate the water tables which in turn will leech out into the streams and waterways.This will damage aquatic life and degrade the quality of water.Chemicals such as lead and other heavy metals if consumed can lead to brain damage and not only will we be potentially drinking contaminated water but also eating contaminated marine food.Being a Jamaican and a petrol head it's kinda sad to see that this is the final word on the matter about internal combustion

      4 years ago
  • I don't remember learning about how they announced the ban of the sale of the horse and buggy to drive innovation for the combustion engine... Electric cars are great, but let them be better than the combustion engine by their own merit, not by castrating the combustion engine.

      4 years ago
    • Let people buy whatever technology is best? You sound like one of them no-good Capitalists. You probably think the government shouldn't tell people how they can spend their hard earned money, too. What kind of stuff are you smoking? I may...

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        4 years ago
  • still hoping For hydrogen fueled Cars really. it is The Future i think.

      4 years ago
  • Off to use some fuel before the ban😁

      4 years ago
  • I spent 20yrs saving to buy a DB9, V12.. I have spent the last 12yrs with a huge grin on my face driving it around continental Europe.... so when I am 78, what am I supposed to do with it?

    Will petrol still be available for classic cars?

    I see the future in hydrogen not electric...!

      4 years ago
    • it will be a long time before conventional fuel stations cease to exist as the older cars will remain "in circulation" for their normal lifetime after the ban comes into force. the problem then comes with classic cars and not being able to...

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        4 years ago
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