While I like electric vehicles they are not a panacea. All those batteries will need huge quantities of chemicals. Imagine how many steps we need to refine lithium from ore to a battery pack, 2 the most likely source of electricity is still fossil fuels, 3 ICE engines are well known and though complex they are reliable in a way that electric cars are not. What I mean by this is that you do not see ICE cars catching fire often and when they do we know how to put them out, but how do you put out a burning Lithium battery? The recent Tesla fire illustrates the issues with this. The more important thing to me is solar cells. I also wonder if they will be able to make electric planes some time soon. ICE engines do have the advantage of not having to carry half their fuel which is one reason why they win out in the air. They are also still the lightest engines for the size power and range. Don't fool yourself into thinking that an ICE car will ever have a shorter range then a battery car the equivalent weight in fuel to that of a car battery would allow for far in excess of the battery range. A Tesla's 1,200 pound battery pack is equivalent to 200 gallons of fuel, even at 10 mpg that is 2,000 miles to the Tesla's 265 miles.

Actually I've been learning a lot about this. And with the changing of chemical composition of batteries batteries will soon become very small. A company called EV West just built a BMW M3 they modified to be all electric it set records in the open class at Pikes Peak. It was then reconfigured and built for range, they got I think it was 714 miles on 1 charge... Lol it's fucking here, screw gas!

Call me old fashion but there is nothing like the sounds of a well tuned IC engine. I will miss them when they are finally gone.

That's good

Mass transit was electrified in most major cities until after WWII. Then the petroleum and auto lobbies worked to have these systems dismantled in favor of single passenger autos.

Much of the energy to charge EVs can come from solar power. If I had aTesla and some solar panels, I could drive for the cost of tires and brake parts.

Also, a new Tesla can recharge fully in 40 minutes. So.. every 350 miles you stop for 40 minutes while the kids run around, you stretch your legs and everyone gets ice cream. How different is that, really, from a road trip in a gasser that needs refueled every 350 miles?

Yeah electrical engines are a step up, for sure

Cant wait...

Electric Motors are definitely the future! The power, control, maintenance, and efficiency can't be touched by a combustion engine. You can see this on the small scale with the remote control scale vehicles. Everything RC is switching to brushless electric motors with LiPo batteries. Insane power.

Yes the internal combustion engine is definitely on a downward trajectory but electric vehicles as the replacement isn't carved in stone yet.

Very intetesting article. Thanks for linking.

LENR (cold fusion) power is just around the corner IMO. Another nail in the coffin of the internal combustion engine. The world is about to change dramatically, and I mean starting this year.

[e-catworld.com]

sadly, this is true. as an old petrol head and owner of an old Beamer 750 il at 12 mpg, in 50 years, we will not be driving petrol cars. in 50 years the world economy will not be based on an oil economy, or gas, but electricity does not come free. Ultimately it will be nuclear

As inventions go, its had a good run - about 120 years now. Think of the VCR, was huge and now its obsolete, it came and went in about 30 years.

The first step could/should be the big bulk of small and medium size cars. However, heavy duty vehicles like 18 wheelers (to move goods all over), and other heavy machinery (large variety) still have a long way too go. Now, if electrical technology new developments allow to handle heavy workload and the combustion engine really goes away then hang on to your seats because the world would take a radical turn. If the west breaks off oil dependency then ...oh well, not going there right now but, lot of people will suffer dearly.