The Last Days of the Internal Combustion Engine 

The surging popularity of electric vehicles has prompted almost every automaker to have an EV in the works. Chevy just released it’s Tesla Model 3 fighting Bolt, Porsche and multiple other automakers are aiming at the Model S, and nameplates like AMG and Lamborghini are even considering placing performance EV’s along with existing models. Some brands are doing away with their big V8’s, while others are combining performance twin turbo engines, with varying amount of electric motors. With all of these advancements in the surging EV market, are we staring at the last days of the internal combustion engine, we have relied so heavily on since the birth of the automobile?

This is a touchy subject for me, because I understand both ends of the spectrum. On one side, being a blogger has made me understand why automakers are focusing on electric drive systems. However, being an enthusiast, I still can’t let go of the LS and RB engines of the past. So here’s both viewpoints.

From the industry standpoint, EV’s are the perfect answer to the two biggest questions of this decade, how can we lessen the dependence on fossil fuels and how do we cut down emissions? An electric vehicle doesn’t completely rely on traditional engines and doesn’t emit anything. So they are the perfect answer for the equation. Not only do automakers avoid hefty fines for not meeting CAFE standards, they get to evolve because either way, the internal combustion engine is not going to be around forever. 

Not to mention, EV’s are not like hybrids.Most hybrid cars have the same cookie-cutter design, whereas EV’s have different design language. Lastly, has anyone seen the videos where the Model S murders supercars and drag cars?

From the enthusiast standpoint, EV’s are changing the world in the worst way possible. In conjunction with CAFE standards, EV’s are doing things that we don’t want them to do. They are making automakers shift away from skull-crushing performance cars and beating established cars like Mustangs and even some supercars. The amount of technology outside of the drivetrain, is even more impressive than the most luxurious of cars and Tesla, for example, is innovating the industry in more ways than just producing EV’s.

Unlike the internal combustion engine which offers a larger performance aftermarket, EV’s do not have the same depth in terms of customization. Sure, there will be tuning options in the years to come, but without the internal combustion engine, you practically better have a Ph.D in electrical engineering to make your EV faster and/or more powerful. The internal combustion engine can be modified to produce higher outputs. Let’s also add the sound. 

Without internal combustion engines, we don’t have the soundtrack of a 9,000 RPM V-Tec Honda, or Dodge Viper when it’s coming around the corner, or even the whirl of a Kenne-Bell, or Eaton Supercharger, or the blowoff valve from turbo setups. Unless the cars came with built in soundtracks of various engines, there will be no sound. There only advantage this would give to the consumer, would be the ability to perform a drive-by shooting. They can’t see you, if they can’t hear you. EV’s would definitely make your pull up game stronger.

Lastly, the internal combustion engine is a perfected design and easier to build, which allows automakers to produce a vehicle for any application. Also, when the car is totaled after a wreck, all of the materials can easily be recycled. The engine can be sold to another for their repairs, the frame can be scrapped at a local scrapyard etc… An EV would require more stringent recycling methods, because I seriously doubt, we would be able to take the batteries from an EV to your local scrapyard.

Did I mention, we will no longer have the soundtracks of the various V8, V10, and V12 engines?

With that being said, the effort for meeting and the consequences of not meeting CAFE standards are as pointless as, the timing of the 1st generation Prius, but that is another post for another time.

Unless Koenigsegg mass produces the cam-less Free-Valve engine, the world powers find a alternative fuel (whether it’s an all new type or another untapped resource), or some major advancement occurs with the internal combustion, the internal combustion engine is nearing death. Major countries are banning internal combustion powered vehicles in the approaching years and the reliance on fossil fuels is a hinderance. These factors are only accelerating the emergence of EV’s and its only a matter of time before the home and lock screens on the millions of smart phones in the world, are off the latest EV and not of the internal combustion muscle car of yesterday. Only time will tell when the internal combustion engine is completely phased out and when that day occurs, it will be the end of one era and the beginning to a new one.