The War Against the Automobile Has Begun

Ok so there's much to talk about today. I have several posts in my head, one on racecraft and driver skillsets (since I was lectured yesterday on car preservation), one on the most dominate race engines of all time (since the Buick naming post has proven to be quite popular) and one that I'm working on to coincide with our first film segment (hopefully Sunday, keep those fingers crossed). We've also expanded the Tuned line-up by adding Hollywood, our Caddy-loving mack-daddy whose as smooth as silk. Plus we have nearly 325 hits (simply unbelievable). So there's big doings afoot. But today's post comes out of necessity.

I don't have time to find the link (google it, its there) but the EU has been discussing a law that would ban all gasoline or diesel engined vehicles from major cities by 2050. Now before everyone panics, this has only been discussed at the subcommittee level, and the public outcry from this after it was leaked has been so bad, the EU has backtracked pretty quickly, but still. It is obvious that in the not-to-distant future, the car as we know it, will be dead, and illegal. Now laws against cars are nothing new, we have emission tests. congestion laws, and noise regulations, all aimed at taking the car out, or at the very least turning it into a soulless, emotionless appliance. But these are easily circumvented, and generally are a nuisance at best. This is an outright ban. No car powered by anything but hydrogen, or electricity would be allowed. So none could be built. Or driven, at least in cities anyway.

I always knew this day would come, but like all car guys I figured the hippie-mobiles would merely become the main mode of transit, and would save fuel for our real cars, the toys, owned only by a select few. I also doubted I's be alive then, but if this goes through, I would be in my 70s, still drivin hard. However, what the EU is proposing is an world without the internal combustion engine, a world not seen since the 1870s. And what defines a "major urban area"? Surely, London and Paris. But how big of a town does it need to be? When this comes to the US (and it will give it time) what standards will they use? Wilkes-Barre Scranton is the third largest metro area in PA, so wll be be in the ban?

Now, this is facing a massive backlash in Europe, and probably will be tabled....for now. And this hasn't been discussed yet in America, it surely has been thought of. We need to fight this. I'm not against non-gas cars. But electric isn't the way to go, and hydrogen fuel cells (which is the only real alternative to what we have now) are a ways off yet. But regardless, the government simply can't tell me what to drive, even though they've been trying for decades. If a proper hydrogen car comes on the market, I'll probably buy it, saving my gas for Roxy. But until then don't force me to by a shitty electric. Which is what this law will do. Can you imagine a gas-less free future? I know I can't. Maybe one day, but yet.....