Like Bill I thought internal combustion was finished, no new cars with I.C. to be sold after 2030? I suppose though that only applies to the UK and while we are all struggling with electric only the rest of the world will be using these new design engines. Only after the government have ripped all the diesel and petrol pumps up will they decide that perhaps I.C. has a future after all.

.

[with apologies] This is not quite on your topic, Bill but I was interested to receive an eMail on Monday, from BMW::

After spouting about some new electric cars … they slipped this in at the end:

Pure M performance. Statement M style. The new BMW M2 is here – and available to test drive now. Admire its athletic proportions and distinctive M design accents, before experiencing the thrill of its 3.0-litre M TwinPower Turbo engine, delivering up to 460 hp and available with manual transmission. Ready to unlock your next passion?

Looks like they are backing all the options !

MichaelG.

The new technology is hybrid, not pure IC!

I'm slightly concerned from the bursting bubble comment that some still haven't realised what's going on. The idea that a bunch of Greens have somehow managed to hijack world decision making, and they're wrong, may be popular, but it's not true! Greens have no power.

Governments and the smart money are pushing Green ideas because, whatever deniers may hope, burning fossil fuels is causing significant climate change. And, at the same time, fossil fuel reserves are running low and there are with no new big fields left to exploit. Inevitably, oil is going to get much more expensive, and it will do so over the next couple of decades.

We happen to have lived at a time when fossil energy was literally dirt cheap, but it's not "situation normal". At some point in the near future, my guess 25 years, ordinary folk won't be able to afford petrol. Though they've done a good job so far, it's obvious IC engines have a very limited future.

Not all bad news, green energy can provide affordable transport provided we get on with making the necessary changes, and it helps stop the planet overheating too. Potentially a win-win.

I judge it's already too late though. Our sluggish response to an avoidable problem means our grand-children are already committed to sky high energy prices, significant disruption of food supplies and massive population movements.

Dave

Not sure where you get your figures from but if you look at the CO2 emissions graph for the world the bulk of emissions occurred after the 1950 to 1970 period. Pre 1900 emissions are almost negligible. So whilst I agree with you Ady1 that China (and India and USA) are major contributors to greenhouse gases using the Industrial Revolution as a yardstick probably doesn’t cut it.
Current figures for China against the rest of the world would possibly be a better comparison.

regards Martin

It is interesting to look at this report from Volvo (owned by Geely) which shows the C02 over the lifespan of various versions of the Volvo XC40. The ICE version has a much lower carbon footprint for manufacturing and the crossover for the electric version is up to 150,000 Km depending on how the electricity used is generated. As my XC40 is 5 years old and I have only done les than 45,000 Km I think I must be saving the planet!

Link

https://www.volvocars.com/images/v/-/media/applications/pdpspecificationpage/my24/xc40-electric/pdp/volvo-cars-LCA-report-xc40.pdf