REV DAVID FAREY: End of the road for the internal combustion engine?

The main point though was that he had only picked the car up an hour before! A few weeks earlier there had been a similar report that a McLaren sports car had also crashed and been completely destroyed.

More cars in the news as well with the story that in some European cities diesel cars are to be banned and also that in some parts of our country from 2040 both petrol and diesel cars will be banned.

What a crazy world we are in!

The fact that these gas guzzling and resource eating supercars exist at the same time as governments are finally waking up to the impact on the environment of the internal combustion engine is quite a contradiction. If we are serious about the environment then much bigger steps should be being taken now to limit the impact.

I am myself a contradiction! I have a great appreciation of old cars, their engineering and character. I have a knowledgeable interest which is why I support the classic cars commentary at the Hellingly Festival of Transport at the end of August. And yet I can also see how cars are making an ever increasing impact upon the environment. The evidence of the damage to God’s creation is apparent to all with someone about to sail to the North Pole!

Risks to the environment is one of the reasons why there is a widening planning regulation focussed on the Ashdown Forest that requires developers to prove that their building development isn’t going to environmentally damage the forest due to increased traffic. So why are car makers being allowed to make cars with such big engines and which can vastly exceed the legal limit and which as far as supercars are concerned aren’t seemingly controllable by the average driver!

I would be happier if cars being made were only designed to perform up to our legal speed limit. With cars that struggled to speed, the hope would be that our roads would be safer and cleaner places. Electric, or even hydrogen powered cars are the future. The expressed future ban on internal combustion engines is the writing on the wall. But what we haven’t heard are the plans for providing the infrastructure. In a country where the existing supply system for electricity is creaking under the strain how do they expect to power the ever increasing next generation of electric cars?

One thing is sure, I won’t be placing my order for a new Ferrari anytime soon!