A 2.0L with 160 hp? What is this, 2003? A relatively high displacement engine like that with such low power for the displacement would mean it has no turbo. In 2021? Won’t sell. Maybe in developing markets? But then it has too much power for the type of car, from the perspective of the target demographic.

I find that to be a weird thing to consider in 2021. You should then hold your nose for Ford and the Japanese manufacturers as well. 

Shipping costs TO Japan are not an issue. Japan exports more cars to NA than it imports from NA, so those ships are sailing to Japan are mostly empty.

I just used a bicycle as a kid. When you have proper infrastructure you don’t need school buses nor do you need parents bringing the kids to school, assuming A. the kids don’t live overly far away and B. they are old enough to cycle alone (8?).

I was not familiar with this option, thanks for the insight. I was mostly thinking about electrolysis for H2 generation.

The EU doesn’t have a lot of fossil energy sources.

“It’ll get 24 mpg on the highway.”

I doubt it. It's way too automated, the contrast with an EV is too small.

Yes, as it was infra red. So a beam of light basically.

My daily driver is getting tired. I need something else soon. I struggle to find something recent I find interesting. I like my cars analogue.

Technology will improve. With 2021 levels of technology we cannot retire ICE vehicles entirely. But who knows where we are in 2035 or 2050? 

Sure. And we, as a society, have also decided to not use horses for normal transportation any more. Not because we had to, but because I would argue it was inevitable. The same thing will happen to new ICE engines. They will be retired, because we will choose to retire them. And this CHOICE is inevitable. The question…

I hope you're right. I expect you'll be proven wrong. By a significant margin.

It IS inevitable. The question is only WHEN it will happen, not if it will happen. 

I don’t think it will happen in a ‘few’ years (15?) An ICE engine will not be available in a NEW vehicle any more. Certainly not in the more forward markets. In other slightly more backward markets, like the US, it might take a little longer. But not much.

I know, your Oppo (RIP) post was well known :)

Thank you. That is exactly what this website used to be about. The cult of cars. Older vehicles, interesting vehicles, wrenching, car culture. And where I write ‘car”, you can also think ‘truck’.

Well, if you tow 3500 lbs you’ll need a special towing drivers license in the EU, unless when tow vehicle + trailer are <3500 kg combined. Which will be hard when you tow 3500 lbs. If you tow 8000 lbs you’ll need more than a simple towing license, you’ll need a little truck license + a truck towing license, or a full…

An impressive mustache is mandatory as well.

And that’s Germany. Now try other North-Western European countries with ‘smaller’ (less spoken) native languages than Germany. Like the Netherlands. Or Sweden.