As much as we love internal combustion, the slow creep of electric cars and hybrids makes us fear for its demise. Wither ICE? What year will the internal combustion engine die?
We decided to surprise Mike Levine, editor of PickupTrucks.com, with a phone call to ask someone who looks a little more at powertrains on a daily basis than us for his thoughts on the subject. The year he picks? 2060. So there may be hope. His explanation below:
I think there's so much life left in the ICE that to think that it's going to go away in the next 50 years is unreasonable. There are so many ways to make it more efficient — combine it with other tech, like start/stop stuff for hybrids. If you use a microhybrid setup you make it more efficient and not as expensive as a hybrid. And if you set it up to burn other fuels, biofuels then maybe there's something else to burn out there than straight gasoline.
What about you? Do you think you've got a better idea than Levine on when it's going away?
(QOTD is your chance to answer the day's most pressing automotive questions and experience the opinions of the insightful insiders, practicing pundits and gleeful gearheads that make up the Jalopnik commentariat. If you've got a suggestion for a good "Question Of The Day" send an email to tips at jalopnik dot com.)
Photo Credit: Stan Honda/Getty Images