8 states want to ban gas-powered cars by 2050

[Rogue One]

http://www.businessinsider.com/gas-powe ... ed-2015-12

Eight US states plus five countries across the globe want to ban new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2050, Car and Driver reports.

That means, in 35 years, California, Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut, Maryland, and Massachusetts — plus Oregon and Vermont — will prohibit automakers from selling new gas or diesel-powered vehicles in their states.

All of those states follow California's Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, a program essentially designed to increase the number of hybrid and electric vehicles on the road.

In addition to those eight states, Quebec, the Netherlands, Norway, Germany and the United Kingdom are vowing to implement similar bans.

The announcement falls on the same week as the UN Climate Change Conference that's happening in Paris.

There's no question about it — a day will come when there will be more plug-in vehicles on the road than those powered by gasoline.

Tesla Motors is among the carmakers helping to pave the way. Some up-and-comers like Faraday Future are trying to do the same.

In the US, however, hybrid and electric cars are still a long way from making a dent in the total number of vehicles sold. It'll be somewhere around 400,000 total by the end of 2015 — out of 16 to 17 million vehicles projected to be sold in that time.

[frapjap]

Meanwhile, a 1991 corolla and a 1991 tacoma will still be running.

[Bubba1]

I'll be sure to blip my throttle repeatedly in my old fashioned gasoline powered car purchased in Pennsylvania if I'm around in 2050 travelling in any of those states. But before getting too worked up over it, we're talking about mandates for 35 years into the future. And it's not like these are commandment from the almighty set in stone. It can easily be amended or eliminated at any point if the future of personal transportation follows a different path than what today's politicians are predicting.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Meanwhile, a 1991 corolla and a 1991 tacoma will still be running.

Dude I LOL'd way too hard!!!

I wonder if Rhode Island will still be trying to tax me on the Honda by then. They are now, and I haven't lived there since 2008. I get a bill every year, and every year I send a letter back telling them to pound sand.

[Jesda]

Pretty stupid since gas cars will naturally age themselves out of the public fleet in favor of more efficient vehicles.

This is what baffles me about California and classic car emissions standards.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Pretty stupid since gas cars will naturally age themselves out of the public fleet in favor of more efficient vehicles.

That's how it always works, though, isn't it?

Someone sees a "problem" and decides they have to make sure it gets solved. Nevermind the fact that it's guaranteed to happen on its own, naturally. Let's force it. Let's give it an artificial timescale and arbitrary guidelines to make sure it happens "correctly." Clearly, the world is doomed otherwise.

[OriginalWheelman]

Pretty stupid since gas cars will naturally age themselves out of the public fleet in favor of more efficient vehicles.

That's how it always works, though, isn't it?

Someone sees a "problem" and decides they have to make sure it gets solved. Nevermind the fact that it's guaranteed to happen on its own, naturally. Let's force it. Let's give it an artificial timescale and arbitrary guidelines to make sure it happens "correctly." Clearly, the world is doomed otherwise.

You can't take credit if you don't 'solve' the problem.

[Red coupe]

Not really worth worrying about Politicians grabbing publicity by pretending like they are going to predict laws governing technology ~36 years in the future. This would be like Politicians discussing the state of today's motoring in 1979, and to be honest things are progressing much quicker these days.

We'll talk about it again in the '30s, and even then it may be a little early.

[OriginalWheelman]

I will have my trombone and pin stripe suit ready.

[nissangirl74]

It would take them 35 years to build the infrastructure to support that kind of mandate. Recharging stations every 100 miles +/-? Yeah, good luck with that.

[themadscientist]

Got a copy of the legislation. It's a real page-turner.