In mid-December of 2007, Congress approved, and President Bush signed into law, the first increase in automobile fuel economy in 32 years.
This energy bill requires automakers to boost mileage to 35 miles per gallon, a 40-percent increase, by 2020. This mandate includes cars and trucks, and also specifies an enormous increase in ethanol use by 2022.
If you read my editorial relating to peak oil back in the November 2005 issue, you know that it has been over 50 years since M. King Hubbert, a Shell engineer, correctly predicted that oil production in the US mainland would peak by 1971. And as the US, and developing countries like China and India, use more and more oil at the start of a new millenium, the future looks grim for fossil fuels.  It doesn't take a brain surgeon to hear what the old-timers say about 50-cent gas, look at the current prices over $3.00, and realize that supply and demand has come into painful effect.

That said, where does that leave us, the hot rodder? In 12 years, will this can of race fuel being dumped into my 10-second Turbo Buick be too expensive to buy due to the depletion of fossil fuels? Though currently GM is reassuring us with the new Camaro and the crazy-powerful, 620HP Corvette ZR1, are our fossil fuel-powered GMs doomed?
Or will the combined knowledge and talent of the world's leading engineers create extremely economical gasoline/diesel vehicles, hybrid vehicles, or new-technology vehicles that share the road with the gas burners––eventually phase them out––and then spawn a new generation of performance vehicles without the emissions?
What do you think?