Motormouth: I still enjoy burning petrol in an engine, regardless of emissions, conscience and the environment

Electric cars are coming thick and fast, but I will always prefer my car to be powered by internal combustion, for better or for worse.

This preference of mine might not sit well with eco-warriors who swear by electric cars and believe that these will somehow save the planet from the scourge of fossil-fuelled motoring for the masses. 

My apologies to these automotive crusaders of Mother Nature, and I would like them to know that I do try to reduce, reuse, recycle - albeit more so in my daily life than in my drive life. 

When it comes to driving my car, I reduce the throttle input every now and again to stretch the mileage, reuse the worn-out chamois cloth for home cleaning, and recycle the emptied containers of car-care chemicals.  

Such measures won’t make my driving a petrol car significantly less damaging to the environment, but hey, at least I’m not driving a chunky, heavy SUV with a profligate V8, oversized tyres and the exhaust emissions of a battle tank. I cannot afford one anyway, but that’s another story. 

Apparently, the average four-wheel-drive vehicle, powered by gasoline, emits over three tonnes of CO2 annually if it covers a distance of 12,000 kilometres. This is about 50 percent worse than a compact hatchback with basic mechanicals. 

According to the International Energy Agency, the 330 million SUVs on the road worldwide are responsible for almost one billion tonnes of CO2 per year. That’s a lot of zeroes - 1,000,000,000 - and a lot of pollution. 

Honestly, the topic of carbon emissions continues to confound me, a devoted motorist who knows more about the vehicular emitters in question, which are probably guilty as charged. 

Isn’t carbon dioxide (CO2) added to soft drinks to make them fizzy and tastier? How do they calculate the carbon footprint of a person, product, entity or activity? How bad is the greenhouse effect? How good are the national, regional, and international action plans to combat climate change? How realistic are automakers’ goals to sell mostly electric-vehicles in their most crucial markets? 

The centre of the EV universe today is China, which is not only setting the pace for the technical advancement and business development of EVs, but also shaping the narrative for EV ecosystems on an increasingly global scale.

Down the road for me, there may be a Chinese electric car or a Caucasian electric car made in China which meets my needs, suits my budget and makes me happy. 

But until that comes along, I shall be burning precious petrol in an internal combustion engine, possibly under the bonnet of an interesting hybrid car if circumstances dictate.

Come on, baby, light my fire - whenever and wherever I feel the need for ICE power.

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