So if EVs completely replace ICE crs, will car culture adapt, remain the same or die out?
Okay, yes, I admit, the title is very “click-baity,” however, I was having a conversation with a friend yesterday and she brought up a very interesting question. So she asked, “Do you think car meets and car culture will still be a thing if electric vehicles (EVs) are the only cars and petrol (ICE) cars are no longer on the roads?”
I had to sit in silence for a minute contemplating because this question is not so easy to answer, despite the fact that EVs and ICE will likely both coexist. Back to the question, while cultures like American, Japanese Domestic Market (JDM), Euro and the like will likely retain their meaning, what about others?
Moreover, cultures like JDM (as mentioned before) will also only be somewhat retained as a lot of JDM culture has to do with the engines and tuning in the car, both of which will be standardised globally in all markets. So already, things get confusing. What happens when we throw “Muscle” into the mix?
Yes, we all knew this was coming. I am a huge fan of American muscle, this is no secret, but to some degree, people much smarter than me explained how cars like the Dodge Charger Daytona (Banshee) are actually muscle cars since they are high powered and fast in a straight line, but with no big, loud V8 under the hood, does any of that even matter at all?
Of course, there is also now the matter of “stanced” and “lowriders,” since the majority of EVs keep their batteries on the floor of the car, being so low to the ground is a safety hazard, thus making these two cultures almost impossible to keep around. Then there is the global popularity of SUVs and pickup trucks taking away from sedan sales, so there is also that.
On top of that, more and more EVs are now focusing on straight line speed with performance variants (like Tesla plaid models) or just being performance oriented from the get go (think Lucid Air sapphire), so what about the more nippy yet not rocket fast cars like the Subaru BRZ and Mazda MX-5? Will they just be forgotten in an EV world?
I am not saying that this is sure to happen but with more and more countries pushing for EV adoption, it is becoming more likely that the nightmares I have at night of the world delving into a dystopian future where all ICE cars are scrapped for parts and only EVs exist is becoming a reality. I just hope it doesn’t happen.
In summary, the answer to my initial question is yes but also no. While cars will still be put into the subculture of what country the brand is from, some other cultures like Muscle need to be redefined to make sense or be scrapped entirely. Meanwhile, cultures like lowrider culture are likely just going to be completely abandoned. What do you guys think about this?
