California, which is where ideas are born — good and bad, from the hula hoop and the drive-thru to pet rocks and Valleyspeak — has passed a law mandating that all new cars sold in the state, starting in 2035, be electric. It has also set a goal of five million zero-emission vehicles on the roads by 2030. And, as things go in this country, other states will scratch each other’s eyes out to get in line behind the Golden State. Virginia and 16 other states have already signed on to some or all of California’s tailpipe emission standards, which are stricter than federal rules.
And what the death of gas-fueled internal-combustion-engine cars means is the death of the road trip as we know it.
Shed a tear for this. Shed a tear as government rolls up the blacktop that beckons with its siren call of the open road. As the opprobrious blue noses mapping our daily lives eliminate one of the great enticements of the American way of life, the joy of the long drive.
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