Like it or not, the automotive industry is changing. The days of the internal combustion engine seem to be numbered and we have a little more than a decade to get used to that change. Of course, the fact that no new combustion-powered cars will be sold around the middle of the 2030s doesn’t mean that there won’t be any vehicles with the good old ICE on the road in the future.
However, their number will begin to fall dramatically and the first to die, probably, are going to be the most boring and unspirited ones. The former Top Gear host Richard Hammond has now started the process of killing the cars we won’t need and the first two victims are featured in his latest video for the Drivetribe channel.
It’s actually a new show idea and the Drivetribe team has been working hard to make it arguably “the biggest project we’ve ever filmed.” The idea circles around the fact that combustion-powered cars are slowly dying and the planet needs to save just the best examples of all manufacturers. We don’t know what Hammond’s exact criteria are but he says some vehicles deserve to live for the next generations while others don't. He begins the natural selection with the following statement: “Mk1 Escort? Yes. Mk4 Escort? No.”
More examples follow and, for unknown reasons, we find Hammond’s selection pretty accurate and honest. See, while there’s nothing wrong with the Peugeot 207 – it was a nice little mainstream car – it surely doesn’t have the charisma the Peugeot 205 had. And in Hammond’s world, this means it needs to die and make space for more exciting cars to survive. “Chrysler Crossfire? No, not under any circumstances.”
With this huge introduction, it’s time to say a few words about what this new video is actually about. Hammond wants to give the cars that don’t deserve to live anymore a new life and turn them into… garden accessories and equipment in the first episode of the new series. Yes, you read that right. It is as weird as it sounds but if you have about 50 minutes to spend with Hammond and a bunch of talented mechanics, the video is definitely worth your attention.
