There are approximately 300 million cars on North American roads. At present, all domestic manufacturing plants, both big 3 and foreign transplants, have approximately 20 million productive capacity for automobile production. Therefore, if productive capacity is fully employed starting tomorrow making nothing but hybrid and electric vehicles, fifteen years from now, we will have turned over the entire inventory of automobiles to non-petroleum dependent propulsion. Almost! For remember, even hybrids require gasoline. Just not as much. Additionally, does anyone here really believe we can change over all automotive manufacturing without the needed time for re-tooling in order to mass produce different types of vehicles. Technology just does not undergo a total reorientation that quickly

Meanwhile, the developing world is building cars like crazy. China just surpassed the US in monthly automobile production Most of which are internal combustion propelled and petroleum powered. The developing world additionally, has four times the population base as the developed world. All wanting to acquire and drive a vehicle. The internal combustion engine is not going to disappear any time soon. Meanwhile, we remain in a foot race between gradually depleting oil supplies and demand for that petroleum. My guess, we have a 40 year changeover which we are looking at before the mass internal combustion engine passes from production. There will be a lot of internal combustion engines produced world wide between this day and that one. And a lot of gasoline and diesel fuel produced, sold and consumed!

Brian