Bob Lutz says electric cars will improve, ‘at that point, who needs a gasoline engine?’

Despite his long history with traditional internal combustion engines and climate change skepticism, Bob Lutz remains a strong voice for the plug-in future of the automobile. If anything, his recent statement are getting stronger. To wit, in an recent interview with CNBC, the Chevy Volt’s grandpappy (and the former vice chairman of General Motors) said that not only will the future be electric – “the electric car future is definitely coming” (in five to 10 years) – but he also said pointed out that EVs are at some point going to get so good that we’ll all be ditching our gas-powered rides.

Lutz said that once an EV can go 400 miles between charges and recharge in 15-20 minutes, then, “at that point, who needs a gasoline engine?” A tall order, perhaps, until you look at the performance numbers for the Tesla Model S and you realize we’re not all that far away. For $70,000+, of course.

Lutz also had some realistic criticisms of plug-in vehicles, calling the Fisker Karma “half-baked” and saying that even by 2025, he will be surprised if EVs make up 10 percent of the total auto market. Still, when Maximum Bob asks “who needs a gasoline engine?” it’s worth trying to answer.

Watch the video below.

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