Mary B;
MY pie-eye view is that Internal combustion will continue to evolve back to where it was in the early decades where they can once again use different blends.
Your vehicle can burn E85 with noting more than a "chip" change.
I upgraded our 2007 V6 Van to be able to bun it with a mere $600USD install of a sensing unit.
Hydrocarbon fuels still carry a boat load of energy.
Bruce S
For what it's worth:
My impression has been that a large number of stakeholders in, and followers of, the nascent worldwide electric vehicle industry have bought into the idea that we will see a complete or near-complete end to the internal combustion engine light duty road-going vehicle, and probably a reduction in such engines for heavier vehicles, in the next few decades. Some of these folks are newcomers, and some have been around awhile.
For perspective: I'm bearing in mind that we're talking about changes (that are already moderate and are becoming major) in an industry that has something like USD $2 Trillion in revenues per year, just on the new vehicles alone. Maybe more than that. [My number could be way off... I'm just multiplying ballpark new vehicle numbers times ballpark average price.]
As for my own view of the next few decades, I tend to believe that one of the key arguments for mandatory retention of ICVs (in heavier land-based vehicles) is pretty weak, in my fallible view: it is not true that BEVS cannot haul heavy loads, or go somewhat long distances along roads, or do so with reasonable up-front costs. Much of the economics and engineering is either already there, or seems to be on track to get where it needs to be, to be competitive, or superior. There are some areas where hydrocarbons (or hydrogen, or other fuels) still seem to make sense, such as long-distance passenger air travel. I won't try to figure that out right now. I'm just saying that sometimes the assumptions against BEVs (such as that conventional semi+trailer must be nat gas powered or the like) are not fully strong IMO.
However, even with that said, I tend to believe it's possible (though not guaranteed) we will see enough roadgoing light duty internal combustion engine vehicles sticking around, for a few decades if not longer, to surprise the more dismissive of the BEV industry proponents. The Black Swan I am focused on is if capable parties make at least somewhat widely available a zero-net-carbon-emission synthetic hydrocarbon (or similar) liquid fuel. I do believe these have already been invented (or close), though not driven down in cost nor made available in volume.
What if, for example, I owned a really spectacular internal combustion engine vehicle that I had no interest in parking in order to use a BEV. Wouldn't I be willing to pay for plentiful amounts of such a fuel, if the choice I end up with is either use that fuel or drive a BEV? If I get the go-ahead to buy that fuel, and if my internal combustion engine powered vehicle (or PHEV) is really preferred by me, then yes, depending on a few other factors (such as availability and price of the fuel, and upkeep on my ICV, and local municipal clean air regulations) I might well choose to keep driving the ICV, even if others look down on it for this or that reason, such as if they consider it to be a Rube Goldberg Device, or see it as an unwise expense, or an unwise efficiency problem, etc. It's hard for me to know, with confidence, what would or will happen if such a fuel is made available. I haven't been able to find much traction on a robust conversation about this, and it's challenging to develop one's thoughts in that case. I think the considerations would include timing of the technology (a fuel introduced now in some parts of the worldwide market would have different meaning than if introduced after ICV new vehicle sales bans have taken effect) and that a key advantage of such a technology would be that, arguably, it might (?) help reduce carbon dioxide footprint of some travel in that the vehicle could still be old and so not have the carbon accounting footprint of additional recycling and such, through additional generations of vehicle.
