We've hit 'Peak Car' and it's all downhill from now: Here's why the Toyota LandCruiser, Ford Mustang and MG4 show we're living in the best-of-car-times | Opinion - Car News

Well, this is it. It’s happening and you’re here to see it. Are you ready? See, like most turning points in history (the dinosaur squashing meteorite, the creation of fire, the invention of velcro) those living during the time can’t possibly appreciate the significance of what’s about to change. Which is exactly what the world is facing now.

Yep, after 140 years of the automobile - the car has peaked

But you’ll appreciate it because I’m going to tell you what the heck I’m talking about. We have reached a point in automotive history I’m calling (and also trademarking and copyrighting) "Peak Car". It’s the moment where cars have never been better and will never get any better, only worse. I’ll explain.

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There’s debate over when the automobile was invented, but the first car that was any good was designed by German mechanical engineer Karl Benz in 1886, who by the way was an inventing fiend and also came up with patents for the spark plug, the carburettor, the battery and the ignition system using a distributor.

His Benz Patent Motor Car was the first reliable combustion engine powered vehicle.

Even more amazing than Karl was his wife and business partner, Bertha Ringer, who before any proper unveiling of the world's first car just took the keys to their new invention and drove it 100km away to her Mum’s house, like it’s something anybody did every day. She did leave a note for Karl on the dining room table.

Toyota LandCruiser

Why am I telling you this? Because driving a car now is just something anybody does any day, and this almost universal mobility completely changed the world as people donned what really are enormous mechanised suits to move fast and far, comfortably.

The car quickly solidified itself in human life and popular culture, especially in the United States where each decade brought new innovations, styles and technology.

There’s was the production-line-made Model T in the 1910s, then the full-fendered sleakness of the 1930s on to the 1950s and the mighty Chevy Bel Air in all its finned glory. The 1960s brought lightweight sports cars which morphed into juiced-up muscle cars in the 1970s, which then evolved into compact fuel-conscious hatches and sedans in the 80s. The 1990s and 2000 brought a mix of small cars, big cars and of course the new dominant automotive species - the SUV.

Kia EV9

And now in the 2020s it’s electricity. At last the first electric vehicles that are any good and reliable are being made. It’s like the invention of the car all over again.

Each era has its fans - those who think that the automobile really peaked during that particular time. But they’re wrong. All of them. Because the era we live in now is the best - what’s happening right now is Peak Car.

This is the time you can buy any type of car you want.

Mustang Mach-E and Ford Mustang

High-performance muscle car? Yep, you can buy a new 500 horsepower V8 petrol Ford Mustang or a high performance electric SUV also called a Ford Mustang.

What about a formidable off-roader with a ladder-frame chassis and a twin-turbo diesel V6? That’s the Toyota LandCruiser.

Sports car? You mean like a Mazda MX-5 or a Nissan Z or GR Supra? Or more like a Porsche 911 or an electric Porsche Taycan?

Porsche Taycan Turbo GT

Oh Supercar? Like Lamborghini Huracan STO or did you mean Ferrari 812 Superfast?

Or cheap electric car? There’s the MG4 for less than $40K.

And any moment hydrogen will be here offering more choice.

Mazda MX-5

This vast array of choices won’t last forever. It might not even last much longer because we’re really just at a crossroads in technology where petrol and diesel powered cars are about to be retired by emissions laws and battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will take their place.

We're living in the overlap of technology that lets us dip into either source or propulsion. But the overlap is the change point.