The internal combustion engine

Once the king of traveling machines

Is soon to be an old relic

Replaced by electric motors

Overtaken by hydrogen fuel cells

Future generations will look back

At the golden era of pistons and carburetors

With the same nostalgia we hold for steam engines today

We will remember the glorious roar of the V8

The throaty exhausts of open wheel race cars

Yearn for the sweet smell of hot oil

Marvel at the skills of those who maintained them

We will no longer be driving cars or piloting planes

Vehicles will become autonomous taxis

Hailed by your smart device

Taking you to your destination quietly

Without polluting the planet

Or plundering its fossil fuel reserves

Cars will morph into driverless pods of all sizes

Either flying or speeding along designated tracks

Small ones for a couple of people

Medium sizes for families and groups

Mass transit will take the commuters

Drones will deliver to your door everything you need

Cars buses trains and planes will all integrate

Nobody will ever have to steer or hit the brakes

You will engage in work or entertainment while traveling

Perhaps watching movies about old combustion engines

Wondering how people ever controlled those relics

Children will study the history of transportation

Flipping through images of horse drawn vehicles

Watching videos of hissing steam trains

Turning the page of the internal combustion engine