The good news: the gasoline engine will probably become much more fuel efficient in the near future, according to University of Michigan researcher John DeCicco. The bad news: this may come at the expense of fun. According to Popular Science, DeCicco believes gas-powered cars can reach a fleet average of 74 miles per gallon by 2035; however, to do so, automakers will have to focus on maximizing efficiency rather than power. Sure, reducing curb weights won’t be bad for performance, but the other likely changes—low-drag tires, smaller engines, bodies designed for minimal drag even at the expense of style—don’t draw a pretty picture for automotive enthusiasts.

But perhaps more frightening than a world clogged with Toyota Priuses is DeCicco’s belief that young drivers today value information technology features above on-road performance, a trend he hypothesizes will only grow more prevalent in the future. A bizarro world where people boast about their high-mileage prowess and compete with one another to achieve the best fuel economy would be strange, but still recognizable as a cracked mirror of today’s car culture. But a world where kids post pictures of Mustangs on their walls not because the car can crack off a 4.5 second 0-60 time, but because the Sync 3.0 system can predict what type of music you’d like to hear based on your pulse and blink rate? Where fathers see freedom not in the sleek lines of a 911, but in the projection of his Facebook profile on the head-up display? That’s a frightening future we hope we never see. [via Popular Science]