I thought I read where they are getting to the point where engines are starting to run cleaner and will not require cats. Is it possible anytime in the next few years, or are we really far away from this. I know that caddy V16 engine was pretty impressive, so there must be new ideas poping up.

 

The Olds Quad-4 engine could run without a cat, provided the owner kept it tuned up. But as long as people keep driving their cars all out of tune (and they do, especially in Houston) there'll be the need for catalysts.

 

I can't possibly imagine that catalytic converters would ever be phased out, short of a complete industry switch to fuel cells.

Under the heading of "politically unaccepatable nostalgia," I'd love to see an end to catalytic converters, but there again, I though leaded gasoline was perfectly allright. Ethyl lead was the greatest octane additive ever invented, and unlike the benzene used in today's unleaded, it wasn't a carcinogen. On the other hand, today's society would prefer a bit of cancer over giving children brain damage.