There are some people who maintain that cars have been intelligently designed. However, this common misconception flies in the face of all we know about cars. Here are some of the top known flaws in cars today:
1. Too many cylinders. Although some cars use a three-cylinder engine, most cars have 4, 6, or 8 cylinders. There are even examples of 12 and 16 cylinder vehicles! A three-cylinder engine features less frictional loss from moving components than a four-cylinder engine and substantially less than an 8-cylinder engine, resulting in fine performance and superior fuel efficiency. No intelligent designer would have ever created an 8-cylinder engine.
2. Fuel as a coolant. What many people don't know is that most cars' fuel pumps are cooled by the gasoline flowing into it. Thus, when the tank is near empty, the fuel pump can easily overheat and be destroyed.
3. Spark-ignited engines. Unlike diesel engines, spark-ignited engines do not ignite all the fuel at the same time, rather the fuel is ignited at the spark and the ignition spreads our spherically. As ignition occurs, unignited gas is compressed and may spontaneously ignite more violently than appropriate. The result is called engine knocking. Engine knocking can cause damage to the piston or the cylinder wall. Engine knocking is often worsened if the wrong octane is put into the car. Even so, most cars and gas pumps are designed so that virtually any octane fuel can be put into a car. Even diesel fuel can be put into a gasoline-powered car, with disastrous results.
4. Racing stripes. Although not everyone knows this, racing stripes provide no benefit to a car. They do not make the car faster, more gas efficient, or easier to drive. No intelligent designer would put racing stripes on a car.
5. Power windows. Another vestigial structure found on many cars nowadays are power windows. They provide no benefit to the car of any kind -- no increase in speed or maneuverability. In fact, they result in reduced gas mileage. They are prone to malfunction as the car ages. They are as useless as the muscles that some people have that move their ears. No intelligent designer would have included these in a car.
6. Power locks. The same as power windows. Need I say more?
7. Transmissions. Most of us know that cars cannot be shifted into reverse when they are moving forward. This is an important adaptation included in cars. However, cars can be shifted into drive while moving backward. The resulting stress on the transmission can easily lead to catastrophic transmission failure.
8. Radiators. Despite popular misconception, cars can be air cooled. Radiators add unnecessary parts, such as water pumps, that add to the chances of system failure. Worse yet, radiators cannot adequately cool engines with water alone. Special, expensive coolant-water mixes must be added to prevent the system from freezing in the winter or from boiling in the summer. Granted, air cooling is not enough for large 6- or 8-cylinder engines, but as we've already pointed out above, 3-cylinder engines are adequate. No intelligent designer would put a radiator on a car.
9. Parking brakes. Although all cars come with parking brakes, the majority of people do not use them. However, the park setting on the transmission is usually inadequate to keep the car from rolling. No intelligent designer would create a transmission with a park setting that was not adequate to keep the car parked!
The above are just a few of the many design flaws in modern cars. Even one of them is sufficient to completely refute the idea that cars could be intelligently designed! There is only one possible explanation for the cars we see around us.
Cars evolved through natural selection into the form we see today. Perhaps you are skeptical. Perhaps you wish to dispute this idea. Very well, I am open to new ideas. If you can find any peer-reviewed study published in a reputable scientific publication that casts doubt on this, I will rethink my ideas. Until then, keep your creationist nonsense out of our schools!!
