All good points Steve.
I remember seeing a show on Modern Marvels (great show by the way) about fuel refineries and how they came about and changed over the years.
Years ago, crude oil was first refined for kerosene for lanterns and such. From what I remember, one of the byproducts was gasoline which was nuisance to dispose of since it had no use. Back then there was no law or EPA to govern the disposal of this byproduct. So, it was commonly dumped in streams and rivers. Imagine….gasoline simply dumped in the waters we fish and drink from today.
Anyhow….I guess my point is you are right that things have changed over the years and the rules and regulations around how fuel is refined and used have changed……for the better I hope.
Personally, I believe the auto manufacturers and oil refineries work closely together to meet new EPA regulations. Auto manufacturers build cars to meet today's requirements with cost as their primary concern, not how clean burning or how efficient (MPG) it is. I believe we have the technology to build cars that get MUCH better gas mileage then what we have today. Example: An early 70's Datsun pickup truck got somewhere around 28 mpg. A similar truck today gets about the same or worse MPG. ???? HOW is this possible? How can what basically was a tin can with holes drilled out for a carburetor equal or exceed today's latest computer controlled fuel injected engines? It just blows my mind that some trucks are getting worse or equivalent MPG today then what was offered years ago. Granted, we added some weight, HP and pollution control devices to our auto's today but still…..
I owned a 87 or so Honda Civic HF which if babied easily broke 50 mpg. That was over 15 years ago!!! Show me one gasoline Honda today that exceeds 50 mpg!!!
What about diesel? Diesel is cheaper to refine and has approximately 17% more energy by volume then gasoline. Why aren't we seeing more highly efficient diesel engines? My guess is because they are costly to manufacturer and usually last years longer then gasoline engines.
Another example….I owned a 2003 Jetta TDI diesel. It was rated for 49 mpg. I got around 46 - 48 depending on how fast I drove. Back in the 80's, I had a friend who had a diesel Rabbit. I think he got around 40 or so mpg. Not that big of a jump for almost 20 years.
I believe the technology is here today to build a 100mpg+ auto/truck BUT will not because 1)EPA hasn't required them to 2) simpler cars equal cheaper cars equal more sales equal greater profit & 3) the fuel companies wouldn't know what to do with all their surplus fuel if consumption would decrease significantly. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry. No way they're going to shoot themselves in the foot.
Just my 2 cents……