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The name of the game for infernal combustion engines is to waste as much gasoline or diesel fuel as possible. In fact, observers like Bill McKibben note that, when everything is considered from well head to refinery to the pump to engine efficiency, only about 15 percent of the energy that comes out of the ground actually goes to moving our cars and trucks forward. The rest is wasted. Yes, we know that is nuts, but it’s the system we have.
You would think a great nation aiming for energy dominance would want to improve the efficiency of the system to squeeze more energy out of every precious drop of fuel, but you would be wrong. The so-called president of that nation is determined to find new, more creative ways to make cars and trucks even less efficient, and his supporters are cheering him on because wasting energy means winning — apparently.
We have been saying for years that electric cars and trucks would get more efficient over time, and not just because of improved aerodynamics. Just as the internal combustion engine acquired overhead camshafts, electronic fuel injection, and turbochargers, so too the march of progress will benefit EV powertrains.
