This is very hot issue recently. I have to reset my monthly budget because of the oil price. I've been thinking to sell my car.

The story (from the fuel companies in Oz) is that they put additives in to keep your fuel injectors clean, and the higher octane fuel burns fully, and therefore cleaner.

But that doesn't necessrily mean more power from the fuel. Ethyl alcohol has higher octane rating than standard fuel, but has less combustive power than fuel.

The additives put into the higher octane fuels causes the fuel to burn slower too. You're right about alcohol. It has a higher octane rating but a lower specific energy value than gasoline. I hate putting the stuff in my truck because I get less miles per gallon verses straight up gasoline. This whole ethanol subsidy mess is a scam to feed money to farmers for political reasons. Ethanol contains just 63% of the energy that gasoline contains. Here's a chart:



The reason we need to have more nuclear power is because the specific energy of U238 is 88,250,000 MJ/kg. Nuclear fusion is a whopping 645,000,000 MJ/kg! Here's an interesting link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_density

Current nuclear technology has a very nasty side effect ... the byproducts kill everyone quickly.

I'd reckon the best move would be to methane -> Everyone can power their own damn car but mre to the point, it's relatively compatible with current technology, but an eventual migration to hydrogen gas would be preferred.
We can combat global warming & rising sea levels, by generating no more C02 & sticking some seawater in our cars

Everything has side effects but nuclear is the cleanest major energy source we can currently utilize in any meaningful way. Plus, the waste can be recycled to a small amount if we choose to do it. France relies on nuclear for most of their energy production with no apparent problems.

IMO, mining methane hydrate is something we should be working on in a big way. The stores of it in the ocean floors is staggering. I also think using hydrogen on a mass scale is just not going to happen. It is too energy intensive and the cells are too expensive by any currently available technology. Developing a distribution system for it is a daunting task. The Honda fuel cell car needs 5,000 psi to work and the GM fuel cell car needs 10,000 psi. These are very high pressures to deal will on a mass scale. I think we will see battery powered cars first. Fuel cell powered vehicles, if they occur, will likely be for very specific applications like long haul trucking, heavy equipment etc. where a high energy density is required from the fuel source.