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Why gasoline is still king: electric roadsters are the darlings of the press, but Ralph Kinney Bennett predicts that gasoline will dominate personal transportation for years to come.

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Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

--Arthur C. Clarke's "Third Law"

A little respect, please.

For gasoline.

Yes, we know it contributes to pollution, and yes, it is "nonrenewable," and yes, we still haven't learned to use it as efficiently as we could. But the fact remains: no other fuel delivers so much energy in such a small package with such flexibility, utility, safety, and simplicity.

That's precisely why it caused so much national heartburn when its price spiked this summer. It was like suddenly being told you had to pay for air.

Even though the higher prices caused a temporary downturn in gasoline consumption, the general figures still hold true: We Americans drive our 210 million motor vehicles--from abstemious little Smart Cars to big Mercedes S-Class sedans and hulking Hummers--7 billion miles and consume 390 million gallons of gasoline every day. But we still don't seem to appreciate this amazing liquid. Gasoline is just ... well, there. At the pump in about 167,000 locations across the country. Ready to power a Lamborghini or a leaf blower. One gallon contains so much energy (113,000 to 117,000 Btus) that even though almost 80 percent of it is wasted as heat and exhaust, it will still carry a loaded Chevy Suburban over the mountain or a Mini Cooper to the mall swiftly and with ease.

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U.S. refineries currently wring about 20 gallons from each 42-gallon barrel of oil they process. And although this mysterious mixture of hydrocarbons has been adulterated, oxygenated, and reformulated to improve its performance and reliability and comply with ever-more-stringent air pollution standards, gasoline remains an incredibly elegant helpmeet for our personal transportation.

Once feared for its explosive properties, sometimes used as a cleaning fluid, and often dumped by early...

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