"I know that even in the 70's it was possible to get high effeciency cars as far as gas milage. I had a pinto" PM

Ferdinand Porsche beat you by decades, with the Kubelwagon, and the more familiar but mechanically similar VW "Beetle".
I'm not saying the Pinto wasn't economical. I'm saying that he said the same displacement engine has increased ~70%; due to a plethora of minor engine refinements.
"the oil companies bought up all - or most - of the patents" John

I've heard that one a lot.
Count me a skeptic.
It seems to me the same type of urban legend (meaning fiction) as the stories about all those surplus WWII Jeeps that are packed in "cosmolene" and available for a song.

Lots of Americans mow lots of lawns.
It seems to me, celluslosic ethanol would be a major break in our energy self-sufficiency.

Just dump lawn clippings into the "Fuel FarmĀ®" and out comes ethanol which can be used for automotive fuel, home heating fuel, and even lawn mower fuel to make more ethanol.

But a contraption like that would kick corporate oil (such as Exxon-Mobil) in the coasters.

But are the oil companies keeping this technology from us?
I doubt it.

And if it was, we wouldn't have to scrap our patent system to solve the problem.
Instead, making a national security exception for those few patents at issue should suffice.

Even if licensure was involved, all parties could be treated fairly.
Patenting fermentation is hardly cricket.

"Whenever you start posting dictionary quotes, we know you've been bested." captainkbt