Well, the solution proposed 100 years ago was to blend ethanol in with the gasoline. Ethanol has one oxygen atom leading to more even combustion (less explosive, less 'knock', more complete combusyion) in an ICE. You have to blend in ~10%. Tetra-ethyl-lead does the same thing but at a concentration of 1% or so IIRC, with lead serving the same role as oxygen. Later on, a compound called MTBE (methyl-tert-butyl-ether) which contains oxygen was used, but has been mostly phased out in the USA due to serious groundwater contamination issues related to leaking storage tanks.
The basic market reason ethanol wasn't used originally is that it was produced by farmers not by oil distillers, so this meant taking profits away from the oil sector and giving them to the agricultural sector. There's some evidence that one reason the JD Rockefeller pushed Prohibition in the USA was to lock farmers out of the automobile fuel business. Since 2003 in California at least, ethanol is the major fuel additive that's replaced TEL and MTBE.
Markets are not free in the energy sector, they're highly controlled and monopolized, and basically always have been. This is why many counties have chosen to essentially nationalize their energy production and distribution systems. All other market activity relies on a stable energy supply, it's similar to water in that respect.
The basic market reason ethanol wasn't used originally is that it was produced by farmers not by oil distillers, so this meant taking profits away from the oil sector and giving them to the agricultural sector. There's some evidence that one reason the JD Rockefeller pushed Prohibition in the USA was to lock farmers out of the automobile fuel business. Since 2003 in California at least, ethanol is the major fuel additive that's replaced TEL and MTBE.
Markets are not free in the energy sector, they're highly controlled and monopolized, and basically always have been. This is why many counties have chosen to essentially nationalize their energy production and distribution systems. All other market activity relies on a stable energy supply, it's similar to water in that respect.