Ethanol has its own downsides. When thinking about the explanations, keep in mind that leaded gas adoption was near-universal, including economies where "compa

Ethanol has its own downsides. When thinking about the explanations, keep in mind that leaded gas adoption was near-universal, including economies where "companies" or "competing fuel" weren't really a thing in that sense - e.g. USSR. They still went for leaded gas because of its objective benefits. And even today, we still use leaded gas for aviation... It is a horrible trade-off either way, but it was not done for no gain at all.