“You should recognize that high prices are the cure for high prices in the oil business.”
It’s hard to even guess at how much more efficient cars along AND all of the industries that supply the parts and assemble them are than say, 35 years ago. Those efficiencies were spurred on by...high energy prices.
That and government regulations ;-)
But if there is a cheaper way to accomplish a task or goal, and enough people want it, it typically finds a way to the market.