> The energy usage (due to air resistance) is non-linear with speed. Driving at 85 mph could use twice as much energy as driving at 65 mph.
Does this mean I'll use twice as much gas when driving an ICE car at 85 vs 65? Or do gas cars have a higher constant factor or something that makes air resistance relatively less important?
> Does this mean I'll use twice as much gas when driving an ICE car at 85 vs 65?
Probably closer to 50% more, because while drag is roughly proportional to the square of speed (which would yield ~70% more with this speed difference), there is also rolling resistance and powertrain losses - so the function of energy consumption vs speed is of the form: ax^2 + bx + c("c" being accessories like air conditioning).
air resistance doesn’t care whether the motive force is a gas engine, electric motors, nuclear powering steam turbines, Flinstone feet, or a wound up spring. All that matters is the cars form factor, i.e. the shape and texture of the outer shell.
Gas cars lose energy to heat loss and timing/efficiency of combustion cycle, that due to air drag. So even though you could gain little more mileage driving at 65mph, the relative difference is less compared to electric cars.
Does this mean I'll use twice as much gas when driving an ICE car at 85 vs 65? Or do gas cars have a higher constant factor or something that makes air resistance relatively less important?