You need to ask why does gasoline contaminated with ethanol still exist, when all it does is increase the cost of gasoline (per mile), decrease mileage (per gallon), and increase emissions (both per mile and gallon).
Drivers would save tons of money if they'd refuse to buy it, we would just need to get enough of us together to get such a thing done.
The two mandates that together promote this are mandates for share of renewable fuel use and mandates for gasoline oxygenation to reduce carbon monoxide emissions; ethanol-containing gasoline helps meet both mandates (the latter is applicable to certain markets at certain times of year.)
> Drivers would save tons of money if they'd refuse to buy it,
Well, yes, refusing to buy the gas that is sold at the pump would save lots of money.
An engine designed entirely for ethanol, not one that just merely takes a mix but is meant for gasoline, would be higher efficiency and be worth it.
Why does 89 octane gasoline exist?
The magic of solar city is simple -- they figured out how to market easy monthly payments for a big capital investment. People decide to go solar for all sorts of reasons, and financial is usually not the driver. I live in the northeast, and it's marginal value, you save like $20/mo in electric bills and are stuck with a lease on your roof. Many of my neighbors with solar could save $50/month with a much a $4,000 investment windows, and a few hundred in chaulk and spray foam.