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Re:A German Car That Was Ultra-Aerodynamic and Totally Impra... by gwern on Sunday September 14, 2014 @03:45PM (#8316043)
> The Germans were really keen on aerodynamics for surface vehicles in the 30s

For good reason; _Wages of Destruction_ covers repeatedly how concerned the German government and corporations were about how much fuel Germany needed to import, which made the country more vulnerable and exacerbated their parlous foreign-exchange/currency situation. They went to the brink repeatedly and naturally, cutting down on petroleum consumption would have been very helpful.

Re:A German Car That Was Ultra-Aerodynamic and Totally Impra... by ArkyBeagle on Sunday September 14, 2014 @10:09PM (#8316957)
"The Prize" makes this point as well. Throw in that the Japanese were cut off from American-produced oil in reaction to the Rape of Nanking.

I can't recall the source, but there are those who posit that the international spot markets mean war never need be fought over oil supply again.