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With gas prices again on the rise, including a 15-cent increase from the national average over the last two weeks, many U.S. drivers won't be thrilled to learn that gasoline-powered cars are likely to be dominant until at least 2050, according to a two-year study requested by the U.S. Department of Energy. The study focused on how the advancement of alternative-fuel cars could reduce the nation's dependence on oil, lower greenhouse gases and improve the fuel efficiency of cars overall.

While we will likely be filling up at the gas pump for the next several decades, the study also found that the traditional internal combustion engine could see efficiency gains as high as 90 percent, due to various technologies that improve fuel efficiency in the engine itself, as well as in the car overall, including the use of electric motors in conjunction with gasoline engines to make hybrid cars.

Gasoline's biggest competitor, the report says, will be compressed natural gas if natural gas prices continue to be low.

Tara Baukus Mello writes the cars blog as well as the weekly Driving for Dollars column, providing both practical financial advice for consumers as well as insight into the latest developments in the automotive world. Follow her on Facebook here or on Twitter @SheDrives.