And that's just looking at the energy efficiency. Also consider size and weight for a given power output, cost, ease of operation, reliability and maintenance requirements...

There have certainly been and continue to be new developments and refinements, but the really major advancements in piston engine technology (even specifically internal combustion engines) predated the automobile. The Model T engine was a fairly modern design, and was kept in production until 1941 with only minor refinements and adjustments. The field was already quite mature when mass produced automobiles arrived on the scene, while complex electronics didn't really even begin until vacuum tubes were developed in the early 1900s.

Comparing the development of electronics or even just integrated circuits or computers with the development of the automobile is absurd. A more realistic comparison would be electronics against the entire industrial revolution, which had similar positive feedback effects spurring its growth...production of engines and tools allowed production of more advanced engines and tools, similar to how electronic controls and computer aided design allow further advances in electronics.