Can we leave the motor car experiments, for a while, and get back to the original question....
Could you explain me why more power is required to fly 150 KIAS at FL300 than at 5000 feet ?
The real solution is that, to generate Lift equal to the Weight of the aircraft, at a higher altitude. The wing needs a higher Angle of Attack, as the air is thinner. This higher AoA creates a higher Drag... Simple as that.
Now what was all that about cars pushing the earth around....?