What a gas: Cheap fuel draws big lines

[Bdog]

http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/yrtwn/swest/211swyt2.htm
They came in rusty beaters, hulking SUVs, work pickups, cargo vans and aging family sedans.
Someone even arrived in something called a Brush.

Luring them all Thursday afternoon to the Kean gas station in Chicago's Morgan Park community was the siren song of cheap fuel.

The station was one of eight in the Chicago area selling E85 — a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline — for 85 cents a gallon.

The ethanol blend typically sells about 10 to 50 cents cheaper than regular gas. Before the price at the lone E85 pump at Kean was slashed to 85 cents, a line of cars stretched about three blocks on Talman Avenue.

The horn of impatience was honked.

Drivers glared at fellow drivers who dared to cut in the line.

Rubberneckers on 111th Street slammed the brakes.

"It is just like the gas shortages in the 1970s, except back then it was on all the pumps," station owner Raleigh Kean said. "I never expected it to be like this."

Bargain hunters flocked to the station even though only a handful of cars are able to efficiently burn E85.

Bill Hamel of the Beverly community recently learned his GMC Yukon can use the blend by looking at the flap covering the gas cap. He spent $22 to fill his 33-gallon tank.

"Fill that sucker up to the top," he joked to an attendant.

[hatrack]

1. Call me crazy, but . . .

Don't you have to have a modified engine to be able to burn E85?

Maybe one tankful wouldn't hurt, but I think you might screw things up if you made it a habit.

[Bdog]

2. The American car manufactures make flex fuel cars

Each manufacture has several models that can run on any mixture of ethanol and gasoline.

I would not put E85 in a car that was not made to run ethanol.

http://www.nesea.org/greencarclub/evs/
Ethanol (E-85) (flex-fuel)
Cars:
Chrysler Sebring
Dodge Stratus sedan
Ford Taurus sedan
Ford Taurus wagon
Ford Mercury Sable
Vans:
Chrysler Town and Country
Chrysler Voyager
Dodge Caravan
Dodge cargo minivan
Pick-ups:
Chevy Silverado
Ford Supercab Ranger FFV
GMC Sierra
Mazda B3000
SUVs:
Ford Explorer
GMC Tahoe
GMC Suburban
GMC Yukon & Yukon XL
Mercury Mountaineer

[toddzilla]

3. if memory serves..

doesn't alcohol need to be burned at a much higher percentage of the mixture than gas? when i read about alcohol for racing, i thought i read that it was nearly 2x the rate of consumption?

[Bdog]

4. Using Ethanol as a Vehicle Fuel

http://www.transportation.anl.gov/competitions/ethanol_challenge/ethanol.html
Refueling a car with ethanol is just like refueling with gasoline -- ethanol is a liquid that is pumped from a storage tank through a dispenser and hose into the vehicle's fuel tank. However, because ethanol contains 28% less energy than gasoline, it takes more ethanol to go the same distance.

Unlike gasoline and other fossil fuels, ethanol contains oxygen, which allows it to burn more completely. It emits fewer greenhouse gases and less carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide than gasoline does when burned. In fact, a small amount of ethanol is often added to gasoline to increase the octane rating and provide oxygen to reduce carbon monoxide emissions. Vice versa, the gasoline in an ethanol blend helps the vehicle to start in cold weather and extends its driving range.

Ethanol vehicles have received high marks in performance, driveability, and reliability tests. Power, acceleration, payload and cruise speed are all comparable with those for equivalent gasoline-fueled vehicles. The outlook for ethanol-fueled vehicles is bright -- virtually all U.S. automakers are offering production ethanol vehicles in upcoming model years.