How would you recommend that Ethanol be marketed so that it becomes an accepted fuel?

Question

I hear resistance to using Ethanol as I talk with people. How could we overcome this resistance through the use of effective marketing methods.

Answer 1

Market it to intellectuals. Some student at my school (chemists, I think) proposed that we use the excess grease from the dining halls to be converted to ethanol on campus in a lab they built and now all of the facilities vehicles are running partially on ethanol (I think it's a mix of ethanol and gasoline, but I could be wrong).

The layperson isn't going to be interested in ethanol until it becomes mainstream. The best bet is to start getting Universities and Hosiptals to run their vehicles (ambulances, security vehicles, construction vehicles).

Also, it would be sweet if the government supported ethanol usage by providing tax incentives for these companies (like you get if you buy a hybrid car). It's really very frustrating because ethanol production is so inexpensive. I feel your pain.

Answer 2

I think a first step would be to make more efficient on fuel consumption and actually lower the fuel cost once the market has picked up for it. The whole point is that it is a renewable source, so there should not be a huge fluctuation in cost. The efficiency right now is bad though. On fuel economy.gov you can see that running a 2006 Ford Taurus will avg 15mpg city and 20 mpg hwy. That is compared with 19mpg city and 27 mpg hwy on the same gasoline powered vehicle. The projected cost of operating it for the year is $2126 and gas powered is $1986. I think if it were to pick up and the market increased, the cost could be lowered. Much like an LCD TV. They were prohibitive a while back, but now have dropped hundreds due to a surge in the market for them.

Answer 3

First 2 posts are the two improper. Ethanol production does have a internet benefit no longer loss, it is basically no longer very extreme. something like burn 3 gallons of gas gets 5 gallons of ethanol. Ethanol additionally will no longer clog something up if something it would consume issues away it is greater corrosive than gas. you do no longer decide for to place E85 in a non flex gasoline motor vehicle. E10 is nice. perhaps if we are able to discover a thank you to make it using nonfood inputs, burning corn looks stupid and ideally using some variety of waste product.

Answer 4

People need to know that it is absolutely safe for their cars and is not going to cause engine problems down the road. That and availability in many areas are the two biggest things holding ethanol back from becoming more popular.

Answer 5

If it was marketed as something that could replace gasoline all together, as something that gave the consumer more gas milage I think people would jump at the chance to use it. It has to be much cheaper than gasoline though, because people won't make a change that they consider risky, unless it's really worth the leap!

Besides, anything that will save us monay at the pump, esp. here in California, would do well!

Answer 6

If we can technologically and commercially make Ethanol safer and cheaper, there will be less resistance by people.

There will be remaining issues,i.e. is there cost associated to modify our cars (if needed) ?

Marketing efforts can focus on its cost, convenience, and environmental friendliness.

Answer 7

people are so crazy.when are people going to realize that earth is the only planet in the entire solar system which we can live on!americans,some of the most educated people on the planet and the DUMBEST SPECIES&MOST SELFISH&LAZIEST IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE!!!!!!!!!!!!they rather work 60-80 hour weeks then work at cleaning up the planet or taking care of the enviroment even for a second!!!!!!!!!!!!!!IDIOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!i would of course use commercials on t.v. and lots of e-mail ads,heck even run a survey to see why people are resistant to ethanol and if they are'nt ask them why they are not buying it then.americans need to stop being so lazy to change their habits!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 8

I wouldn't! Did you know it takes AT LEASST 1 gallon of fossil fuel to produce 1 gallon of Ethanol? and what's the point of that?

Answer 9

Perhaps a take off of the old Wine ads: very wealthy person filling up a status car while telling a scantily dressed model (perhaps Paris Hilton) "how do you think I got to be so rich?"

Answer 10

Where you hearing resistance? we use ethanol around here and no one says anything about it.