do you guys like flex-fuel vehicle?

Answer 1

No. Although E85 is cheaper by the gallon, fuel economy drops significantly when using it. If you figure the cost per mile, E85 is virtually always more expensive.

Even at $70.00 per barrel for crude oil, ethanol is not an economically viable fuel in the US. It takes more fossil-based energy to produce a gallon of ethanol than the amount of energey available in that gallon if ethanol.

Most ethanol in the US is produced from corn. Corn is not an efficient source for ethanol production. On the other hand, sugar cane is nearly perfect. It yields much more ethanol per acre than corn and the cellulose byproduct of ethanol production from sugar cane can be burned to power the ethanol plant. Little or no fossil-based fuels are needed.

This is exactly what Brazil has done. New cars there run on ethanol almost exclusively and as more ethanol fuelled vehicles hit the streets, ethanol production capacity comes on line to meet the demand. Brazil is now virtually free of dependency on fossil fuels and foreign oil. As a side benefit, ethanol does not produce nearly as much pollutants as gasoline and ethanol fueled engines are much easier to clean up. Air pollution in Brazil's major cities is already being reduced with the widespread use of ethanol.

Answer 2

Every bit helps. As long as creating/refining the "flex fuel" does not create another type of problem. I haven't heard of problems with the cars using it. 25 years ago I ran my '72 Torino on a mix of Methanol and Gasoline. Ran fine.

Answer 3

No. It's a gimmick. Those alternative fuels are just another Govt subsidy (from our tax dollars), not a long term solution.

Answer 4

no they have too many problems if you keep switching the type of fuel that you use it should be just one or the other