Why would I use E85 Gas/Ethonol when you get crappier gas mileage and..?

Question

And it costs the same if not more. I understand it helps reduce our dependance on foriegn oil but as a consumer I am looking for the best deal. I already bought an American Car that takes E85 but its just not worth it and the availability is very limited. What do you think about E85 and the what are the other benifits?

Answer 1

If you researched it, E85 contains less energy and right now it is highly subsidized by the government. Meaning the taxes you pay are going back to support the lower cost ethanol. E85 is not cheap to produce and as of right now they are trying to keep costs at about the same cost (on a per miles basis) as gasoline.

It is very expensive to produce E85, and E85 is actually taking crops away from a resouce that is already being used. Mexico is now restricting how much farmers can sell corn for the production of tortilla to keep costs of corn within reason for the people who eat it.

The primary benefit of E85 is that it is a renewable source of energy. It can eventually be a replacement for gasoline when the cost of gasoline becomes too high, and people will switch over when that occurs. It's hard to say when that will occur, but if gasoline hits $4-$5/gallon I'm sure you'll be glad you have a vehcile that can burn E85 instead.

Answer 2

Since the advent of E85 is relatively new, it's going to be more expensive. But, as more auto manufacturer's produce more models that are E85-compatible, more gas stations will begin to carry it, along with traditional gasoline. As I'm sure you know, this will lead gas stations to drive down their prices on E85, in order to be more competitive with each other, and get your business. Although this sounds like a lengthy process, it should move quite rapidly, especially if the president sticks to his word, and makes it a priority to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil and gasoline.

Answer 3

im into the idea of hydrogen or bio diesel. you can actually run any diesel engine on canola oil with only a couple easy modificatons. getting the oil and making it into gas is the harder part, but after a bit of work, you can have almost free fuel for life. most fast food restraunts pay thousands of dollars per year to have their grease traps emptied. you take the grease and add a type of alcohol (sorry, i dont know all the techinical names, ive only had friends who did this.) which seperates the glycerine from the oil, which then rises to the top. you skim off the glycerine, which my friends were using to make homemade soaps, lotions, etc. the leftovers at the bottom are them filtered and put into the gas tank. :) theres an article on the internet about a 17 year old boy who does this and makes his own fuel for only 32 cents a gallon. i also had a friend in hawaii who makes his own hydrogen, which is possible, but requires significantly more research and planning. however, after all was said and done, he had too much fuel, and because he couldnt sell it without a special liscence, he was helping his friends convert their cars and giving the hydrogen away. :)

Answer 4

It keeps the money in the US and does not go to finance terrorism overseas.

The more people use it the more the price will come down because of economies of scale.

It produces less pollutants so long term it will improve our environment.

It will increase the demand for corn so our government will not waste as much of our tax dollars paying farmers not to grow corn.

Answer 5

Beats me. I guess you're not a tree hugger.