A bipartisan group of senators has drafted a new energy bill that includes a mandate that all vehicles sold in the United States would have to be flex-fuel capable by 2020. During the GM BioFuels summit last Friday in Detroit, one of the subjects that came up was the use of flex-fuel vs. dedicated ethanol vehicles. When Brazil first started moving to ethanol in the 1970s, manufacturers built cars that only ran on ethanol. Due some volatility in fuel prices these proved to be unpopular. It was only when everyone started to make flex-fuel vehicles so that drivers could select the fuel that was most affordable that such cars and use ethanol really took off. Now more than 90 percent of new cars in Brazil are FFVs.

However, some in the industry are opposed to the plan. Barbara Nocera of Mazda is concerned that government shouldn't mandate which technologies win out. The validity of this argument is dependent on how how the law is written. If it only mandates flex fuel capability without specifying particular fuels, this really shouldn't be a problem. Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers president Dave McCurdy has said some engines are not easily adaptable to flex fuel capability. Again this seems a dubious argument at least for gasoline engines. There shouldn't be any modern electronically controlled engines that couldn't be flex-fuel capable.

GM spokesman Alan Adler told ABG that "In general, GM opposes mandates, including this one." The real problem is not building the FFVs, but rather a lack of filling stations. Brazil has mandated that filling stations must install ethanol pumps, but less than one percent of U.S. stations offer E85. Adler said that most new GM programs "are going to offer flex-fuel capability but some, such as diesel programs, will not." However, if the fuel isn't available to buy it won't make any difference.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Because certain subsidies and incentives allow many gas stations to sell ethanol for less money than regular gasoline, the fuel is becoming a popular choice among motorists, even if their vehicles are not certified for flex-fuel use. All vehicles sold in the U.S. today are capable of accepting small doses of the alcohol fuel, as up to ten-percent of normal gasoline may be ethanol. Of course, the fuel is available in higher concentrations for vehicles which have been designed to use it, with E85 - eighty-five-percent ethanol, fifteen-percent gasoline - proving one of the most popular combinations.

Apparently, though, the lower price of the fuel has attracted the attention of those looking to save a few bucks on each fill-up. In fact, this article indicates that many users are mixing their own blends right in their tanks. This trend has prompted some gas stations to allow a choice of ethanol mixtures for drivers who want to use it, right from a single pump. Manufacturers warn that using alcohol fuels in vehicles not certified for them could cause permanent damage, so be sure you know what you're doing before breaking those rules.

[Source: AP via The Detroit News]