<![CDATA[Jalopnik: Ethanol]]> http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jalopnik.com.png <![CDATA[Jalopnik: Ethanol]]> http://jalopnik.com/tag/ethanol http://jalopnik.com/tag/ethanol <![CDATA[This 875-Horsepower Ferrari FF Runs On Corn Gas]]> For less than $2K you can convert your Ferrari FF to run on E85, raising the pathetic 650 stock horsepower to a more respectable 875 hp. On top of that, you'll apparently cut emissions by 80%. It's the "green" grand touring supercar. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5875788&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[U.S. House votes to block approval of E15]]> The bill in the U.S. House to bar the EPA from spending any money to bring 15% ethanol fuel to your corner Exxon passed 286-135. Now the bill has to survive the presidential aspirations of any senators. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5766387&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Ethanol train explosion seen for 20 miles]]> A train pulling tankers full of ethanol derailed and exploded in rural Ohio this weekend, sending up a fireball that could be seen 20 miles away. No one was hurt, but the train's conductor is probably never using E85 again. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5754051&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Discarded Four Loko Will Soon Power You Car]]> Four Loko and other alcohol-infused energy drinks may be too dangerous for human stomachs, but they work just fine in your fuel tank — thanks to a Virginia company recycling them into ethanol for gasoline. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5726874&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[The Greenwashing Of NASCAR]]> Ethanol producers are now in bed with NASCAR, turning America's most popular motorsport into a tool of greenwashing persuasion designed to make being pro-ethanol synonymous with being pro-American, pro-NASCAR. Here's The Daly Planet to explain. — Ed. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5719076&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[EPA Approves 15% Ethanol Content For Gas Blends]]> 15% Ethanol? Yes, Iowa is the new Saudi Arabia. [Consumer Reports] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5663103&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Why You Shouldn't Buy Gas From Costco: Reason #3267]]> Customers of a New York Costco think their vehicles were erroneously filled with E85 ethanol fuel mislabeled as 93 octane. Costco says it's bad gas, not E85, but is still paying to repair damaged cars. [WCBS via Consumerist] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5539121&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[$283,000 Quad Bike Powered By 500 HP Turbocharged BMW V12]]> And you thought the STI-ATV was crazy. Cramming a BMW V12 and a turbocharger into a quad bike wasn't enough for French bike builder Ludovic Lazareth, he needed more power, so he added ethanol. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5333987&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Lotus Completes Omnivore Engine, Feeds It Alcohol]]> Talk fuel efficiency and words like "direct injection," "flex-fuel" and "variable compression ratio" are common. But they aren't usually combined with "two-stroke." Unless you're Lotus that is. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5160933&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Queen Converts Bentleys To Biofuels]]> The Queen is going green, converting her two custom $15 million Bentley Limos to run on bio-ethanol, preempting an effort by Bentley to do the same for its entire fleet. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5122208&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[80 MPG 400 HP '87 Mustang X Prize Contestant Heading To SEMA]]> When Doug Pelmear and his notchback Ford Mustang nearly broke the internet with his claims of some magical engine tinkering returning 110 MPGe (80 MPG) — while making 400 HP — we were skeptical to say the least. That "MPGe" figure is there because the car runs on ethanol, so the extra "e" on the end signifies the energy equivalent to a gallon of regular gasoline. Now Pelmear is taking the 110 MPG Mustang on a cross-country road trip to prove the skeptics (us) wrong, ending at this years SEMA show where he probably won't be popping the hood so everyone can poke around. The car is being entered in the Progressive Automotive X Prize contest as well, where it will compete against others with the goal of 100 MPG in a four-passenger car. We're going to continue waiting, edible hat in hand, for scientific measurements to back up his claims. [WNWO, via MustangRevolution] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5070914&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[E85 Gas Pumps Pass 1,800 Mark, Still Can't Find One In Sarah Palin's Alaska]]> A new report shows the number of E85 ethanol pumps in the U.S. has grown nearly 28% in the past year, surpassing the 1,800 mark with 1,693 available for public use. The states with the most E85 pumps are, as you'd expect, in the corn belt, including Minnesota, Illinois and Missouri. Just don't expect to find them in every corner of the country: Despite the growth in E85 availability, seven states still don't have any E85 pumps, including Alaska. Considering E85 expansion is part of our current national energy policy, it makes us wonder if Governor Palin should revise her favorite chant to "distill, baby, distill." More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5063072&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Ethanol In Gasoline Reportedly Wreaking Havoc On Small Engines]]> If you've been having trouble with your small gasoline power equipment lately, MSNBC reports that you're not alone: Small-engine mechanics nationwide are seeing a spike in engine damage they claim is attributable to the increasing use of ethanol in gasoline. We're not talking about E85 here either; apparently, it's the much more common (and in some places ubiquitous) E10 blend, which is 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline, that technicians are blaming for gummed-up carburetors, internal rust and lubrication issues. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5043482&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[SwiftFuel Is Just Like Fuel, Except Probably Full Of Crap]]> Today brought us news of a purported new solution to high gas prices: SwiftFuel. Currently intended as a replacement for leaded 100-octane aviation fuel, SwiftFuel claims to be ethanol-based, but somehow free from ethanol's negatives such as its lower energy density, incompatibility with gasoline, and propensity to destroy rubber components. How do we know all this? The company's MySpace page told us so. But since we realize social networking sites sometimes contain minor misrepresentations, we decided to dig deeper. What we've discovered, and more importantly, what we still don't know, after the jump. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=395981&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Avoid E85 Like A Plague Of Corn-Eating Locusts]]> Filing up your E85 vehicle might initially feel better due to prices that are, on average, about 20% cheaper than regular octane, but the joke is on you. Because gas engines burn the typically corn-based fuel less efficiently, the adjusted cost of E85 is $4.321 per gallon compared to gas that averaged about $3.962 on Friday. Even in states that subsidize the cost of the fuel, like New York and Iowa, the difference still results in prices that are equal to or worse than the price of regular gasoline. Though this still means you are using less dino juice, we feel that this is offset by the disruption of food crops and the fertilizer runoff that is impacting the Gulf of Mexico. Maybe you should look into Algae power. [Kicking Tires] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=394663&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Coors Puts Beer Waste To Use As Ethanol]]> As we continue our march towards the end of the highest-priced gas day of the year, let's turn to something a little bit more enjoyable to think about — like beer! Who says you have to harvest football fields worth of corn for one gallon of ethanol? Molson Coors Brewing Company, the company behind the delectable Coors Light has announced that it is the official E85 ethanol producer for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Wait, what? Seriously? A beer company is the ethanol sponsor for the Democratic National Convention? More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=392956&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[GM Says Challenge X Is The Future, We Say We Want It Now]]> Looking at the array of biodiesel hybrids, ethanol hydrogen hybrids and fuel cells on display in Central Park this morning, the impression we got was GM is looking to these technologies as the future. All we could think was how much they should be the present. You see, this wasn't a display of pie-in-the-sky concepts or prototypes, but actual vehicles capable of competently carrying humans and all of them designed and built by students on a limited budget. If a couple of pubescent geeks still waiting for their first pocket protectors can put a functioning biodiesel hybrid on a driveway, why isn't GM doing so right now? More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=391294&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Biofuel Comparison Chart Highlights Hypocrisy]]> The problem with the green movement isn't its goal of conservation — that's admirable — it's the gullibility many of its proponents suffer from and which big companies and governments are able to exploit to sell them on far-from-friendly products and policies. Take biofuel for instance. Many of its sources use more energy and effort than they're capable of producing, yet they receive subsidies and publicity over sources that might actually prove sustainable. This chart, put together by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer neatly sums this up. We only spot one glaring omission, poop. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=390329&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Cadillac Readying Hybrid Chopper For LA Auto Show]]> The Cadillac that ain't your father's may be just be two-wheeled. Word of a new Cadillac motorcycle sporting gee whiz ethanol hybrid technology has just surfaced in D Business. The Caddy that leans will be built by V20 Consulting in New York and shown off at the next LA Auto Show. The irony of an outside company building a technology demostrator isn't lost on us, but it isn't the first time the General has collaborated with someone on a motorcycle. Just a couple hundred feet from the Detroit offices lives the first Caddy chopper, built by and currently for sale at Great American Chopper in Clawson, MI. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=387970&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Coskata Breaks Ground On Ethanol Plant, Could Make Fuel For $1 Per Gallon]]> Kings of ethanol and new GM buddy, Coskata, has announced it has broken ground on an new cellulosic ethanol plant in Pennsylvania that could be churning out the alternative fuel as early as next year. Coskata claims it can produce the two carbon alcohol at a cost of $1 per gallon so unless they aren't interested in getting to step three, expect pricing on the more renewable fuel to be higher than that. Regardless, it will likely beat the hell out of that $5.40 gallon gas bullshit going on in California. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=384080&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[The Great Corn Conspiracy: Ethanol Additives Damaging Certain Boats]]> Many of us around these parts maintain a bit of skepticism when it comes to the prospect of corn-based ethanol serving as a long-term gasoline substitute, or even a viable short-term patch before our great hydrogen-powered future. Fun though it may be to make ethanol-powered Vettes and Corn gas Koenigsegg's, the idea of corn-based ethanol comes with a few problems including the environmental impact of production on the US Gulf Coast, energy efficiency and the inevitable war between Illinois and Nebraska over Iowa's fertile land. You can add to that list the deleterious effect that gas with a small percentage of ethanol has on fiberglass components in boats. Seriously. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=380032&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Union Pacific Rail Hops On Green Train Like Some Treehugging Hobo]]> Sometimes we're astonished by the kinds of spin we witness around Green issues. Take Union Pacific, for example. They just dropped a press release that touts their contribution to the environment—because they ferry around hybrid cars and are expanding their rail network, to the tune of a cool billion, so that they can better serve the American ethanol heartland. Are we questioning their motives? Yeah, kinda. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=372534&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Volvo C30 Is Mean Green Racing Machine]]> Those Swedish hippies are at it again. For 2008, Volvo is racing in the Swedish Touring Car Championship (STCC) with a C30 hatch that runs on bioethanol fuel. And to make sure everyone knows it, they've painted psychedelic flowers "GREEN RACING" all over it. Allegedly, the car is based on a standard production C30, but there's no mention of a C30 STCC Street Version. Bummer. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=364524&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Saab 9-X Is A Hybrid Of Concept And Reality]]> The Saab 9-X BioHybrid Concept is allegedly more than just another far-fetched yet stylish show car. Actually, this vehicle is supposed to hint strongly at an upcoming 9-1. For now, GM claims the car is powered by a 200HP 1.4-liter turbo four-banger, with magical Swedish hippie hybrid trickery. GM also feels the need to tell us that the engine can run on E85— as if that's even newsworthy anymore. No word on where the ignition key will go. But you know how Saab loyalists are about that extra-special quirk. Press release after the jump. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=364201&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Ford Extending E85 Corn Goodness To E-Series, Navigator and Expedition]]> More exciting action from the D.C Auto Show as Ford snuck some E85 news into the 2009 Ford Escape press release. The company's E-Series vans, Navigator and Expedition will be able to run on E85 fuel this year, which is good news for the small percentage of the people reading this that have access to the approximately 0.01% of gas stations in the United States that actually offer Ethanol and are suddenly in the market for a bold-faced commercial van. Excuse us if we're not that excited. We really wanted them to announce they were building an E-Series van that runs on straight vegetable oil. Press release below the jump. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=347494&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Detroit Auto Show: Ferrari to Reduce Emissions 40% by 2012]]> Ferrari announced two goals for upcoming vehicles: to increase power-to-weight ratios and reduce emissions. To go along with some fairly ugly green stickers, their ethanol-fueled F430 prototype boasts 10bhp extra — bringing the total to 493bhp — and 5 percent lower emissions. It could be on sale by 2010, forming part of the company's pledge to shrink overall emissions 40 percent by 2012. Apparently, 5 percent at a time. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=344605&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Detroit Auto Show: GM>>Next Press Event]]> GM's new green push, dubbed GM>>next, shows what happens when a global multinational throws a few tens of millions in public relations and directs marching orders toward facing down rival Toyota's reputation, deserved or not, for greenness. It's the marketing wrapper under which all of GMs's alternative energy projects exist. One of those is GM's backing of E85 Ethanol, the increased production of which they're saying will reduce the use of fossil fuels to the tune of 30 percent by 2030. In between, the speculation on corn will continue to drive the price of dairy products, Cheetos and high-fructose corn syrup through the roof. The visual metaphor for the press event was extreme juggler Chris Bliss, who did a truly outstanding juggling number to the tune of the Beatles' "Carry That Weight." The balls were yellow, the color of GM's Ethanol initiative, corn itself, and many other things like Rick Wagoner's tie, bananas and one-fifth of Toucan Sam. Can midwest plus corn equal page inches? They also introduced the Hummer HX concept, whose V6 is set up to handle E85. GM also announced a partnership with Ethanol producer Coskata, which says it's got a way to make production more efficient and get more energy out of every drop. Harumph. Do these guys know how much Corn Flakes are now? Like $800 bucks an ounce. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=344249&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Senate Passes Revised Energy Bill, Hybrid Escalades For All!]]> After much back and forth, including a veto threat and failure to get cloture, the energy bill has finally passed the Senate by a vote of 86-8. To get the votes, Democrats had to compromise on utility reductions and increasing taxes on oil companies. The new bill will require automakers to reach a Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) of 35 mpg by 2020, as well as increase ethanol use to 36 billion gallons a year. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=333960&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Fuel Economy Rules Near Completion, Automakers Shift to Bicycle Production?]]> It looks like automakers will have to meet the dreaded 35-mpg fuel economy standard despite the gazillion dollars they claim it will take to get their cars sipping gasoline like it's Dom Pérignon. Senate and House members are working out the final details of a bill that will likely have a significant impact on what we drive over the next decade and then some. Automakers had been lobbying against the initial bill, expressing specific concern over wording that would require cars and light trucks to meet the same 35-mpg benchmark. The latest edition allows vehicle to meet standards lower than 35 mpg based on their weight and size as long as an automaker's entire fleet meets the 35-mpg standard. Click through the jump to find out what other changes are expected — and what the chances are that Toys 'R Us (how the hell do you type a backwards 'R' on a computer?) will bring back that $50 Dodge Viper bike. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=328318&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Termite Gut Microbe Study: Cheap Cellulosic Ethanol Soon?]]> Wouldn't it be great if we had a super-cheap way to make ethanol out of cellulosic materials such as switchgrass and wood chips? The problem is that you need to turn the cellulose into simple sugars before you can ferment it into ethanol... but termites have managed the trick for gadzillions of years, so why not figure out exactly what magic takes place in their guts and replicate it on an industrial scale? Some white coats at Caltech have taken a big step in that process, performing a vast genomic study of the microbes in Nasutitermes termites' guts and identifying more than a thousand potentially useful enzymes. Hooray, soon we'll all be running 16:1 compression alky-burners! [MIT] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=326213&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Enterprise Opens First Ethanol Branch]]> Because there aren't enough things for rental car companies to screw up, Enterprise is now opening an all flexfuel branch in Kirkwood, Missouri (a suburb of St. Louis). This is another salvo in the war to seem the greenest, with other companies offering carbon offsets and hybrids and the like. The new location will be adjacent to the city's first E85 pump, so that drivers can actually put ethanol in their rentals. GM makes a fairly large fleet of ethanol vehicles, so you should still be able to rent the full range of products in flexfuel form. Press release below the jump. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=323220&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Diesel Tops Hybrids, E85 in RAND Study]]> Those funky number crunchers at the RAND Corp have found that owning a diesel is slightly more cost efficient for the buyer than a hybrid, but that owning either contributes to the betterment of society. The study also found that E85 kind of blows, relative to the other options. Diesel was the overall winner as it provided the highest savings over the life of the vehicle ($460 for cars, $1,249 for SUV's and $2,289 for trucks), compared to hybrids ($198 for cars, $505 for trucks and $1,066 for SUV's). E85 cars actually cost their owners more over the lifetime of the vehicles, though still assure that someone missing part of their spine will be elected president. Full release after the jump: More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=321699&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Audi A5 E85 Edition Spotted In San Francisco]]> The folks at CNet's Crave blog were out driving an Infiniti G37 on the curve-tastic streets of San Francisco when they came across a brand-spanking new, and as-of-this-moment unavailable, Audi A5. Even more strange was the car was branded with white lettering declaring that it runs on E85 and that it was powered by the 2-liter turbocharged Euro engine instead of the 3.2-liter V6 it'll have when it comes stateside next year. [via Crave] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=312796&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[ Ethanol will not make cars "greener." Period....]]> Ethanol will not make cars "greener." Period. [Economist] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=304940&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Buy Ethanol At GM's "E85 Days Of Summer" For 85 Cents Per Gallon, Get Free Corn Chips!]]> We normally couldn't care less about automaker pre-produced segments, and we'd never post them. That is until we found this one for the General's "E85 Days Of Summer" — a seven-city summer tour to promote the use of ethanol. We mean, come on — the lack of imagination, the abject literalism, the amateurish delivery, we give it three thumbs up! [via GM FYI Blog] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=283790&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[ VeraSun and Enterprise to promote E85 use...]]> VeraSun and Enterprise to promote E85 use in rental cars. Yay, energy independence! Boo, fuel economy! [Houston Chronicle] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=279265&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Michigan State University Receives Federal Grant Monies For Ethanol Research]]>
"On the banks of the Red Cedar, there's a school that's known to all. It's specialty is farming and those Spartans know their alcohol. Spartan scientists are never beaten, all through the federal funding fight! Fight for the only formulations, E-eighty-five. Go right through for MSU, watch the fed funding growing. Spartan applications are bound to win, they're written with a vim. Rah! Rah! Rah! See their team is weakening, we're gonna win this cash!
More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=272222&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Corn Demand Up, Pizza Prices Skyrocket]]> In an odd confluence of modern supply and demand, cheese prices are expected to jump sharply in the coming months. Rising gas prices are spiking the cost to move the milk around, and the corn used to feed the cows is more expensive due in part to increased demand for Ethanol. Papa John, Fat Jimmy, and Pizza the Hut have warned that more expensive pizza is on the way. Processed nacho cheese product costs appear stable at this time. – Mike Bumbeck More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=271613&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Cohorts of Count Grishnackh May Ban Norwegian Gas-Power'd Car Sales]]> Some Norwegian politicos seem to have let all of those Burzum records go to their head and are intent on killing the gasoline internal-combustion engine as dead as Mayhem frontman Euronymous. Ruling Labor, Socialist Left and Center party wonks are checking to see if a ban on gasoline-powered vehicle sales would be illegal, forcing a move to biofuels on the part of automakers who want to do business in the Scandanavian nation. According to Truls Wickstrom of the Transport Committee, "Most of the major car makers are banking on flexi-fuel." Yep, Truls. They're also banking on hydrogen, electricity and diesel. Except Ferrari. Ferrari don't play that. – Davey G. Johnson More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=263528&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[El Presidente Congratulates Milka Duno]]> El Presidente Chavez says he is happy Venezuelan driver Milka Duno and Citgo will run the Indy 500, even though no gasoline will be involved. The surprise is that Al Gore or any other American politician didn't beat El Presidente to this aggrandizement political punch, considering Indy cars have been running on alternative fuel of the alcohol kind since the '60s. This year the traditional methanol has been replaced by a home-brewed ethanol special corn blend. Milk will still be served to the winner on Sunday, who El Presidente says will be Milka. – Mike Bumbeck More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=263377&view=rss&microfeed=true