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Texas Agriculture Archive

June 6, 2003

Fuel of the future is here now

By Stewart Truelsen

There are 4 million vehicles on the road capable of using the motor fuel of the future. You may even be driving one of them and not realize it.

"We have referred to this as one of the best kept secrets at GM. That isn't an intentional thing, but it's just happened that way," says Gary Herwick, director of transportation fuels for General Motors.

The fuel is E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and just 15 percent gasoline. The GM vehicles compatible with this fuel include Chevy's franchise SUV, the Suburban, with a 5.3-liter Vortec-engine. The 2002 or 2003 Tahoe and Yukon models with the same engine also run on E85 or any combination of it and gasoline. GM has the most E85 vehicles on the road, about 1 million.

One reason these flexible fuel cars are a well-kept secret is that GM chose to indicate E85 compatibility only on the fuel filler-cap door and in the owner's manual.

Government tests show that E85 fuel produces fewer harmful auto emissions than gasoline. It contains about two-thirds the energy, which means you should get about two-thirds the fuel mileage. However, some fleet users of E85 report a smaller difference. In fact, the loss of fuel economy may not be any greater than you'd get from under-inflating your tires.

The modifications at the factory for a car to run on E85 fuel are minimal and any additional cost is small. Herwick says it involves a fuel line sensor that lets the engine adjust to the combination of ethanol and gasoline you are using.

GM will be promoting E85 fuel to its dealers and customers starting in a half-dozen states where the fuel is most available.

"There isn't as much of the E85 available as we'd like to see in the U.S.," concedes Herwick. "We have to expand the use in order to make the product something that really makes a difference."

Price per gallon of E85 compared to regular gasoline varies for now from state to state. It can be higher, lower or the same. But this is a fuel that should prompt people to put their fuel dollars where their mouth is when it comes to talk about air pollution or our reliance on Middle East oil.

"It's domestically produced and it's a renewable fuel that can replace petroleum based fuels that address greenhouse gas emissions concerns and also energy security concerns, so we think it makes sense," says Herwick.

This fuel makes a lot of sense to farmers too. Right now, they are producing around 9 billion bushels of corn a year. Most of it is used domestically for livestock feed and a lot is exported. But fuel use is on the rise, totaling around 900 million bushels. There's plenty of corn and other crops that can be converted to ethanol.

Herwick is an engineer and has worked for General Motors for more than 30 years. His favorite car of all time is the Corvette. His favorite fuel right now is E85 because it can make a difference in so many ways.

Stewart Truelsen is director of broadcast services for American Farm Bureau Federation.