Flex Fuel Vehicles: The Solution to Our Gas Crisis?
What are Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFV)? These vehicles run on E85, which is short for 85% ethanol, 15% gasoline and can also run on regular gasoline, there are already a few million of them in America. They are essentially the same as the gasoline cars we drive today, only offering the option of using a different fuel mixture.
Why all the fuss? Well, ethanol can be created locally from products like sugar cane, wheat, corn, and wood, not Middle Eastern oil. Brazilians already faced the problem of dependence on Middle East oil more than 10 years ago and decided to use their own excess supply of sugar cane to produce ethanol. They now use these Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) as often as we use our gasoline cars and are essentially independent of world oil price measurement and in the process strengthened their own agricultural industry using their own sugar cane and even E85. produces less greenhouse effect. gases.
Americans have an excess supply of wheat and wood to produce their own ethanol and this would also benefit local farmers and reduce dependence on foreign oil. Local ethanol companies are now seeing increased investment as demand outstrips supply. These companies and flex-fuel cars also have bipartisan political support, so you can expect even more support for ethanol companies and FFV advocacy (only oil and gas-funded politicians oppose such development)
GM has recognized this as a viable North American solution to our gas problems (and its low sales, see below) and is developing the necessary upgrades to convert its larger cars to FFV. Apparently it cost them around $ 250 to upgrade the bigger, more expensive cars to FFV, which makes more sense with higher-markup luxury cars, where $ 250 is less of a problem to deter buyers.
Toyota is hot on their heels to catch up with this technology, but faces an uphill battle as its price-conscious smaller cars with lower profit margins can’t soak up the extra $ 250 so easily. (Personally, I can’t wait to buy a flex-fuel Prius)
Who would have imagined GM as a leader in producing a greener car for Americans! Their motivation is driven by poor sales of larger, less efficient cars due to high gas prices, of course. I guess this is one of the benefits of high gas prices.
While this is a promising solution to our gas woes, more research is needed as some oil and gas lackeys argue that ethanol is too expensive to produce, which seems odd as cash-hungry Brazil may make it work after the politicians engaged with it. Without a doubt, there will be greater efficiency in the production of ethanol and a lower cost of production with the support of the public and private sectors of these companies. Without disrespecting Brazil, if they can do it, so can we.
