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| The Basics | Save 30 cents a gallon on gas
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If you see E85 fuel pumps in your area, check your owners manual. Millions of drivers could use it and save a bundle.
By MSN Money staff
In an era of $2.30-a-gallon unleaded, its possible to fill your tank for $2 a gallon or even less. Why? Because you may have an alternative-fuel vehicle and not even know it.
Car manufacturers -- especially GM, Ford and Chrysler -- have put literally millions of what are known as flexible-fuel vehicles on the road. These cars and trucks can burn either plain old gasoline or a mixture of gasoline and ethanol, a type of alcohol. The mix is known as E85.
Through federal tax subsidies and a growing stockpile of ethanol, the price of the 85% ethanol-15% gasoline blend has settled at anywhere from 30 cents to 60 cents cheaper than gasoline.
The catch, other than owning a flex-fuel car, is that you must live where E85 is sold, usually the upper Midwest. The rise in gas prices over the last two years has greatly increased the number of stations selling the stuff. In Illinois, for example, 45 new outlets have opened since April.
When the price of unleaded in Springfield, Ill., was at $2.49 a gallon, E85 was going for as little as $1.98 a gallon. Drivers in Indiana have reported a spread of as much as 60 cents a gallon.
Stealth alternative vehicles
Flex-fuel vehicles are not exotic; its likely that youve driven at least one without knowing it. Among those sold over the last decade are many Ford Tauruses, Explorer SUVs and Ranger pickups; Chrysler and Dodge minivans and Stratus and Sebring sedans; General Motors full-size SUVs and pickups; and even two Mercedes sedans. (See the complete list below.) About 4.5 million flex-fuel vehicles are on the road, according to the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition. Their fuel systems have a few key changes that keep alcohol from corroding metal parts.
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By making those changes, car makers received a credit of up to 1.2 miles per gallon for every flex-fuel vehicle toward their Corporate Average Fuel Economy requirements. Every flex-fuel Taurus sold, for example, helped offset a gigantic Ford Expedition SUV -- though it was unlikely the Taurus would ever burn the cleaner fuel.
Unfortunately, the 1988 law that inspired these machinations offered no incentive to build E85 stations. There are just 400 or so stations nationwide right now, but flex-fuel drivers can use either gasoline or E85 as availability dictates. Finding the new fuel is likely to become easier in the coming years, because expansion of ethanol is one of the centerpieces of the new energy bill.
The law requires refiners to double the use of corn-based ethanol in gasoline to 7.5 billion gallons a year by 2012. That will lead to about $6 billion in new investments in ethanol plants across the country and generate about 200,000 jobs, said Monte Shaw, a spokesman for the Renewable Fuels Association, an industry trade group. "Its going to be good for consumers, good for taxpayers," he said. "Its going to be really good for rural communities."
Tax incentives to build E85 stations are in the works as well.
Politically, E85 remains divisive. Recent research by a Cornell University professor says ethanol takes about 30% more energy to produce than it puts out. "Its an absolute waste," said David Pimentel, a professor of agricultural sciences. "The only reason were doing this is because of politics and big money." Proponents of E85 vehemently disagree.
The practicalities
All modern cars can handle a small dose of ethanol, up to 10%, with no problems. You might see pumps marked E10 (with prices only slightly lower than regular) almost anywhere.
Prolonged use of bigger concentrations requires the specialized plumbing of a flex-fuel vehicle. Your mechanic should be told that youre burning E85 to ensure he uses the proper parts.
If anything, engines run better on E85 because of its higher octane (typically about 100). But E85 does contain less energy, so mileage will suffer 10% to 30%. So E85 thats only a dime cheaper than regular unleaded wont do you much good, financially.
Luckily, you can switch between gasoline and ethanol blends at will. You can find a database of E85 stations maintained by the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition here.
Do you have a flex-fuel vehicle? If youve bought one of the models below, check your owners manual or for a label on the drivers door jamb. Or check the cars VIN for the identifying code here (this is a pdf file).
| Do you have a flex-fuel vehicle? | | Make, model, model years | Make, model, model years | | CHEVROLET | GMC | | Selected 2005 5.3-liter Chevrolet Avalanche sport utility vehicles | Selected 2002-2005 5.3-liter Yukons, Yukon XLs | | Selected 2002-2005 5.3-liter Suburbans, Tahoes | Selected 2002-2005 5.3-liter Sierra trucks Isuzu | | Selected 2002-2005 5.3-liter Silverado trucks | All 2000-2002 Isuzu 2.2-liter Hombre trucks (after December 1999) | | All 2000-2002 2.2-liter Chevy S-10 trucks (after December 1999) | | | All 2000-2002 2.2-liter Sonoma trucks (after December 1999) | MAZDA | | Selected 1999-2002 Mazda 3.0-liter B3000 trucks | | CHRYSLER | | | Selected 2004-2005 4.7-liter Dodge Ram 1500 trucks | MERCEDES-BENZ | | Selected 2003-2005 2.7-liter Chrysler Sebring sedans | All two-wheel drive 2003-05 3.2-liter Mercedes C320 Series sport sedans and coupes | | Selected 2003-2005 2.7-liter Dodge Stratus sedans | All two-wheel drive 2005 2.6-liter Mercedes C240 Series luxury sedans and wagons | | Selected 2003-2005 3.3-liter Caravan Cargo vans | | | All 1998-2003 3.3-liter Caravan minivans | MERCURY | | All 1998-2003 3.3-liter Voyager minivans | Selected 2002-2005 4.0-liter Mountaineer sport utility vehicles | | All 1998-2003 3.3-liter Town & Country minivans | Selected 2001-2005 3.0-liter Sables | | Note: 2005 Chrysler flexible-fuel vehicles are available through fleet sales only. | | | NISSAN | | FORD | Selected 2005 5.6-liter Titan trucks | | Selected 2002-2005 4.0-liter Explorer sport utility vehicles | | | Selected 2004-2005 4.0-liter Explorer Sport Tracs | | | Selected 1999-2003 3.0-liter Ranger trucks | | | Selected 2000-2005 3.0-liter Taurus sedans and wagons | | | Selected 1995-1999 3.0-liter Taurus sedans | |
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