zzone asked: the industry’s lobbying arm, has talked with Team Obama about further handouts such as $1 billion in short-term credit to keep failing plants in operation and $50 billion in loan guarantees to build more. The association wants to increase the 10% ethanol limit in gasoline for conventional cars and trucks and require that any carmaker getting federal funds produce only vehicles that can run on any blend up to 85% ethanol, is that a good thing?
Create a video blog…instantly.
I’m not in favor of handouts to industries that the market won’t sustain.
There is no reason a car can’t be built to be able to run on 85% ethanol, even 100% ethanol. The difference is the grade of rubber & plastic in the fuel system. Those parts are not very expensive, maybe an extra $15-$20 per car, if that.
Please note there is a distinction between “able to run” and “running ideally.” Able to run means it will go down the road and suffer no permanent damage from that fuel. Making a car run ideally on both fuels is more difficult, since they require a different fuel mix and a different level of compression. This could probably be done, but there are some technological problems that would have to be worked out and would likely be more expensive.
Personally, I think it would be sufficient to warn the automakers that higher levels of ethanol are on the way. The market will surely punish automakers who fail to use plastics that are compatible with the available fuel.
No, it is not good, when we are more than able to drill our own oil.