Ford Researchers Make the Case for Ethanol and Methanol Blends

[Bill USA]

3. The Oil industry knows what could happen tothe price of gas if we actually optimized FFV engines

Last edited Sat Jan 26, 2013, 06:42 PM - Edit history (2)

to operate on ethanol blends of say 15%. also, their biggest fear is that people will wake up and say: "Well, if cars can run on ethanol, why not add methanol to the mix. It's far cheaper and much more plentiful (make it from natural gas and replace half the gasoline burned in cars in about 15 years - that is, if we had a real "petroleum security plan&quot . The cost of gasoline would drop like a rock. (NOt just gasoline but of all products with petroleum in their composition or which have transportation as part of their cost. I.E. just about every fucking product we buy!)

Of course, the impact on our energy security would be spectacular and worth even more than the tremendous boost to the economy by the enormous savings in expenditures for light transportation fuel. That savings would mean more money available for people to spend on other things - it would be an enormous stimulus for the economy.

The American oil industry can't tell Honda what to do where ethanol is widely available, in Brazil.

Consequently, Honda is supplying the Brazilian market Flex Fuel Civics that get mileage just as good on ethanol blends (from E20 to E100) as the gasoline-only Civics get on gasoline.

Ha-ha-ha. The jokes on us!! Thank you Dept. of Energy (for ignoring the results of your own Ethanol Vehicle Challenge, 1998, Ford Motor co. experts, MIT scientists, engine designers and builders, and racing enthusiasts)!


http://e85.whipnet.net/flex.cars/honda.ffv.html

http://green.autoblog.com/2006/09/26/honda-flex-fuel-vehicle-system-for-introduction-in-brazil-in-200/
(emphasis my own)

The new Honda system adapts to different ethanol-to-gasoline
ratios by estimating the concentration of ethanol in the ethanol-gasoline mix
in the fuel tank based on measurements of exhaust gas concentration in the vehicle's
exhaust system. This provides the flexibility to adapt to ethanol-to-gasoline
ratios of between 20 percent and 100 percent, while achieving outstanding fuel
economy and dynamic performance on a par with a 100 percent gasoline-powered
vehicle.