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newVideoPlayer("/100mpg-mustang.flv", 494, 371,""); When Doug Pelmear and his notchback Ford Mustang nearly broke the internet with his claims of some magical engine tinkering returning 110 MPGe (80 MPG) — while making 400 HP — we were skeptical to say the least. That "MPGe" figure is there because the car runs on ethanol, so the extra "e" on the end signifies the energy equivalent to a gallon of regular gasoline. Now Pelmear is taking the 110 MPG Mustang on a cross-country road trip to prove the skeptics (us) wrong, ending at this years SEMA show where he probably won't be popping the hood so everyone can poke around. The car is being entered in the Progressive Automotive X Prize contest as well, where it will compete against others with the goal of 100 MPG in a four-passenger car. We're going to continue waiting, edible hat in hand, for scientific measurements to back up his claims. [ WNWO , via MustangRevolution ]
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A new report shows the number of E85 ethanol pumps in the U.S. has grown nearly 28% in the past year, surpassing the 1,800 mark with 1,693 available for public use. The states with the most E85 pumps are, as you'd expect, in the corn belt, including Minnesota, Illinois and Missouri. Just don't expect to find them in every corner of the country: Despite the growth in E85 availability, seven states still don't have any E85 pumps, including Alaska. Considering E85 expansion is part of our current national energy policy, it makes us wonder if Governor Palin should revise her favorite chant to "distill, baby, distill." But, of course, the problem with ethanol remains one of economics rather than availability. E85 costs about 18% less nationwide than a gallon of gasoline despite containing 23-28% less energy. When the cost to grow, process, distill and transport that ethanol is taken into account, the math just doesn't work out in favor of corn likker . But we are glad...
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Filing up your E85 vehicle might initially feel better due to prices that are, on average, about 20% cheaper than regular octane, but the joke is on you. Because gas engines burn the typically corn-based fuel less efficiently, the adjusted cost of E85 is $4.321 per gallon compared to gas that averaged about $3.962 on Friday. Even in states that subsidize the cost of the fuel, like New York and Iowa, the difference still results in prices that are equal to or worse than the price of regular gasoline. Though this still means you are using less dino juice, we feel that this is offset by the disruption of food crops and the fertilizer runoff that is impacting the Gulf of Mexico. Maybe you should look into Algae power . [ Kicking Tires ]
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Looking at the array of biodiesel hybrids, ethanol hydrogen hybrids and fuel cells on display in Central Park this morning, the impression we got was GM is looking to these technologies as the future. All we could think was how much they should be the present. You see, this wasn't a display of pie-in-the-sky concepts or prototypes, but actual vehicles capable of competently carrying humans and all of them designed and built by students on a limited budget. If a couple of pubescent geeks still waiting for their first pocket protectors can put a functioning biodiesel hybrid on a driveway, why isn't GM doing so right now? galleryPost('challengex', 6, 'University of Waterloo Fuel Cell'); We've heard all the arguments before: lack of infrastructure, high development costs, unproven technology, bad leadership; but here are vehicles which, as we speak, are being driven to Washington DC in climate-controlled comfort by their student creators Yes, GM is developing the...
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The problem with the green movement isn't its goal of conservation — that's admirable — it's the gullibility many of its proponents suffer from and which big companies and governments are able to exploit to sell them on far-from-friendly products and policies. Take biofuel for instance. Many of its sources use more energy and effort than they're capable of producing, yet they receive subsidies and publicity over sources that might actually prove sustainable. This chart, put together by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer neatly sums this up. We only spot one glaring omission, poop . galleryPost('biofuelscompare', 6, 'Biofuels Comparison Chart'); [ Seattle PI via Treehugger ] Photogrpahy credit: Daniel Leininger
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Kings of ethanol and new GM buddy, Coskata, has announced it has broken ground on an new cellulosic ethanol plant in Pennsylvania that could be churning out the alternative fuel as early as next year. Coskata claims it can produce the two carbon alcohol at a cost of $1 per gallon so unless they aren't interested in getting to step three, expect pricing on the more renewable fuel to be higher than that. Regardless, it will likely beat the hell out of that $5.40 gallon gas bullshit going on in California. The plant location in question is in Madison, PA, and when complete will be capable of producing 40,000 gallons of ethanol annually. Consider this as just the start for Coskata, as they have even bigger plants planned for 2011. Color us unimpressed at this point, as 40,000 gallons is about enough to get a flexfuel Suburban to the Trader Joe's and back. [ CNET ]
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Many of us around these parts maintain a bit of skepticism when it comes to the prospect of corn-based ethanol serving as a long-term gasoline substitute, or even a viable short-term patch before our great hydrogen-powered future. Fun though it may be to make ethanol-powered Vettes and Corn gas Koenigsegg's , the idea of corn-based ethanol comes with a few problems including the environmental impact of production on the US Gulf Coast, energy efficiency and the inevitable war between Illinois and Nebraska over Iowa's fertile land. You can add to that list the deleterious effect that gas with a small percentage of ethanol has on fiberglass components in boats. Seriously. Boaters in California are learning what boating enthusiasts in New York and other states are already discovering, that the ethanol found in those states' gasoline supply can cause thousands of dollars in damage to the boats. This seems to impact boats with fiberglass materials used in their fuel tanks as the ethanol...
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Sometimes we're astonished by the kinds of spin we witness around Green issues. Take Union Pacific, for example. They just dropped a press release that touts their contribution to the environment—because they ferry around hybrid cars and are expanding their rail network, to the tune of a cool billion, so that they can better serve the American ethanol heartland. Are we questioning their motives? Yeah, kinda. Here's what the giant railroad concern has to say, about their engagement with National Alternative Fuel Autos Month, which is April : "Union Pacific Railroad is the largest automotive carrier west of the Mississippi River," said Julie Krehbiel, vice president and general manager - Autos at Union Pacific. "During National Alternative Fuel Autos Month we want to drive awareness of Union Pacific's role in delivering greener vehicles and fuel to market." Drive awareness? Sounds more like coat-tailing to us, or at best shameless flack opportunism. Hey...
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More exciting action from the D.C Auto Show as Ford snuck some E85 news into the 2009 Ford Escape press release. The company's E-Series vans, Navigator and Expedition will be able to run on E85 fuel this year, which is good news for the small percentage of the people reading this that have access to the approximately 0.01% of gas stations in the United States that actually offer Ethanol and are suddenly in the market for a bold-faced commercial van. Excuse us if we're not that excited. We really wanted them to announce they were building an E-Series van that runs on straight vegetable oil. Press release below the jump. Press Release on E85 WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 22, 2008 - Today at the Washington Auto Show and Automotive News World Congress in Detroit, Ford Motor Company announced its hot-selling compact SUVs, the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner, will become more fuel efficient, more powerful and more connected for the 2009 model year. Ford also announced that it is expanding its...
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Ferrari announced two goals for upcoming vehicles, to increase power-to-weight ratios and reduce emissions. In addition to the ugly green stickers, their ethanol-fueled F430 prototype has 10bhp extra -- bringing the total to 493bhp -- and 5% lower emissions. It could be on sale by 2010, forming part of the company's resolution to reduce their overall emissions 40% by 2012, apparently 5% at a time. galleryPost('ferraribiopowerlive', 6, 'Ferrari F430 BioPower in Detroit');
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Ferrari announced two goals for upcoming vehicles: to increase power-to-weight ratios and reduce emissions. To go along with some fairly ugly green stickers, their ethanol-fueled F430 prototype boasts 10bhp extra -- bringing the total to 493bhp -- and 5 percent lower emissions. It could be on sale by 2010, forming part of the company's pledge to shrink overall emissions 40 percent by 2012. Apparently, 5 percent at a time. galleryPost('ferraribiopowerlive', 6, 'Ferrari F430 BioPower in Detroit');
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GM's new green push, dubbed GM>>next, shows what happens when a global multinational throws a few tens of millions in public relations and directs marching orders toward facing down rival Toyota's reputation, deserved or not, for greenness. It's the marketing wrapper under which all of GMs's alternative energy projects exist. One of those is GM's backing of E85 Ethanol, the increased production of which they're saying will reduce the use of fossil fuels to the tune of 30 percent by 2030. In between, the speculation on corn will continue to drive the price of dairy products, Cheetos and high-fructose corn syrup through the roof. The visual metaphor for the press event was extreme juggler Chris Bliss , who did a truly outstanding juggling number to the tune of the Beatles' "Carry That Weight." The balls were yellow, the color of GM's Ethanol initiative, corn itself, and many other things like Rick Wagoner's tie, bananas and one-fifth of...
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After much back and forth, including a veto threat and failure to get cloture , the energy bill has finally passed the Senate by a vote of 86-8. To get the votes, Democrats had to compromise on utility reductions and increasing taxes on oil companies. The new bill will require automakers to reach a Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) of 35 mpg by 2020, as well as increase ethanol use to 36 billion gallons a year. The next step is to send the energy bill to the house for approval, which shouldn't be a problem, and then onto the President for his signature. The White House is happy with the bill, so that should be the ball game barring any unforeseen complications. To aid automakers, the bill includes language to spend 50% of fines collected from those in non compliance to help manufacturers adjust their manufacturing to meet the new reqs. Requirements that would make automakers attain multiple standards has also been stripped. All in all, it's about the best compromise we're...
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Those funky number crunchers at the RAND Corp have found that owning a diesel is slightly more cost efficient for the buyer than a hybrid, but that owning either contributes to the betterment of society. The study also found that E85 kind of blows, relative to the other options. Diesel was the overall winner as it provided the highest savings over the life of the vehicle ($460 for cars, $1,249 for SUV's and $2,289 for trucks), compared to hybrids ($198 for cars, $505 for trucks and $1,066 for SUV's). E85 cars actually cost their owners more over the lifetime of the vehicles, though still assure that someone missing part of their spine will be elected president. Full release after the jump: Diesel- and Hybrid-Powered Vehicles Can Provide More Societal Benefits than Gas-Powered Autos Cars and light trucks powered by advanced diesel technology or hybrid technology can provide larger societal benefits than traditional gasoline-powered automobiles, according to a RAND Corporation working...
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Ethanol will not make cars "greener." Period. [ Economist ]
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