Poor consumer reaction to Missouri’s E10 mandate suggests GM’s flex-fuel cars may have poor ethanol efficiency

In Missouri, consumer reaction to the introduction of mandated E10 suggests that flex-fuel GM cars are not sufficiently optimized for ethanol to attract consumer support. Consumers told the Columbia Tribune that they experienced worse mileage with E10.
Ethanol has less energy density than conventional gasoline, but adds oxygen and improves combustion. Studies by the American Coalition for Ethanol have show that cars can achieve comparable fuel mileage using E30, indicating that added combustion will offset loss of energy density in optimized vehicles. The complains by consumers suggest that GM’s engines are not making full use of the added combustion potential of E10 to offset the loss of energy.

Free Subscription to the Daily Biofuels Digest e-newsletter

Related Stories

Corn prices rising, but analysts say poor demand outlook will impose ceiling on increases

In Illinois, concerns about South American corn harvest yields drove underlying corn prices up 2 percent for spring deliveries, but analysts said that while corn has reached $4.06 for the July futures...

India Times suggests that Indian cars not ready for E10 mandate

In India, concerns have grown that Indian cars will not be compatible with a new E10 mandate proposed to take effect in October 2008. India Times suggested in an article that most Indian cars are E5 c...

Today in Biofuels: Virgin makes historic biodiesel test flight; Aventine faces cash crunch in financing boo-boo; NY Times says Energy Act safeguards “look very smart”

Top Story:In England, Virgin Atlantic Airways completed a successful test flight of a biodiesel-powered 747 aircraft, traveling from London to Amsterdam. One of the four engines ran on B20, supplied b...

Flex-fuel vehicles account for 86 percent of 2007 Brazilian car sales; 4.6 million flex-fuel cars on road

86 percent of all cars sold in Brazil in 2007 were ethanol enabled. The registration of 2 million cars in 2007 takes the total of cars running on ethanol blends or pure E100 to 4.6 million. Brazil now...

Harkin, Lugar introduce Consumer Fuels and Vehicles Choice Act to increase flex-fuel cars, pumps

In Washington, Senators Tom Harkin of Iowa and Richard Lugar of Indiana introduced the Consumer Fuels and Vehicles Choice Act of 2009. According to a report at Growth Energy, the legislation will requ...

Brazilian flex-fuel cars now have 94 percent market share for new sales; ethanol at 65 percent discount to gasoline cost

In Brazil, UNICA is reporting that heavy rains in South-Central Brazil caused a 23.8 percent fall in sugarcane production in the second half of August, and poor weather conditions are expected to cont...