New Ways to Fuel Cars

Do you ever think about what would happen if the earth ever ran out of petroleum oil for gasoline? That is something that I think about. “Can ethanol replace oil?” is a blog I found when I was surfing the internet one day. There is talk that this new product can and maybe will one day replace oil used in everyday vehicles. Maybe I was not the only person who was thinking about the end of earth’s oil, because scientist and car manufacturers have thought of an alterative to using petroleum gasoline.

In stead of using gasoline to fuel cars, scientists are trying to use ethanol. The use of ethanol is not but so much better than using gasoline, but it can be produced from corn or sugar cane. There is so much of a need for new ways to fuel cars that researchers and scientist have turned to the environment for new alternatives. Car manufacturers are making cars that are called “flex-fuel” vehicles. These vehicles can run on 85 percent ethanol gas which is called E85. The development of a new way to fuel cars is a big discovery because the earth’s supply of fossil fuels will one day be depleted if they are continually used for fueling cars, and other machines that humans use for everyday life.

The United States is the world’s largest consumer of oil. We consume three hundred times more than China who is second in oil consumption in the world. I know it is a privilege to live in the United States, but we are sucking the world dry of its natural resources. When making a mental picture in my head of what the United States is compared to the rest of the world, I imagine the U.S. as this big bully, who threatens other countries and who takes what it wants without caring if the other countries in the world need anything. I know it is a silly thing to say, but when looking at a statistic like the oil consumption in the United States, we are bullies. Now that there is a concern for how much natural resources are being used we want to step in the picture of historical events and come up with remedies to problems that we had a major hand in causing.

General Motors is now launching a campaign that says “Live Green Go Yellow”. This is its campaign to promote their new line of cars that run on E85 ethanol. These cars are supposed to lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduce dependence on petroleum, reduce smog, and improve vehicle performance. GM is making all of their 2006 model cars E85 fuel efficient, but they have later model cars that are capable of using the new fuel. Even though GM is the leading automaker that is promoting the use of E85 ethanol, there are other automakers that are trying to manufacture flexible fuel vehicles such as, Chrysler, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, and Nissan.

There are different types of ethanol. There is E10, E20, and E30, but for now in the early days of research and trials automakers want to stick with the use of E85 for their vehicles. As of right now there are still not many E85 ethanol gas stations. There are only about 600 stations in the United States that offer E85 ethanol, but the number is steadily going up. The price of E85 varies, but when gas prices went up in September 2005, E85 ethanol was 60 cents cheaper. That is a lot of money when you are talking about gas. So now when you are thinking about buying a new car, there are more things to thing about other than the price, and look of a car. The type of fuel used is now a big issue when choosing a new car to drive, because we all want the best for our selves and the environment.