More Offshore Oil Drilling – Is It The Answer To Americas Thirst for Gas And High Prices?

Today I am a bit off of the direct automotive topics but this does indirectly affect the automotive world because 99% of the cars, trucks, and SUV’s on the road today in America use some type of Gas fuel that comes from oil. I won’t bore you with restating the fact that some people propose that they lift the ban on offshore drilling (for oil)… you can read about that on cnn.com. The big question I have for you is do you really think they should lift this ban and will it really “help” us? Some say that this will not even affect the gas prices until 5 years later if the ban was eliminated NOW. That means they start drilling today and then maybe 5 years from today you may see the price of gas come down from $10 a gallon… yea, I am thinking in 5 years the price will be around $10 to $15 a gallon at the rate we are going now. If you don’t think this is an answer then let us know what should be done. If you think this is an answer then let us know why.

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85 Cent a Gallon Gas in LA: It’s E85 Ethanol

Before you get all excited about gas at $.85 a gallon, we want to break it to you easy. GM is going to foot the bill on setting up a E85 gas station in Los Angeles, CA. The Governator is all so proud of this because he knows, “I’ll be back”… to the pump that is, when around 46,000 flex-fuel vehicles in the area can take advantage of the E85 Ethanol. The catch is… you can ONLY get the E85 gas at 85 cent a gallon between noon and 2pm on February 26th. Better mark that in your calendar you “flex fuel car driver” you!

Flexfuel – Ethanol E85 – Once again, why bother?

Flex-fuel vehicles can run on either gasoline or E85, a fuel that’s 85 percent ethanol, an alcohol made from fermented plant material (in the U.S., it’s usually corn) with 15 percent gasoline. To accept E85, some parts of the engine have to made from materials resistant to the corrosion ethanol can cause.E85 contains less energy per gallon than gasoline so when sensors in the engine detect that ethanol is being burned they adjust by, among other things, pumping more fuel into the engine. Because of this, vehicles will get about 15 percent lower fuel mileage when burning E85 rather than gasoline.

For now, at least, E85 is almost impossible to find at gas stations outside the central Midwest. Until E85 becomes more widely available, most flex-fuel vehicles will just burn gasoline.

Purchase costs: Adds no cost to the vehicle

Efficiency: When running on gasoline, no difference. When running on ethanol, fuel efficiency is reduced by about 15 percent

Fuel costs: The cost if E85 fluctuates independently of gasoline but, at the moment, it costs less. Because of E85’s poorer fuel economy, though, using E85 exclusively would cost you several hundred dollars more per year, based on EPA estimates.

Performance: No difference when running on gasoline. When running on E85, the vehicle will have a small increase in peak horsepower, but the difference will be undetectable to most drivers.

Greenhouse gases: No difference when running on gasoline; Since a vehicle needs to burn more fuel when running on E85, more CO2 is released. However, there should be little net production of CO2, theoretically, at least, since burning plant-based ethanol releases only carbon that had recently been absorbed by the plants used to make the fuel.

Other pollution: E85 burns more cleanly than gasoline so, in spite of burning more fuel per mile, produces about the same amount smog-forming pollutants as gasoline.

The future: Cellulosic ethanol, which could be made from plant parts not normally used for food, could greatly increase the supply of ethanol, which may allow it to supplant a significant portion of the petroleum-based fuel now used in cars.

Flexfuel – Ethanol E85 – What’s the Point?

Okay, so you might drive an Ethanol E85 capable vehicle, does that really help you and what is the point? Well, I guess if you start to sit back and think about my sarcastic statement you might start to wonder yourself. Was that a big selling point of your new Chevy Tahoe or Impala? Can you really find Ethanol E85 at your local gas station? I guess finding Ethanol is the big question for today or at least until you start seeing actual Ethanol E85 station or pump pop up in your city or town. Lets talk a little bit about Ethanol E85 and if you do happen to have access to it does it really save you money or is it saving more of our precious but yet fragile green earth? Ethanol E85, yes it is a great alternative fuel, and yes it produce less carbon monoxide and more carbon dioxide just as carbon monoxide is considered a greenhouse gas. With this being said, the pitfalls of the Ethanol E85 capable vehicle lies with the fact that most E85-capable cars and SUVs deliver roughly 20-25% fewer miles per gallon when running on ethanol fuel versus running on standard gasoline. 

Ethanol is a fuel derived mainly from corn in the U.S., and its high demand has led to price hikes in everything from an ear of corn to milk and steak. Ford is trying to address this issue by testing hybrid FlexFuel vehicles such as the new Ford Escape FlexFuel Hybrid which they will be testing about 20 of them by fleet customers. We may never get our hands on one of these. We never want to force

America to cut back on there milk and meet, but maybe cut back on the driving, hmmm well, maybe not.