Flex-Fuel

There are drawbacks to every kind of alternative to burning fossil fuels in our cars. Electric cars don't have enough range. Hybrids are burdened with what essentially boils down to two parallel powertrains. Hydrogen is limited to where it is available. Bio-ethanol has its own drawbacks, but ...

Of the 1,076,350 alternative-fuel automobiles made available in the U.S. in 2009, nearly 75 percent (805,777) were flex-fuel capable (E85) vehicles, according to the report "Alternatives to Traditional Transportation Fuels 2009" recently released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration ...

"This technology-neutral Open Fuel Standard is a key step to break the cycle of pain at the pump," says Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD). Bartlett, along with a bipartisan group of House members led by Congressmen John Shimkus (R-IL), and including Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Steve Israel (D-NY), ...

With the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tweaking its rules for alternative fuel conversions for vehicles, it's time for do-it-yourselfers to rejoice. Previously, the EPA's rules for alt-fuel conversions made it difficult to convert older vehicles. However, changes made to the Agency's ...

The American political landscape is fraught with trouble and support for biofuels, but the overall shift is towards getting more and more of them in our fuel supply. That's a takeaway point from U.S. DOE Secretary Steven Chu's videotaped address to the National Ethanol Conference held in Phoenix, ...

Kia's all-new 2012 Picanto, which will be unveiled to the world at the Geneva Motor Show this coming March, aims to raise the bar in the A-segment via slashed emissions and increased fuel economy. The five-door Picanto supermini will hit dealerships across much of the world (excluding the U.S.) ...

Last October, the EPA proposed a new warning label for E15 (a fuel made up of 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline) to be used on pumps that dispense the newly-approved biofuel. It's a bright orange label with "CAUTION" in capitalized letter emblazoned across the top and looks like a ...

Consumer Reports recently surveyed 1,713 car owners in the U.S. and discovered that 39 percent of them will consider buying a hybrid or electric vehicle (EV) for their next vehicle. Out of that group, 60 percent are leaning towards a conventional hybrid, 16 percent are considering a plug-in ...

When the EPA approved the use of gasoline with a 15 percent ethanol (E15) for model year 2007 and newer vehicles back in mid-October, a wave of concerns surfaced. Some critics argued that it would be too difficult for drivers to determine which fuel from the many available choices at a typical ...