Ethanol Cars

Ethanol cars run in a way similar to petrol-fueled automobiles, with the only difference being the type of fuel in the engine. Vehicles with "Flex Fuel" are hybrids that can run on both gasoline and ethanol. Running on ethanol, however, gives the car fewer miles to the gallon, but with a far cleaner result. Even though the ethanol fuel is burned faster, most consider ethanol cars to be viable, reasonably priced options for hybrid cars as the fuel is often less expensive than typical petrol and burns cleanly.

Using Ethanol

Ethanol is a clean renewable fuel that is created from agricultural feedstocks and can be produced domestically. Ethanol is often made from corn, sugar cane or from switchgrass, all of which reduce greenhouse emissions and offer a renewable fuel source for vehicles. Ethanol is often accused of being a less-than-ideal fuel source as it is produced using considerable amounts of diesel fuel in the way of farm equipment and manufacturing materials. However, studies from University of California at Berkeley found that ethanol fuels have a positive net energy balance by producing more energy than it takes to create the fuel.

Considerations for Ethanol Cars

The fuel for ethanol cars isn't always less expensive than standard petrol. The prices of ethanol fluctuate dramatically on a different cycle than petroleum-based fuels making ethanol less expensive than petrol some days and more expensive others. This problem can be confounded by the amount of energy produced by ethanol. Cars powered by ethanol fuel won't go as far on a gallon of E85, or fuel with 85 percent ethanol, as they would with standard petrol. This can make fueling the car even more expensive as you buy more gallons of ethanol, especially if the price is currently higher than petrol.

Driving an Ethanol Car

To a great effect, many cars today are already ethanol cars. In some countries, the United States included, there is already ethanol present in the petrol purchased at the station. This can be anywhere up to E10 where 10 percent of the petroleum-based petrol is truly ethanol. Ethanol cars with "flex-fuel" options are better suited for ethanol with an engine tuned to run on the fuel properly than a standard automobile, however. Driving an ethanol car gives you the satisfaction of knowing that you're helping the environment and perhaps global agriculture, but don't expect to save tremendous amounts at the pump.