Hi Jason:

___In my area, almost everything has ethanol in it. The BTU/Lb of this stuff is about as good as placing water into the tank Well, not that bad but it is ~ 5% less BTU/Lb then straight gasoline. It is not only an oxygenate for supposedly cleaner burning but you burn more fuel (check into EPA’s definitions and reasoning behind that one???) so how it supposedly helps the environment is anyone’s guess? There is actually some very detailed write ups on it. The main item is now that we have summer formulations; the Btu/Lb of fuel has gone up and with that, our fuel economy will go up as well. I don’t know about the southern or warm climate states but here in the upper Midwest, it is a guaranteed fact. If I could find a station that didn’t use Ethanol however, I would buy it … if the price was right of course.

___As for brands, currently, I am purchasing BP regular unleaded because I receive a 6% discount on gasoline for another 2 weeks. After that, I might go back to the cheapest stuff I can find which is usually a Marathon in the winter or Speedway a few miles away in the summer. The local Speedway just down the street from me is also just down the street from Great America and just off the Interstate so they always price gouge in the summer in comparison to the next further down Speedway station a few miles down the same road

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net