Re: E85: Why are all ethanol cars in the US beasts?
I also wonder if the sudden MPG drop has anything to do about it. We know that E85 doesn't burn as hot, and an E85 tank has less range than a regular gas tank, that perhaps they're shy about putting them into their smaller fuel efficient vehicles, who would suddenly just become small vehicles due to the change, getting the same or even worse MPGs with E85 that a regular SUV gets with gasoline. (Yes, I'm well aware that the E85 is obviously the "healthier" fuel, but it's pretty clear that Automakers think Autobuyers are morons.)
At the NAIAS (North American International Auto Show), all the Flex Fuel vehicles were labeled as such, and what their MPG with gas, and E85 was. There was a pretty big difference, as I recall there were a few with something like 24 MPG (Gas) 14 MPG (E85); a pretty big difference.
As mentioned, there's the breaks, the engineering, and a multitude of other reasons. There's also the thought that there isn't enough demand. Look at hybrids, we got announcements from GM that hybrids are a fad for years, and now they've suddenly changed their tune. Perhaps after a while, the FFV "fad" will be upon us.
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