New Ford Ethanol Hybrids Ready for Testing

Ford is sending 20 new Escape Hybrid flexible-fuel SUVs to fleet customers starting today to test out the ethanol-capable vehicles. Since both ethanol-based flex-fuel engines and gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles are commonplace, an ethanol hybrid seems like a no-brainer, but Ford says the vehicles had to go through months of testing before this limited number could be sent to fleets.

One of the recipients of the new ethanol hybrids was the Department of Energy. They might be interested to see if this vehicle can help with one of the major flaws of ethanol engines: their lower mileage. Most E85-capable cars and SUVs deliver roughly 20-25% fewer miles per gallon when running on ethanol fuel than on standard gasoline. Ethanol vehicles produce less carbon monoxide and more carbon dioxide. Carbon monoxide is considered a greenhouse gas.

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. Figuring out how to get better gas mileage from E85 vehicles is a good thing, but finding a better way to produce ethanol using alternatives to corn seems like a much bigger problem. Americans can cut back on their driving, but they can’t cut back on milk.   

Related
More Hybrid/Alternative Fuel News (KickingTires)
Gas Alternatives (Cars.com)

Comments

The increased demand for corn ( due to ethanol production ) is causing increased prices on almost everything we but at the grocery store these days. Cellulosic ethanol production seems to be a much better choice as it uses what are typically waste products to make ethanol rather than food. More attention needs to be paid to R&D for cellulosic ethanol.
http://ethanolhoax.wordpress.com/

cellulose ethanol is not viable (and unlikely to be so for many years). Corn ethanol is politically viable, but much evidence indicates it is bad for the economy i.e. food inflation, at best small net energy gains, increased use of arable lands (chopping down trees in developing countries), increased use of fertilizer etc.

Even for consumers it makes little sense, it is expensive (and highly subsidized) and gets lower MPG.

why not start with a diesel escape using European engines...much better MPG

But they can't figure out how to make AdvanceTrac work on the Escape hybrid.

"Carbon monoxide is a greenhouse gas." So is carbon dioxide.

Carbon monoxide is a very weak greenhouse gas, but it makes the problem worse in other ways. (http://www.ghgonline.org/otherco.htm)

If we want to use ethanol as a fuel today, just reduce the tariff on Brazillian ethanol. They use almost exclusively ethanol (E100 and E85) to fuel their vehicles, they produce it cheap, and are just waiting for us to allow them to import it here. While we're using Brazillian ethanol, we can figure out how to make our own. Plus, since they already have a large home market, they can afford to start the shipments small while our vehicles change over.

How does Brazil produce all that ethanol? Do they just clear-cut some more rainforest to make more growing room? If so, what good is that?

"How does Brazil produce all that ethanol? Do they just clear-cut some more rainforest to make more growing room? If so, what good is that?"
They do, Biodiesel, they cut down rainforests for it. If but if you want to save the environment, don’t go for biodiesel (biodiesel is made from sugar cane grown in Brazil). E85 is groin in the states and Mexico, not to much in South America.