Alternative cars on the rise : Mississippi has 82,000 such vehicles already on the road
By MIKE KELLER, Sun Herald of Missisippi
http://www.sunherald.com/102/story/35839.html
Is it the soaring price of gas? Is it disgust at American dependence on foreign oil? Or is it our society’s realization that we are individually responsible to do less harm to our shared environment? Whatever the question that confronts them, Mississippians are turning more and more to alternatively fueled vehicles as part of the solution. Mississippi now has 82,000 alternatively fueled automobiles zipping around its streets and highways, a recent automotive market report showed.
The report, produced by R.L. Polk and Co., said hybrid electric, ethanol-capable E-85 and clean diesel autos increased by 35 percent on the state’s roads since 2005. Tony White, sales manager at Gulfport’s Butch Oustalet Ford, said his lot sells Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner electric hybrids, which work solely on batteries at slower speeds and gas at higher speeds. “We can’t keep them on the lot,” White said. “One or two come in and they are already sold. The way the price of gas is, it looks like the demand will continue.”
Nationwide increases were applauded by industry group Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents nine alternative fuel vehicle manufacturers: BMW Group, DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Mazda, Mitsubishi Motors, Porsche, Toyota and Volkswagen.
“We are proud to see that the sales of alternative fuel autos are rising,” said Dave McCurdy, president of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. “Consumers are taking notice and automakers believe that their awareness is fueling infrastructure and government incentives, which are working together to help put more alternative fuel autos on the roads.”
Car companies now offer 60 models of alternative fuel vehicles for sale across the country, up from 12 models in 2000. Fueling those vehicles is a different matter. A Department of Energy alternative refueling station locator showed a paucity in Mississippi, making the efficient use of those vehicles difficult for buyers.
There are six operating biodiesel stations in the state between Jackson and the Tennessee state line. There is one E-85 station at Stennis Space Center and it is for government vehicles only. The most prolific alternative fuel is propane, with 36 stations spread around the state. There are no liquefied natural gas, electric, compressed natural gas or hydrogen refueling stations in Mississippi.
Mississippi biofuel producer U.S. Sustainable Energy Corp., located in Natchez, is hoping to get in on the action with a production facility that purports to produce high-energy, cost-effective biodiesel. The company’s Web site claims their technology can convert one bushel of soybeans into five gallons of biodiesel in 40 minutes.