Flex Fuel Vehicles FFV -basic facts
Flex Fuel Vehicles FFV (vehicles using ethanol-gasoline blends)
* While pure ethanol is rarely used for transportation fuel, there are several ethanol-gasoline blends in use today.
* E85 is a blend of 85 percent denatured ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
* E85 cannot be used in a conventional, gasoline-only engine. Vehicles must be specially designed to run on it.
* The only vehicles currently available to U.S. drivers are known as flex fuel vehicles (FFVs), because they can run on E85, gasoline, or any blend of the two.
* Much like diesel fuel, E85 is available at specially-marked fueling pumps.
* In USA, nearly 700 fueling stations offer it.
* FFV based cars and trucks have the same power, acceleration, payload, and cruise speed as conventionally fueled vehicles.
* United States has more than 6 million FFVs on the road. These vehicles are available in a range of models, including sedans, pick-up trucks, and minivans
* FFVs are priced the same as gasoline-only vehicles, offering drivers the opportunity to buy an E85 capable vehicle at no additional cost.
* Consumers should never use E85 in a conventional, gasoline-only vehicle.
It is technically possible to convert a conventional gasoline vehicle to run on E85; however, To date, EPA has not certified any E85 conversions.
* In general, E85 reduces fuel economy and range by about 20-30 percent, meaning an FFV will travel fewer miles on a tank of E85 than on a tank of gasoline (This is because ethanol contains less energy than gasoline)
* E85 also provides important reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. When made from corn, E85 reduces lifecycle GHG emissions (which include the energy required to grow and process corn into ethanol) by 15-20% as compared to gasoline. E85 made from cellulose can reduce emissions by around 70 percent as compared to gasoline.
* Ethanol-fueled vehicles date back to the 1880s when Henry Ford designed a car that ran solely on ethanol. He later built the first flex fuel vehicle: a 1908 Model T designed to operate on either ethanol or gasoline.
* FFVs have been produced since the 1980s, and dozens of models are currently available. Since FFVs look just like gasoline-only models, you may have an FFV and not even know it.
* There are more than 5 million FFVs currently on the road in the U.S. today but many owners may be unaware that they may fuel with E85.
* E85 fueling stations are located primarily in the Midwest; more than 1,000 public E85 stations are available across the United States.