GM and National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition Partner To Promote Use of E85

Energy Security
Prepared by the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security

March 31, 2004
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GM and National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition Partner To Promote Use of E85

General Motors Corp. and the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC) announced a new public awareness campaign aimed at increasing the use of E85. E85 is a mixture of 15 percent gasoline and 85 percent ethanol - grain alcohol - can be used in flexible fuel vehicles (FFV) designed to use either E85 or gasoline. There are 3 million flexible fuel vehicles on the road today capable of using E85 (click here to check if your vehicle is one.)

The campaign is part of a two-year partnership between the NEVC and GM. Last year the two joined forces to raise awareness of the benefits of E85 at events in Wisconsin , Illinois , Minnesota and Missouri . The campaign included an "I Fuel Good" direct mail campaign that provided owners of GM flexible fuel vehicles with debit cards to be used toward the purchase of E85.

"We saw substantial use of the cards for E85 fuel in the markets we targeted, more than 20 percent in some areas," said Phil Lampert, executive director of the NEVC. "We hope to have a similar impact as we broaden our campaign to more cities and even more FFV owners."

The ethanol promotion effort will take place during the next 10 months. It will include a variety of elements, including an effort to educate GM FFV owners and dealership employees on the benefits of E85 and numerous awareness events in targeted cities.

"E85 is just beginning to become available in many areas, and we want owners of E85-capable GM vehicles to know the benefits of using this alternative fuel," said Gary Herwick, director of alternative fuels for General Motors. "Working together with the NEVC, we can make a difference by educating and encouraging industry and consumers to do their part by continuing to develop the E85 infrastructure, and by using E85 in their GM flexible fuel vehicles whenever possible."

"The number of ethanol fueling stations is limited but growing. That, along with this program, will help increase the use of E85, which will benefit the environment and help enhance the nation's energy security," added Lampert.

Ethanol is alcohol that is currently made from domestically produced corn; it delivers performance similar to regular gasoline. Throughout the past five years, the demand for E85 has increased ten-fold to about 10 million gallons a year.

In the future, production of ethanol could come from biomass such as corn and wheat stalks, forestry waste and municipal waste. Making ethanol from waste, or blending it with ether produced from waste, would reduce cost and ease market penetration. Ethanol is a clean, domestically produced alternative fuel that does not deplete petroleum energy supplies because it is made from renewable resources.

Many 2005 model year GM vehicles will be available with E85-capabilities, including the Chevrolet Avalanche, Suburban and GMC Yukon XL, Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full size pickups and the Chevrolet Tahoe police pursuit vehicle.

Also see:
Volkswagen AG and Archer Daniels Midland Announce Biodiesel Research Agreement
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