Where I live E-85 is only $.10 less than gas. That doesn't make it very attractive, even if I could use it.

Hate to say, but you brought up the "grocery cost" thing. There are so many factors that go into the cost of our food, ethanol production is only a very small portion of it. Its a very complex equation that is never picked apart correctly by anyone with an agenda to push.

That said, to me the more important part of this is that very few people actually take the time to do thorough research. Most of the propaganda being spewed out by people on both side of the debate is misleading if not out right incorrect. So it gets people into thinking on the extreme left or right of it. The reality is actually somewhere in the middle. Ethanol made from corn is not the most efficient way. This is an interesting company to keep an eye on: Coskata. GM invested a boatload of money in them a few years ago. Only time will tell.

IMO, ethanol is not "the" answer. Only a part of the answer. Hybrids, electric, ethanol, and diesel are all going to have to be part of the future of automobiles.

 

The following gas companies import Middle Eastern oil:

Shell...................................... 205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco..................... 144,332,000 barrels
Exxon /Mobil.......................... 130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway............. 117,740,000 barrels
Amoco..................................... 62,231,000 barrels

And CITGO oil is imported from Venezuela by Dictator Hugo Chavez who hates America and openly avows our economic destruction! (We pay Chavez's regime nearly $10 Billion per year in oil revenues!)

The U.S. currently imports 5,517,000 barrels of crude oil per day from OPEC. If you do the math at $100 per barrel, that's over $550 million PER DAY ($200 BILLION per year!) handed over to OPEC, many of whose members are our confirmed enemies!!!!! It won't stop here - oil prices could go to $200 a barrel or higher if we keep buying their product.


Here are some large companies that do not import Middle Eastern oil:

Sunoco...........................0 barrels
Conoco..........................0 barrels
Sinclair.......................0 barrels
BP / Phillips.................. 0 barrels
Hess..............................0 barrels
ARC0.............................0 barrels
Maverick.........................0 barrels
Flying J.........................0 barrels
Valero..........................0 barrels
Murphy Oil USA*.........0 barrels

*Sold at Kroger and Walmart (?) , gas is from South Arkansas and fully USA owned and produced.

All of this information is available from the U.S. Department of Energy and each company is required to state where they get their oil and how much they are importing

 

You get 30 mpg using E85? I seriously doubt that. A lot of people don't even get 30 mpg using gas. You say you get 34 mpg using regular gas, is that highway driving only? That would be realistic if it was indeed highway miles, but don't you do any city driving? I think your numbers are seriously off. Keep in mind, the EPA rates the 2.2L HHR with auto trans. at 16 city/22 hwy if using E85. E85 is a joke, it is not a solution to our oil problem, merely a distraction. E85 is just a political scam to please all the tree huggers out there.

 

This post highlights exactly what I mean by misleading info and people being swayed. Read the second half of this Snopes article to get the scoop on how out of date this info is: http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/saudigas.asp

 

I've checked the DIC mileage myself with the mileage driven, gallons used and a calculator. My calculator usually comes up a little above the DIC numbers. I live 10 miles from town. I drop my lil one off at daycare in town then hit the road to work - 32 miles one way. It's a nice 40/45 mph road that is smooth, flat and straight with no traffic. I do go thru one town and hit 2 stop signs. I never get to 55, 60 or 70 mph. I don't mash the gas - it's a 4 cylinder. The hightest mileage I got on one tank was 36.5 mpg and I had to double check that. I have no reason to lie. I wanted to post my findings after I checked to see the difference in the E85 myself. I'll be happy to take pics of my dash the next time I'm close to filling up so you can see the numbers yourself.

 

The EPA rating of 16/22 sounds too low. I am getting around 25 mpg with mostly in town driving. I am getting the same mpg as I did with my 93
Corrola that I traded in on my HHR. I drive the same way with both cars.

 

My 2011 runs fine on E 85 BUT I only use it IF the MPG and price are in my favor as the MPG drops about 20% on E 85 so I do the math and and 95% a the time I use reg . sure wish the MPG was the same I would use E 85 all the time . the 16/22 is close I was getting about 16 city and about 23 or 24 highway on E 85 . on reg it a lot better 21 22 city and 30+ highway

As for the scam part do we IMPORT any E 85 ? serious ? I really do not know . I assume like MOST folks its a made in USA renewable energy! If not then ya its a scam and a joke . If it all USA made and renewable energy then I would pay a little extra to burn it but not as prices sit here right now there to outa wack in the MPG you honestly get IMHO . The E *5 is just not cost effective IMO anyway right now .

It was for me for about 3 weeks then bam not now . E 85 has stayed the same price $3.39 and now reg is $3.65 at a few stations

 

Well, do you use E85 fuel or Regular Gasoline? That EPA rating of 16/22 is for when you use E85 fuel (ethanol). The EPA rating for the HHR is 22/30 for when you use regular gasoline. 25 mpg is not at all unrealistic for city driving if you're using regular gas. I use to always get 25-26 mpg city driving. Lately, my driving is severe stop-and-go, worse than city MPGs, and can still usually get about 20-21 mpg. I would think it would be very difficult to get 25 mpg using E85 for city driving. E85 will always yield lower MPGs than when using regular gas.

 

When there was a .80 cent diffrence in E 85 and reg I burned some E 85 . and would now IF I could get 30MPG on the corn... But I never got close to that in the city and the highway was 22 mostly . I cked it on my DIC and did the math myself E 85 is just not even close to cost effective for me anyway .YMMV of course

 

I get 23.5 on 87 octane & 18.5 on E85. So far I'm loving the extra power more than I'm mourning the loss of MPG.