Today I watched a video on the WTAJ TV-10 News website concerning the availability of E-85 in State College, PA. The video is here<\/a>.<\/p>\n It looks really good — like it’s a good thing to go buy a flexible-fuel vehicle<\/a> and save some cash at the pump at the same time. But is it? Let’s do some math.<\/p>\n A gallon of regular fuel at the station is $3.35. E-85 is $2.99. That’s a savings of 11% at the pump. But everyone agrees that E-85 is not as efficient as gasoline. The good people at WTAJ note that when they say, “…vehicles using the special fuel will get poorer gas mileage.” How much poorer?<\/p>\n
| <\/td>\n | Fuel Cost<\/td>\n | MPG<\/td>\n | Miles Driven<\/td>\n | Total Spent<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Gasoline<\/td>\n | $3.35<\/td>\n | 18<\/td>\n | 1000<\/td>\n | $58.91<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| E-85<\/td>\n | $2.99<\/td>\n | 13<\/td>\n | 1000<\/td>\n | $79.91<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n In this scenario, using E-85 instead of gasoline will actually cost an additional $21 per thousand miles driven. That may be good for the environment, but until the price is closer to 30% less than gasoline it’s not a financial advantage to the consumer.<\/p>\n So buy it if you want to reduce your petroleum consumption and emissions, but don’t fool yourself that you’re saving money. Kermit was right<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today I watched a video on the WTAJ TV-10 News website concerning the availability of E-85 in State College, PA. It looks really good — like it’s a good thing to go buy a flexible-fuel vehicle and save some cash at the pump at the same time. But is it? Let’s do some math. Continue reading |