All the flex-fuel vehicles possess a small auxiliary gasoline tank. The gasoline is used automatically in low temperatures, only for the start of the engine.

(with help of google language tools)

Anderson

When Rudolph Diesel invented the diesel engine back in 1898, he worked closely with George Washington Carver to make this new invention, unveiled at the 1900 World’s Fair, able to be run on peanut oil, mixed with a small amount of grain alcohol.

Carver was working on new uses for seed oils, and met Diesel. The rest is history. We should be looking at seed oils more as a source of renewable, less polluting energy, and this could be an excellent source.

I love Biodiesels. A friend has an old Mercedes he runs on waste oil, or home made biodiesel, and it smells like popcorn going down the road. A much nicer odor than that of the current petroleum based product. And no smoke, just water vapor! Much lower emissions too. I just wish they would make it available in the States.

Vehicles “get by” with lower octane (more likely to “ping”) because knock sensors in modern electronic engine systems provide an “early warning” to the logic module which then retards your engine’s timing.

Retarded timing results in less fuel efficiency, especially during acceleration.

If an engine was built with much higher compression ratios it would have more power per gallon consumed. More power results in better mpg.

Here’s an idea: Go back to using turbochargers on 4-cylinder engines like Chrysler did in the 1980′s to raise and vary engine compression rates as needed. Using premium fuel, my Shelby Daytona would boost 15psi on a regular basis. What a ride! I had a car that would outrun almost eveything on the road and still got 35+ mpg. Once our local deputy sheriff borrowed it. Upon his return, he threatened to write me a ticket because he was SURE I deserved one.

Until we get the windmills churning, the methane extraced from the ocean floor, and the solar satellites flying here is the quick fix I propose:

1) boost compression ratios of engines to take advantage of high octane fuels by using turbochargers or superchargers. Of course, use smaller and lighter engines in proportion.
2) increase octane levels of gasoline to take advantage of the “knock-resistant” properties of alcohol.
3) grow and processing a LOT of switchgrass on the (new) old family farms.

The big minus to alcohol:
Cold weather starting!!!
Better hide a can of Ether under the front seat!

Interesting to compare the various energy densities of fuels:

Check out hydrogen. Too bad you’d have to drag around a balloon full of the stuff.in its natural state.

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/02/02/090904.php

And big oil isn’t subsidized? Big oil gets so much money from the G right now that I think its specious to argue economics at this point.

http://www.businessweek.com/autos/content/apr2006/bw20060427_493909.htm?chan=autos_autos+index+page_insight

The ethanol used in the US is made from corn.

The ethanol used in Brazil is made from sugar.

It takes more energy to make one gallon of (corn) ethanol than the return it gives. It also takes fossil fuels to make the (corn) ethanol.

Just because the problem seems simple, it’s not always a simple problem or has a simple solution.

For those people who immediately say “Let’s use sugar to make ethanol then”. Keep in mind that sugar prices are regulated (no not just the Bush administration).

Worrying about how much diesel is consumed transporting the alchol is answered by the same quality — use biodiesel instead. And, the, consumption rate is about the same.

But, take off the blinders when you look at the whole question and consider what is being saved by reduction in imported oil. For that matter, even reducing domestic oil consumption is useful. They are fixed reserves — not renewable in anything less than geologic time.

While alcohol has beem used in cars here in Brazil for decades, its economic vantage is still a matter of debate. You have to factor in that you get a lower milage per gallon with alcohol and that right now we are using oil to produce alcohol! For example, the trucks that take the sugar cane to the industries run on diesel.

To get the automotive alcohol going, brazilian goverment has had to subsidize alcohol production. For example, when gasoline in Brazil has a large percentage of alcohol added, plus a tax that goes to alcohol producers. Thank to this (and the patience of the first buyers) a lot of technical problems in the cars have beem solved.

Alcohol may be the fuel for the future, but right now it is still cheaper to run on gasoline.