Archive for the ‘e85’ Category

Hummer is in the midst of a move—from General Motors to China's Sichuan Tengzhong—but the brand has announced details for its 2010 H3 SUV and H3T pickup, which are slated to go on sale next month.

Changes are minimal. The standard engine is still a 239-horsepower, 3.7-liter five-cylinder engine, but most noteworthy is that the H3 line finally gets the Flex Fuel version of GM's 300-horsepower, 5.3-liter V-8. The engine can run either on regular gasoline or any ethanol blend up to 85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline (E85).

Fuel economy ratings stand at 13 mpg city, 16 highway with the V-8, or just 9/12 running on E85.

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Bentley isn't known for making gas-sippers. In fact, some of its current models rank among the least fuel-efficient in the country (down to the single digits). But that reputation may change a bit when Bentley launches its new, top-secret powertrain in 2011. There's speculation that the engine may be a hybrid and that it will be capable of running on E85 bioethanol like the new Continental Supersports. No word yet on efficiency, but we know that it's set to reduce CO2 from 396 g/km to under 240 g/km -- still far above the industry average, but hey, a 40% cut is a 40% cut. [AutoExpress]

Fill up at almost any pump today and you're likely to see a reminder that what you think of as gasoline can contain up to 10 percent ethanol.

The effect of that much ethanol on your car is relatively benign; it's been allowed since 1978 and over more than three decades the ethanol, mostly sourced from U.S. corn, has helped reduce our reliance on foreign oil.

Now agricultural lobbies, corn producing states, and some alt-fuel advocates are pushing to boost the allowable ethanol content in fuel to 15 percent, from the current 10 percent. A request filed last March, led by four ethanol-producing states, must be approved or denied by December 1.