[Amethyst]

So with Buick announcing that 2.4L engine will be available to handle E85 Ethanol, I wonder how many buyers will gravitate towards that engine rather than the gasoline. I also wonder if many people will hold off on their purchase until the E85 engine is available for the Buick Regal.

 

[digger]

I don't think that the distribution of E85 is yet strong enough (except perhaps in the mid-West) that anyone, save some raging environmentalist, would defer a purchase for that reason.

Digger

 

[Alexandria Danielle]

Yeah, I agree. I don't know much about E85 Ethanol or how available it is here in Canada. I also don't think that a Regal buyer is going to hold out until E85 Ethanol is available...

In all honesty, I think that the majority of people who buy hybrids and flex-fuel cars are either trying to be trendy or giving off the appearance that they're really concerned about the environment - it's more of a status statement. There are a handful of people who really do care and that's why they buy those cars... just my thoughts.

Personally, I don't know enough about E85 ethanol to let it stop me from buying a car. I think that as technology advances and it becomes more readily available, more people may opt for it.

 

[syd]

Most of the people that have Flex fuel vehicles don't even know it. Their car just came that way because, as a conscious shopping decision, it would only confuse them more.

Remember that we're not talking about automotive enthusiasts here, but Johnny and Susie Homemaker, who are more interested in somebody else's reality (show) than their own.

syd

 

[RoadMaster]

Hah... market forces have already adjusted the price of E85 so that its the same as for E0, after you factor in the loss of fuel economy. You're paying the same price *per mile* travelled, whether you're burning some ethanol or not.

The only reason to do it is to save the world. 'Course, you could just stop driving. Oh, wait...