Adding Ethanol Alarms Automakers; Should You Worry?

By John Voelcker

John Voelcker

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Corn Ethanol Pump

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Your car already runs on (some) ethanol, although you may not know it. Much of the gas sold in the U.S. is now actually a blend: 90 percent gasoline, 10 percent ethanol. It's known as E10, for the percentage of the total derived from the corn-based biofuel.

Since 1978, new cars have been able to handle that amount of ethanol. Now, automakers are expressing alarm that the EPA may increase the permissible ethanol in standard, everyday "gasoline" to 12 or even 15 percent.

December decision

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has to decide by December 1 whether to approve a request that it increase the amount of ethanol allowed in gasoline to as much as 15 percent. The agency would be required to grant the request under a Senate measure submitted by Ben Nelson (D-NE) and other senators from agricultural states.

The Alliance of Auto Manufacturers, which represents seven makers who build cars in the U.S., has urged more research on the effects of increasing ethanol. Among other issues, they're concerned about the short deadline, since they've already tooled up for the engines used in their 2010, 2011, and even 2012 models.

Having to make last-minute changes to accommodate new fuels would cost them money that most would very much rather not spend.

Snowmobiles, power tools, boats, oh my!

Makers of other engines--including those used in boats, motorcycles, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, and even power equipment--echo the carmakers' concerns. The measure is even opposed by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

The engine makers have joined with the oil and ethanol industries, plus the Department of Energy and EPA, to create a task force with the unwieldy name of the Midlevel Ethanol Blends Research Coordination Council.

The automakers asked Congress for $17 million last week to test the effects of different ethanol blends on new and used vehicles.

So, should I worry ? ? ?

It's too early to worry about the effects of any change in gasoline formulation on whatever you happen to be driving. At a minimum, even if new blends are approved in December and start appearing soon after, they're likely to be identified on gasoline pumps somehow.

In the case of new cars, rest assured that whatever you buy will be able to handle whatever fuel is legally approved for sale. Consider that even those cars that "recommend" premium gasoline will run--albeit not as well--on the standard unleaded stuff.

For existing cars, the situation is murkier. But regardless of who pays for it,  automakers will have to understand the effects of E12 and E15 on existing engines. While they have little control over fuel content regulations, they're the ones who will be hit with a flood of complaining customers if engines don't run right on the new fuel. So they need to be prepared, and we hope they will be.

The unleaded analog

One example might be the introduction of unleaded fuel, which was created to avoid poisoning the catalytic converters fitted to cars starting in 1975. Cars that required the new unleaded fuel had smaller filler necks, so leaded gas hoses wouldn't fit into them.

Both fuels remained available for 20 years or more until the bulk of pre-1975 cars had been retired. Adding another 2 to 5 percent of ethanol to pump gas isn't as significant a change, but there may be a parallel there regardless.

More significantly, worries about the effects of unleaded fuel on pre-1975 engines turned out to be largely overblown. Whether this would be the case for E12 or E15 remains to be seen, of course, but tests will surely be done both by automakers and independent labs.