Has anyone seen it yet? I saw it last night, and it was great! Chevy is re-badging their flex fuel pick-ups (a close up shot on the new badge) visually indicating the capability to anyone doing a body look. A very large corn field was shown in the background, while the announcer was honing in on the advantages of using bio fuels that are totally renewable, and purchasing vehicals that make use of this fuel. Pictures of the new chevy p/u driving off in the background too.

I understand Ford is also coming out with a flex fuel pick-up. I hope they also come up with advertising and special badging like Chevy has.

Great job!

 

Ford has had flex fuel pickups for years. They recently announced that all F-150's will be flex fuels.

 

I'd rather eat the corn than burn it in my truck.

 

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahah

Now it is my time to laugh at your post!

I'd love to see you sit down and eat a plate full of field corn! Maybe you have 4 stomachs????????????????????????????

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahhahahaha
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And Mr WEBMASTER:
Have you seen any Ford Flex Fuel F-150 commercials touting their capabilities on a TV spot with close ups of new flex fuel truck badging ? How about an entire 30 second spot devoted entirely to renuable flex fuel expounding on the advantages of burning renuable resourses as Chevy did?
Like I posted earlier, Chevy had one last night. I would like to see Ford follow suit (they maybe in fact the pioneers in this).

 

Chevy is late on this. Ford already did it and has had flex fuel badges on vehicles for years. (Our company Ranger has one of the badges). Plus they run ads on hybrid technology.

I think there may be a little farmer's bias pushing this post. Do you farm?

 

Didn't say I was opposed to running it through a cow first. Beef. The best way to get your veggies.


And actually, I have known people that would eat field corn.

What about hominy, corn chips, corn meal, taco shells, sweeteners in sodas...... Yup, I think I'll stick with my original statement. Corn makes better food than fuel.

Ken, check his profile. According to that he does.

 

Please correct me if I'm wrong (and point me to the correct information). I have read in several places and heard on TV that it takes 30% more energy to produce ethanol that it produces. This includes the fuel consumed to prepare the fields, plant the corn, cultivate the corn, cut and haul the corn, dry and then convert the corn to alcohol. This would not include the energy used to build, repair and maintain the equipment as well as the energy required to build and maintain the storage and distillery.

If this is true, it would seem that the more ethanol we use, the more petroleum we would use. I am surrounded by corn fields and would prefer the ethanol use to the dairy farm down the road. The ethanol would not smell like the "fertilize" that is applied to the fields from the barns.

 

I've heard that and I've heard the same thing about hydrogen power as well. I would like to see a study with real numbers as to the total energy in vs energy out on ethanol.

 

Osbornk,
The machinery to cut and produce ethonal can be run on biodiesel, therefor cutting our dependancy on foreign oil to a percentage that we can afford to have! So you car burns corn, and your truck/tractor will burn Canola, soybean or algea extracted oils. Even if it wasn't as engery effiecnt we can still produce it as it RENUABLE source, unlike the dino oil that we currently burn.

Currently there are no other Renubale sources that are cost effective and avalible imediatly in current facilities with minimal retrofitting. The biodiesel is the real thing! No, its not gonna be $1.00/ gallon but it's renuable and as our dependency grows for more oil the price will become cost effective. At $3.00/gallon for refined diesel it won't take long for biodiesel to catch up. No this isn't the ultimate ansewer but its a solution to help aleiviate a current growing problem. The algea oil looks to be the best most replenishable and non competing crop (to the food supply) that won't inhibit land thats already in production. Do some research before spouting non backed usless information.

Also instead of sending 85% of our money spent on fuel to foreigners why don't we keep it in the country. I fill my vehicles with 10% ethonal all the time and use E85 in my taurus when avalable, by doing this I'm spending my money on a renuable source that helps people in my country and not some other country. Its also lessens our dependency on the foreign oil market and provides money for R&D for better ways to make a renuable sources that may become more effeicent and cheaper ways to produce it, not just how to drill a hole in the ground and start pumping as they've been doing for the past 80+ years! If nobody buys the stuff, how are we suppose to progress, where is the money for R&D gonna come from, I know the uncle sam already takes plenty of my check; so if not from taxes and not from profit from selling it please tell me where and how. So you have people that think like me and you ahve poeple that think like you and untill a source is completly devolped you won't use it, this creates no relief for the current problem and helps nothing, one person isn't gonna make a difference but say if 25% of america placed there money into renuable sources thats 25% less we are sending over seas and 25% more going to fellow country men and women. More money going to R&D of these fuels which will help these fuels progess quicker and become more effeicent!

I'm sure I didn't change anybodies mind but maybe those of you who think these renuable sources are a waste and won't buy them will take a minute to ponder what I've written! Sorry for my rant but our foreign oil dependency is out of hand and to many people just shrug it off and are expecting an overnight fix someday when they go to the pump and pay $5-$8 for a gallon of fuel in there sub par mileage SUV thats used as a car! This is what I'm affraid will happen before a major change will happen in the general publics attitude.

 

I am a corn and soybean Iowa farmer. I never hid that fact from anyone, and it probably contributes to my enthusiastic support of corn based Ethanol and bio-diesel. But, I also am a consumer of dinosar diesel and gasoline and am happy to see something enter the market place that will provide competition to a captive market (US). And if it weren't profitable making bio fuels, then you'd better tell everyone building and investing in these plants that they won't make any money.
Link here: http://www.ethanolrfa.org/industry/locations/

And ya know all I asked in my original post was has anyone seen the new Chevy commercial expounding on their flex fuel vehical, and how I would like to see Ford put together a TV spot like chevy has. How we got to this point arguing about ethanol and bio diesel is beyond me. I guess there are several ferverent supporters of "no change, stay with fossel fuel, support BIG OIL" on this board, and heaven forbid anyone bringing up anything about Ethanol or bio-diesel. That's too bad. I tried to bring another alternative to the argument that Big Oil is gouging us consumers. So you all just keep on. You know what they say, "ignorance is bliss". And that light you see burning at the end of the fossel fuel tunnel is getting dimmer and dimmer.

And Supercab, I also stand by what I said earlier, I'd love to watch you eat a plate full of field corn, and I don't care how you fix it!

And you know, less of your tax subsidy dollars will go to corn and soybean growers as this ethanol and bio diesel expands the demand base. That should make you happy.

Whatever! Well, Thanks SLE for your post. And you are quite correct about the 25% who do chose ethanol and bio diesel. They will make a difference.

 

Anything that we can do to decrease our dependance on foreign oil is a good thing, IMO.

 

I'm all for it. I think that it's great that GM is marketing thier vehicles and promoting renewable resources at the same time. Much better than any other brand.

The farmers around here (I'm not a farmer, couldn't get those Budweisers I planted to grow) are loosing the tobacco market everyday. It would be nice to see them growing some soybeans, corn, or algea to make cheap, renewable fuel for me to use.

Mike

Edit: This could be how the domestic auto makers stick it to the imports. Promote alternative fuels. Sure your Honda gets 32 MPG. Who cares when it's burning oil that comes from people who hate us. Who would you rather buy your fuel from, Habieb or Farmer Brown?

 

I would rather drink it myself.

 

i agree, we must all expect the intial costs to be high and the pain with transformation to the bio fuel, but if america stays on the aproach and quit looking at next week, and instead look at 5 years ahead, we will be on our way!!! i know someone up in MN that got one of those chev trucks that he puts ethanol in(don't know specifics) he was complaining about the price of ethenol and how fast it burned, hopefull 5 years from now or ten years, it will be "look how cheap bio fuel is!" and with the money savings from paying the middle east, wow!!! america needs to invest in this biofuel now!!!

 

flex to what? is there another gas station selling biodiesel for 40cents a gallon that i haven't heard about? reminds me of this guy that drives his volkswagen on old cooking oil. that works fine as long as the rest of us can still afford to fill up at the gas station and he's the only one going around collecting old cooking oil they'd otherwise pay to throw away.

also i think it should be pointed out that mixing ethanol into the gas and finding a renewable source of energy to power an industrial economy are two different things.

they mix ethanol to make it burn cleaner. i'm also inclined to believe the conspiracy theory that it is actually a kick back to corn growers and don't actually produce a profit of energy.

to end dependence on middle east oil you need to be running 100% ethanol or vegetable oil in all your vehicles. no exception. not 5, 10 or 15% as an environmental measure. also have to find a practical way of doing that for every car/truck, gas station, garage, dealership, oil company, electrical power plant across the entire economy.

sorry but i'm just not motivated to believe the car companies have the answer to this one. what i do know is gas keeps going up and it'll reach a point where i won't drive. car companies will still make money. they can move to china and make trucks there or just do it the old fashioned way demanding it from the federal government.