Pumping up ethanol

E85 is more than 10 years old, but its most significant growth has come in the last couple of years. High gasoline sent drivers looking for cheaper alternatives. Some have become rabid fans of the corn-based fuel.

Central Minnesota resident Zoe Graul converted to ethanol more than a year ago, and has been spreading the word since.

"I talk to people at gas pumps, I talk to people whereever I can," says Graul. "Some of them look at me and I think, 'Gee, do I have two heads or what?'"

Graul says she and her husband fill up with E85 as much as possible. In Minnesota, that's usually not a problem since the state has almost 200 E85 pumps, including nearly 40 in the metro area. The real difficulties start when they leave the state.

I just think it's the American way. Why not buy in the USA, have it be renewable, and have it support our own economy?

"My husband goes to Texas, lots. And the last place he can get E85 is Oklahoma City," says Graul.

There are nearly 200,000 gas stations in the U.S. Only 600 sell E85.

Before leaving on a trip, the Grauls check the Internet to find out which towns on, or close to their route, have E85. They often find gaps in the fuel's coverage area. Sometimes there's no choice but to fill up with regular gas because the fuel indicator is close to empty.

That frustrates Graul. She's the sort of unpaid cheerleader ethanol backers crave. They want to keep customers like her happy, so the industry is working to solve the problem. They're trying to increase the number of ethanol pumps.

"There is a business case for energy partners to put more E85 pumps around, so that motorists can fill up whenever and wherever possible," says Dave Barthmuss, a communications manager with General Motors.

The financially struggling company wants to sell more cars and trucks. It's launched a major push to get consumers interested in what are called "flex-fuel" vehicles, which can burn either E85 or regular gasoline.

The company has launched a campaign called "live green, go yellow." A television advertisement urges viewers to consider using the corn based fuel.

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"What if we could turn the whole world yellow?" the ad asks. "We'd have cleaner air and an energy source that grows back every year. Yellow is the color of corn, refined into E85 ethanol. A fuel that lowers greenhouse gas emissions, and can reduce our dependence on oil," the ad continues.

The U.S. television audience saw the ad on Super Bowl Sunday.

Barthmuss says as part of its ethanol strategy, GM is spending money to increase the number of E85 pumps. The company and its partners recently announced a plan to put up more ethanol pumps in Chicago. GM plans some sort of ethanol announcement in March in Minnesota, in advance of the Twin Cities Auto Show.

Barthmuss says to sell flex-fuel vehicles, there must be pumps to fill them.

"We don't have a target. We don't say, 'We ought to have X number of stations by X year,'" says Barthmuss. "We just need to make sure that we have a national momentum going to make E85 fuel available to as many areas as possible."

GM offers a fleet of E85-capable vehicles, including the Impala, Monte Carlo, Silverado and Suburban. As a visual reminder, all new E85 GM vehicles have a yellow gas cap. The company will also send owners of older flex-fuel vehicles a yellow cap for free.

Other car companies have taken similar steps. Ford is running a commercial touting its E85 vehicles, and also is working to increase the number of pumps.

Some of the effort is catching on with consumers like Zoe Graul.

"I just think it's the American way," says Graul. "We talk about patriotism. Why not buy in the USA, have it be renewable and have it support our own economy?"

Ethanol has plenty of critics. Some say it doesn't reduce air pollution nearly as much as supporters claim. They also say drivers sacrifice miles per gallon with E85, roughly a 25 percent drop compared to regular gasoline.

Companies like GM, Ford and the ethanol makers are betting an unstoppable shift to the fuel is underway. They believe putting in more pumps will speed up that change.

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