Corn power, baby! That's what we're talkin' about!
E85, which some view as automotive fuel of the future, will soon be available at about 20 Meijer stores in Michigan.
Meijer Inc. and General Motors Corp. announced today, with Gov. Jennifer Granholm, plans to make the ethanol-gasoline blend E85 available at Meijer filling stations.
More than 4 million flexible-fuel vehicles on the road are capable of burning E85 or gasoline or a combination of the two. However, most owners fill up with regular gasoline because of a shortage of filling stations offering the fuel.
Only five stations in Michigan sell E85, a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, reports the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition.
Some owners don't even realize that their vehicle is capable of running on E85.
Advocates of E85 tout the fuel as a made-in-America alternative to imported oil that also cuts dirty tailpipe emissions, boosts performance and helps farmers. Ethanol is a grain alcohol produced from crops like corn and soy.
Michigan is one of the nation's leading producers of corn, growing more than 257 million bushels a year.
The state has one ethanol plant in Caro that makes 45 million gallons a year, but four plants are due within two years. They will produce more than 200 million gallons of ethanol combined annually.
Me want one. Pretty soon, everyone will want one.