This is an excerpt from EERE Network News, a weekly electronic
newsletter. Driving "Back to the Future": Flex-Fuel Vehicle
Awareness The 1908 Model-T Ford was the first vehicle designed
to run on ethanol, which Henry Ford termed "the fuel of the
future." Today, about 8 million flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) on
our roads are capable of running on either gasoline or gasoline
blended with up to 85% ethanol (E85). By using E85, these flex
fuel vehicles help to decrease our reliance on imported oil and
reduce carbon pollution. The "Big Three" U.S. auto makers (Ford,
General Motors, and Chrysler) recently announced that half of
the vehicles in their entire 2012 vehicle line will be FFVs,
including the hybrid-electric plug-in Chevrolet Volt. Today's
ethanol, essentially a non-drinkable grain alcohol, is made from
corn or sugar cane. Researchers have been developing processes
to convert the cellulose in agricultural wastes like corn
stalks, waste woods, and other non-food biomass into ethanol.
This biofuel, known as "