Missouri Mandates Ethanol in Gasoline

Steve Smith, 48, talks with a reporter while fueling his car, Friday, Dec. 28, 2007, in Jefferson City, Mo. A new state law which takes effect Jan. 1, 2008, requires that gasoline sold in Missouri contain a 10 percent ethanol blend but many stations, such as this Break Time convenience store, are already selling the mixture. (AP Photo/Kelley McCall)

(AP) -- Pushing the button for regular 87-grade octane, Steve Smith said he thought he was filling his SUV with ethanol-free gasoline. "I don't buy super unleaded, knowing that it's ethanol," Smith said, citing concerns about how ethanol could affect his vehicle.

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5/5 after 7 votes

• Nevaar - Dec 31, 2007
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  regarding ethanol, I recently added a flex-fuel system to my 98 Wrangler. E-85 is anywhere from 70%-85% ethanol. It is also currently about $2/gal. E-10 is around $2.70/gal (central Colorado). I drive about 100 miles each day and save about $0.01/mile by using E-85 - that's $1/day of $20-ish/month. Every little bit helps.
  
  My mileage is about 13mpg on E-85 though, and about 16mpg on E-10. I fill up about the same number of times per week (every other day) - that's about the same as E-10.
  
  For *ME*, as long as E-85 is at least $0.50/gallon cheaper than regular gasoline, I'm saving money. Of course, ethanol isn't only about saving money... It's about reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and promoting local fuel production. It's good for farmers too!
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• Ashibayai - Dec 31, 2007
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  Yeah, as long as people realize that E-85 gets them worse gas mileage than they're not deceived into thinking it's 100% better than E-10. But who said deception was a bad thing right?...
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• Nevaar - Dec 31, 2007
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  Indeed. I'm firmly against gas stations increasing the percentage of ethanol in the fuel without telling their customers (I mean more than micro-font hidden on the back-side of the pump). I can envision a scenario where customers are getting 10-15% worse mileage and don't know why. That level decrease in mileage would have most people examining their engine or somesuch without even considering that the fuel could be the culprit. If ethanol is being mandated by a state authority, then that same state authority should be mandated to disclose to consumers that their mileage will suffer.
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• Hardcase - Feb 26, 2008
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  Ethanol is a farce! Everyone says that their mileage decreases with it and most say their vehicles do not perform as well. Along with the FACT that it is seriously messing with the worlds food supply. so the math and you will see that you are not gaining a thing except making the farming community richer. Missouri made a serious mistake in mandating that this be incorporated in all fuel and in kow-towing to the farm lobby.
  
  As for me, I am eagerly awaiting electric or hydrogen cars.
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• copydoc - Sep 10, 2008
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  hello missouri and any and all who are using ethanol products in their fuel. a couple of years ago I got my mother into a flex fuel vehicle and had her switch over to e85 due to the 50 cent per gallon savings. during this time I have been testing the fuel mileage difference between the 10 percent ethanol and premium fuel without ethanol, and came to find out I was getting aproximately 4 mpg. less with the ethanol. So you say well whats the big deal, I mean it is cheaper right? well just do a little calculation and assume you get 20 mpg without ethanol and the premium you used cost you 25 cents more per gallon lets say 4.00 per gallon and at ten gallons you paid 40.00 for 200 miles traveled. now lets fill it up with 10 percent ethanol and you paid 37.50 to travel 160 miles, to equal the 200 miles you have to spend an additional 9.37 which means you just spent 47.00 to travel the same distance. now after I had calculated this fact on two separate vehicles I had heard back from my mother and she was mentioning that the performance was not what it once was, so after I told her of my findings we switched her vehicle back over to regular gas and low and behold her power came back and she gained roughly 9 mpg which using the same parameters as above, the E85 would have to cost you 1.30 per gallon less just to break even financially but then you still have the loss of power and performance. Now don't take this any farther than it is meant since it is my test and I would not attempt to impose my results upon you , I only ask you to take this information and do your own testing and make your own decision. good luck and be wary of big business
  and how about telling us what we are putting in our tanks missouri, labelling should be mandatory
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