Automakers commit to ethanol in some places
The Wall Street Journal reports on a commitments of Ford and GM to E85 ethanol for their vehicles:
. . . General Motors and Ford Motor said they would join with energy companies to promote the use of ethanol as an alternative to gasoline in Illinois and Missouri, the Los Angeles Times reports. GM will team with Shell Oil Products U.S. and VeraSun Energy to add 26 ethanol fuel stations in the Chicago area, while Ford and VeraSun will convert 40 gasoline pumps in Illinois and Missouri to dispense E85, a mixture of 85% ethanol, which is made from crops such as corn, and 15% gasoline. Details and financial terms were not disclosed. Increasing the availability of E85 will make it easier for auto makers to sell more “flexible-fuel” cars, which can run on fuel containing as much as 85% ethanol, the Times says. GM and Ford have said they plan to increase sales of the vehicles this year. Such ethanol plans are driving up the price of sugar futures to their loftiest levels in a quarter century, the Journal adds. Hedge funds and other investors are betting that more sugar will soon be needed to produce ethanol.
