Bringing together plug-in and flex-fuel E85 for super efficiency

The plug-in hybrid flex-fuel car really is the best near term solution. All the technologies already exist. The flex-fuel engine, however, should not be of the type currently used in the U.S. Rather, it could be a downsized variable compression turbo boosted flex fuel engine such as that already used in the Saab 9-5 biopower available in Sweden. Such an engine gets better gas milege on E85. This would cut the amount of biomass needed for ethanol production even more, making American energy independence all the more achievable. Use in this application would be quite complimentary since it gets the best savings in mileage at high speeds. The electric motor, on the other hand, is better suited to low speeds and would be the primary propulsion system around town. The resulting overall fuel efficiency would be phenomenal. -- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
Plug-In Car to the Rescue? :: thetyee.ca:
by David Morris -- 4/27/2006
"...instead of the gasoline engines used today, it could easily be a flexible-fuel engine of the type now powering more than 4 million vehicles on U.S. roads. These engines operate on any combination of ethanol and gasoline, and the additional cost to manufacture one has fallen to about $100."