How E85 fails the numbers

Michael Karesh, who has questioned automotive reporting giants Consumer Reports and J.D. Power & Associates over at Autoblog, turns his attention on the alternative fuel E85. He questions the possibility of ethanol replacing gasoline, pointing out that Americans consume 150 million gallons of gasoline yearly compared to the citizens of Brazil who consume 10 billion, 40 percent of which is ethanol. The U.S. would need to grow twenty times its corn crops in order to fuel current demands which are expected to rise in the future. While the idea is possible, it would involve switching to the more efficient switchgrass and grown on acreage the size of Texas, something which the food industry may not be pleased to do. Finally, Karesh reveals how "flex-fuel" vehicles such as the Chevrolet Tahoe act more as tax incentives for the auto industry instead of harbingers for truly fuel-efficient vehicles.
[Source: The Truth About Cars]