Bush, Big 3 Promote FFVs

Ina meeting at the White House today, the heads of Detroit’s Big 3 automakers met with President Bush to reaffirm their commitment to manufacture half of all their new vehicles as FFVs by 2012.  Following the meeting, President Bush noted:

“I found it very interesting that by 2012, 50 percent of the automobiles in America will be flex-fuel vehicles.  That means that the American consumer will be able to either use gasoline or ethanol, depending upon, obviously, price and convenience.  That’s a major technological breakthrough for the country.  If you want to reduce gasoline usage, like I believe we need to do so for national security reasons, as well as for environmental concerns, the consumer has got to be in a position to make a rational choice.  And so I appreciate very much the fact that American automobile manufacturers recognize the reality of the world in which we live and are using new technologies to give the consumers different options.”

Echoing those remarks, GM CEO Rick Wagoner said:  “…a near-term opportunity that we are moving on right now, as the President cited, is flex-fuel vehicles that are powered by E85 ethanol.  There are millions on the road today.  As a group, we’ve agreed to double our production by the year 2010, and then have 50 percent of our production E85-capable by the year 2012.  This makes a big difference, and there’s nothing that can be done which can reduce the curve of growth in imported oil and actually turn it down like using E85, taking advantage of what’s there today.”

There are roughly 1,100 gas stations across the country that offer E85 for an estimated FFV fleet of nearly 6 million vehicles.  Being able to utlilize high ethanol blends, such as E85, will be a critical component to achieving the kind of gasoline consumption reductions and renewable fuel use that President Bush and members of Congress are calling for.