Ethanol Hunt Day 4 It took a few days for me to run through 20 gallons of regular gas in the Tahoe. Even with an average of 12.5 miles per gallon it took more driving than I'm used to in a test vehicle to get the needle towards E. This was during a mix of city and highway driving but I usually give people a disclaimer that "city" driving in Chicago is much harsher than what a suburbanite might consider city driving. In the last mile on my drive home there is a stop sign or light at EVERY block. And to get to the grocery store is three miles of pretty much the same treatment. When the trip computer told me I had 100 miles left on the tank I headed out to Villa Park, a western suburb of Chicago. I turned into a Marathon station found via www.e85fuel.com and pulled up to the old school pump. Unlike the modern pump in the city this one was devoid of any language about the benefits of E85. But better still, two attendants came out to help me. You have to love that. The younger attendant wanted to make sure I was going to use the E85 and told me which pump was faster. The older attendant, most likely a manager who looked like he knew his SUVs, wanted to check out the new Tahoe. He opened up the door, without asking, and leaned way in to check out the cabin. Go right ahead. 
He turned out to be pretty friendly though and told me he owns a 2003 Suburban and was really looking forward to the new model. He assured me he would buy one as soon as it hit the dealership. He also told me he used E85 in his 2003 all the time and related the mileage difference to me as going from 12.2 for regular to 11.8 on E85. Not too shabby. Unfortunately he had received word that ethanol prices would most likely rise soon because of the new popularity and PR push from the Bush administration and major manufacturers. OK, he just told me it was due to the popularity and I added the PR push part. I enjoyed talking to a real world E85 user and felt much better about myself as I climbed into a SUV with a full tank of mostly Ethanol. If I did the math right at the pump it was much closer to 11 mpg on regular gas and I don't like being a gas hog even if it is for educational purposes. Back to Chicago to see how much my mileage changes on the E85. 
Cost difference in Villa Park: E85 7.4% less than regular unleaded. Anecdotal mileage report: E85 gets 3.3% worse mileage than regular unleaded. Ethanol Hunt Day 1 The Great Ethanol Hunt Begins Dave Posted - April 4, 2006 Permalink These Kids Today While I'm driving around looking for ethanol I'm listening to the new disc by Atreyu called A Death-Grip On Yesterday. Yes, I was driving a huge SUV listening to thrash. And I did catch myself enjoying some of the songs, but I'm wondering how music got here. How did the seeds planted by Pantera, Slayer and the like grow through hardcore, punk, then emo and into a bastardized blend of all of them? However it happened, I'm beginning to get fed up. Atreyu is the best of this new breed with at least some grasp on harmony and melody ("Stand Up"), you know those things that make music music. Of course they have all those grating screams, even on rock ballads like "The Theft". So why is it so distressing to a music elitist like me? Honestly, I think it's because the guys that make up bands like Atreyu, From First To Last, Funeral For A Friend et al couldn't beat anyone up. I remember seeing Pantera and just being scared. Not because of the music, that was good, but because of these big, hairy, tattooed dudes playing it. You knew Phil Anselmo could kick your ass and that made you respect the rock. Vinnie Paul wasn't necessarily sane either and even the guitar player's name was Dimebag Darrell (R.I.P.). Seeing the new crop of skinny kids from the burbs tatted up, playing thrash just doesn't cement that badass mental picture of metal. Even if Atreyu has made a solid album for this new genre of "scream-o" or "thrashcore" or whatever, it just doesn't bring the rock like the good ole days. Eat some meat and potatoes, try and grow some stubble, and then come back and tell me you're metal. Dave Posted - March 31, 2006 Permalink Ethanol Hunt Day 1 I'm still trying to run through the current tank of unleaded gas in the Tahoe before refilling with E85 and after about 20 miles of city driving it seems to be working, a bit too well. I also made it to the nearest possible E85 station to scope things out. The "Gas City" is located just a few blocks from Wrigley Field. While that may sound really cool to out-of-towners, it also means we're in one of the most congested areas on the North Side. Try getting near it on a game day buddy. But today I got there around the lunchtime rush quite easily. A huge sign illustrated the reason for my trip: "DOES YOUR VEHICLE RU N ON E 85 SA VE 30¢ PER GL" Since it was right underneath the even larger display of $2.45 for E85 and $2.75 for regular unleaded I immediately knew they weren't lying. Plus, "brand name" stations are charging about ten cents more per gallon of regular in the city. So what was it like at my first Ethanol pump? Interesting. There was plenty of propaganda plastered on the pump itself about saving the Earth (smiling faces), the economy (pictures of corn) yadda yadda. 
There were also a few disclaimers about checking your owners manual to make sure you were driving a FFV. I'm sure a few people have made that mistake in their eagerness to save the Earth and the economy. But the lasting impact from this excursion was the station promoting the cost of E85, not the eco-friendliness. The Tahoe we're driving holds 26 gallons of fuel. 26?! Really? Damn that's a lot of E85. That means 26 gallons of regular unleaded would cost $82.50. That's $20 more than a ticket to see Pearl Jam (I just bought my tickets for a few shows in May). The E85 would cost $73.50. That's still more than a concert ticket, but the $9 difference can buy a beer and a...well, a beer at a concert. We still need to compare real world mpg to figure out how close Ethanol comes to competing on a dollar to mile basis with regular fuel and after another day or two that shouldn't be a problem. 
Cost difference between regular unleaded and E85 in the City of Chicago: 11.2% Dave Posted - March 30, 2006 Permalink Three Glorious Holes By now, regular readers are familiar with the most beloved car in the mph fleet, our Subaru Justy. Despite being on the receiving end of random acts of violence and abuse from the mph staff, this mid-80s, triple-cylinder appliance not only won't throw in the towel, but begs for more like a jilted lover. The clutch no longer "clutches" per se, but vaguely and randomly applies pressure to the flywheel as its leisure, the sensation from the helm not unlike that of a CVT-equipped snowmobile; rpms climb and eventually the vehicle begins to move, momentum chasing the engine revs until the next gear selection. I'm sure many of you are as curious as I am concerning what is going on inside that sixty-six horsepower three-holer, so I took the opportunity to run a compression test, and the results weren't as bad as I'd anticipated. The cylinders, left-to-right, produced readings of 190, 150, and 120, results my stockbroker—sorry, I mean investment professional—would refer to as "trending downward," broker speak for "I've already frittered away most of your money in investments about as stable as a Balinese shrimping boat, and your kids will be going to State if you don't drop off another trunk full of cash by Monday." Which, automotively speaking, is basically what the Subie is telling us; "I'm moving, but listing to the right, and even a major cash infusion won't guarantee safe travel." Glass-full types will undoubtedly point out that, considering what we paid for it, every mile is a bonus, but I haven't exactly seen any of them standing in line to take the Justy to their Up With People rehearsals. Oh, and check out that spark plug—you could measure the gap with a yardstick. For those who have not yet received the April issue or are just generally unfamiliar with the ongoing saga of the Justy, get up to speed by viewing the award-winning, erotically fueled, and emotionally charged motion-picture epic, H3 vs. Justy, directed by mph executive editor, Sir Lord Daniel "That's a Wrap" Ascot Pund Jr. Esquire III HERE. Stay tuned. We've got a lot more planned for this little beast before it's all over. Andrew Wendler Posted - March 28, 2006 Permalink The Great Ethanol Hunt Begins The latest buzz in alternative fuels to hit the mainstream is Ethanol. This magical blend of corn and gasoline called E85 is either the answer to America's dependence on foreign fuel or one big scam by farmers, depending on the blogs you read. Each American car company has claimed that they are the leader in Flex Fuel vehicles either by way of press releases or major media campaigns like GM's "Live Green, Go Yellow." Most people probably couldn't care less about these claims or who builds the most FFVs. They just want to know how easy it is to use E85 on a daily basis. To cut through the hype I had a new Flex Fuel Chevy Tahoe dropped off at my home office in Chicago for a week of testing. Besides being one of the largest cities in the country, Chicago also happens to be smack dab in the middle of the so-called "Ethanol Corridor." Yes, there is a lot of Ethanol jargon for us to learn over the next week. Unfortunately, the Tahoe is filled with regular gas so I'll be destroying the environment for about 300 miles in order to refill with E85. Horrible isn't it? But it's for the good of the planet in the long run. Here is a Google Earth view of most of the surrounding E85 stations according to www.e85fuel.com. Note that only two are actually in the City of Chicago. So I'll be checking out the wilds of the suburbs to see the commutability, price and mileage provided by E85 in the real world. The hunt is on.  Dave Posted - March 28, 2006 Permalink Hurry Up and Die When I'm not busy fighting third-world famine with my witty and informative car reviews, I use my awesome video game skills to defend the Star League from Xur and the Ko-Dan. I'm a pretty busy guy, and my hour-long commute doesn't help. For the safety of the universe, this situation needs to change. Clearly, the best thing that could happen for my commute is for GM to go bankrupt. It seems inevitable anyway, what with The Truth About Cars GM Death Watch already up to part 267. It's incredible that the company has survived this long. So what happens if GM folds, moves to Korea, or gets bought by Toyota? Fewer jobs, that's what, which means fewer people on the road. My commute would be a traffic-free joyride. But consider the secondary effects. Road congestion would be lessened even more by all the suppliers that would close down in the wake of GM's demise. There would be a lot less pollution as well. The mass exodus from the Metro Detroit region would also mean way fewer people eating out, so I'll never have to wait in line at lunch. And the loss in tax revenue to local municipalities will result in less money for police patrols, turning our highways into de-facto autobahns. The only negative consequence to this scenario is that the reduced population will leave the area ripe for a zombie invasion, but that's okay. I can fight zombies, I can't fight traffic. Mike Austin Posted - March 27, 2006 Permalink That New BMMMMMMMMW Smell I know there has been recent research that says the delectable new car smell is actually dangerous but I just don't care. When you get a test car with low miles on it, like the BMW 325xi that drove up on Monday, the new car smell is a bonus. It's much better than the stale auto journalist smell most test cars arrive with. 
Dave Posted - March 20, 2006 Permalink Where's the Beef? I just managed a paltry 16.3 mpg in a 2007 Tahoe on my 50-mile (each way) daily commute, 90 percent of which is highway driving. The problem? The 4-wheel drive Tahoe claims a fuel economy of 15 city, 22 highway. The last Tahoe I drove, which I took to Chicago, only gave back 14 miles per gallon. That truck had barely any miles on it and was a preproduction unit, so I was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. But that's not the case here since the more recent 'Hoe was well above its break-in miles. I'm no lead-foot either, the soul-crushing banality of commuting, combined with my need to eat donut-burgers while driving, suppresses my normal urge to speed. I see at least 27 mpg in our long-term Cobalt SS SC and our long-term Audi A3 gets around 30 mph when I'm behind the wheel. So what's the deal? I'm not about to suggest some grand conspiracy, like Chevy tuning its press cars for a little extra power at the expense of economy. More likely it's just another case of GM over-promising and under-performing. Which is too bad, because everything else about the Tahoe is great, especially the interior. Mike Austin Posted - March 17, 2006 Permalink A Look At The Donut BurgerHere at mph we're always looking for the cutting edge in motoring, even in the fast-food segment. Currently Krispy Kreme is running small scale tests of a new hamburger at a minor league baseball stadium in Illinois. Yes, that's a hamburger patty, slice of cheddar, and two slices of bacon wedged between a glazed Krispy Kreme donut. Doctors are reporting that this is the biggest revolution in fat-delivery since Burger King's Enormous Omelet Sandwich. The originator says the donut burger will be a hit because "It's a meal and a dessert all in one." The specs: What Is It? Hamburger/Donut hybrid How Much? $4.50 Calories: 1,000 (est.) Grams of fat: 45 Avg eating time: 45 seconds. [hat tip ESPN.com] Dave Posted - March 10, 2006 Permalink Almost Makes You Want To Buy OneLet's say you're a Saturn owner, or a potential Saturn owner, and are wondering "What's an Opel?" Since the future of Saturn will look somewhat like what Opel is doing in Europe right now, Darin thought this promotional video for the current Opel line-up might be informative. Yes, it's in German. And I think if we bring the twirling spokesman over here, Saturn will sell like hotcakes.Dave Posted - March 10, 2006 Permalink |
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