Government tinkering with vehicle propulsion

[gmerkt]

The Federal Government gets involved in a lot of tinkering with what they think are enhancements to our society. Which isn't altogether a bad thing, but good intentions are not always followed through with good results. Or worse, the concept involved is flaky or corrupt from the start.

I got to thinking a while back about the FFV or Flex Fuel Vehicle concept. Which was about substituting plant-based alcohol fuels for gasoline. E85 was the product, which was actually 83% alcohol and 17% fossil fuel gasoline. This was pushed in an effort for the country to become more fuel independent. Well, right away we can think of the chief beneficiaries being agricultural interests. Meaning, growers of and middlemen dealing in corn commodities. Which have a significant lobbying presence in Wash. DC.

However, I've been wondering about all those Ford Crown Victoria police cars of the 2000's that came with a Flex Fuel badge on the back and were built with components that made them compatible with burning E85 fuel. What I wondered was, why all these cars were built for fleet sales all over the country when E85 was sold in limited locations in the midwest. Corn Country. Only lately did I discover the answer. Which is, for the auto manufacturers, their CAFE (EPA fuel mileage numbers) were tied to vehicles made to Flex Fuel specs. Specifically, for CAFE purposes, the vehicles built to Flex Fuel specs had only the 17% fossil fuel gasoline content of E85 counted toward CAFE. And, they could count all those Flex Fuel capable vehicles, most of which were never run on E85, toward the fudged CAFE numbers. No doubt there were many other models made as Flex Fuel units on this basis.

Now we've got Federal and state governments pushing hard for conversion to electric vehicles. You have to wonder, is that being properly thought through?

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[Nosferatu]

Now we've got Federal and state governments pushing hard for conversion to electric vehicles. You have to wonder, is that being properly thought through?

Is that a trick question?

Since when has "the governemnt" thought something through beyond lining the pockets of those pushing the product?

 

[ob1]

So now Ii know where I need to go to find a decent sized piece of corn on the cob, Chevron.
When in season, the grocery stores sell something that looks more like a .38 bore brush.
I can remember my grandpa talking about how cobs were used during the depression era as a Charmin substitute.

Ok...my contribution to a Thanksgiving thread drift. I''m out before someone asks me what caliber cob I use.

 

[gmerkt]

I can remember my grandpa talking about how cobs were used during the depression era as a Charmin substitute.

Oh yeah, nothing was wasted by my Depression-In-Iowa parents and grandparents. The technique was, a red cob first, then a yellow cob to see if you needed to follow up with another red cob.