DB writes Greenmesh:

I just noticed that Tom's on the East has E-85 gas. I am impressed with that and am wondering if I can use it in my Toyota Matrix without any adjustments.

I don't believe that your Toyota Matrix (year?) is a "flex-fuel" vehicle. It can probably tolerate ethanol amounts of up to 5-10%, but not the 85% in E85. Manufacturers usually state pretty boldly in the user's manual if your car can tolerate ethanol blend and what percentage it can tolerate. My Honda Civic hybrid says 5%.

Toyota and Honda haven't been big ethanol fans. Honda's plan is to go with clean diesel technology as an alternative fuel; both have been developing hybrids for the past decade. General Motors, and Chrysler have many flex-fuel cars, but a majority of those cars on the road never use E85. For a couple hundred extra a car and not much R/D it's an easy green marketing handle.

Understand that while it looks inexpensive to buy ethanol because it is heavily subsidized by tax dollars, your fuel mileage (if the car can take it) will probably decrease by 20%, so the cost savings to you may be a wash. If it was the same price as gasoline, people would not buy it.

Here is a chart from fueleconomy.gov that shows ethanol compatible models for each year. Not that for every vehicle, it costs more and it gets worse mileage than gasoline.

Our ethanol is produced from corn which has driven up the price related food stock, takes alot of energy to produce and can only be transported by trucks, which use more fuel, to transport. Corn needs alot of water and fertilizer to grow and uses more water at the refinery.

Although I too am impressed that Tom's would take the risk and spent $$$ to convert a pump to ethanol to test market an alternative fuel. In the end, however, there isn't much to be impressed about with corn based ethanol.

However, we can hope that some inventive spirit and hero will harness their brain power and conscience, figure out a way to excite people who want to make piles of money fast with investment, and come up with a way to harness ethanol from something other than a food stock.

At that point flex-fuel vehicles will sing a whole new happy song.