Before today’s near-exclusive focus on batteries as an alternative to powering vehicles, there was an a major and ongoing effort to explore options to decrease gasoline use and mitigate emissions. Those fuels were many and varied, ranging from biodiesel and methanol to natural gas and hydrogen. One fuel stood out so dramatically as a seamless drop-in alternative to gasoline that it was embraced by many automakers by the millions in their production vehicles. That fuel – E85 ethanol – prompted a significant effort to establish E85 fueling stations and promote this as a viable alternative fuel. This eventually faded away as momentum for heavily-subsidized battery electric vehicles eclipsed movement toward all other fuel alternatives. But before that happened, Chevrolet’s high-profile Avalanche became a poster child for E85 ethanol and created excitement about this fuel’s future potential. Here, we present this article from Green Car Journal’s extensive archives just as it ran in our Fall 2005 issue.
Excerpted from Fall 2005 Issue: It has a curb weight of more than 2 1/2 tons and is powered by a 295 horsepower Vortec 5300 V-8 engine, yet this full-size sport utility truck can operate on just 15 percent of the gasoline one would expect. No, General Motors didn’t finally pull the mythical 200 mpg carburetor out of the closet; this Chevy Avalanche is one of the General’s growing fleet of E85- capable flexible fuel vehicles.
E85 is a mixture of 15 percent gasoline and 85 percent ethanol. Ethanol is ethyl alcohol, a renewable fuel source typically made from corn. Other widely produced starchy grains like wheat or barley can also be used to make ethanol. The beauty of a flexible fuel vehicle (FFV) is that you aren’t out of luck if you can’t find an E85 station along your route. Flexible fuel means that these vehicles can operate on either E85 ethanol or gasoline and any combination of the two.
In addition to lowering our dependence on petroleum fuel, E85 is a cleaner fuel source with lower sulfur and aromatic hydrocarbon emissions. In fact, the V-8 powered Avalanche is clean enough to earn California’s stringent SULEV (Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle) rating and a Bin 8, LEV rating from the federal government. As a bonus, photosynthesis in the growing of corn feedstocks helps remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Ethanol does have a lower energy content than gasoline, so overall fuel economy may be slightly less when running on pure E85. However, ethanol proponents are quick to counter this by pointing out the economic benefits of using domestically produced corn as a fuel source, instead of imported oil.
One thing you won’t get with the E85 powered Avalanche is inconvenience. Time spent behind the wheel shows that performance is on par with a standard Vortec 5300 gasoline powered Avalanche. Plus, no driver input is required to switch fuel...the engine runs on any mix of either, seamlessly. The driver and passenger experience is quite normal in every respect. E85 can be hard to find, but the infrastructure is growing, with an estimated 300 fueling stations spread across the country.
The E85-capable Avalanche is just that – capable. This platform is a thoughtful blend of sport utility vehicle and pickup truck, making the Avalanche well suited for a wide variety of missions. What makes the Avalanche unique is the midgate rear cab wall that can be lowered to extend the abbreviated 5.3-foot bed length to more than eight feet. The process of folding the rear seats forward and lowering the midgate takes just moments and greatly increases the flexibility of the Avalanche to function as a full-size pickup. On the inside, the Avalanche can seat either five or six adults, depending on the front seat configuration ordered.
To help promote the use of ethanol in flexible fuel vehicles, General Motors has provided 28 state governments with Chevrolet Avalanche E85-capable demonstration vehicles. The move is designed to raise awareness for E85 as a viable, domestically produced alternative to gasoline. GM is currently the world’s leading producer of ethanol flexible fuel vehicles and offers flexible fuel vehicles for sale in all 50 states. In light of recent world events, ethanol may well gain the momentum needed to become a long-term alternative fuel contender.
