Skyline,
The US Congress passed a bill that will provide gas stations with a 30% tax credit for the cost of installing or converting pumps to E85, with a maximum credit amount of $30,000. That is what they think it will cost the stations to install them, but I guess they might be wrong about that. Here is a link to an article talking about it.
http://www.senate.gov/~dayton/news/d...fm?id=250500&&
I agree completely. If you don't need a new vehicle, don't just go out there and buy one because you might save a little money in gas. We will drive our cars until they are no longer able to be fixed and/or fixing them is not economical. Just because my wife and I make a lot of money by your standards, doesn't mean it is a lot of money for around here. Kind of like the first time I went to New York City and had to pay $10 for a slice of pizza. I am sure that you would think a little differently if you lived around here, and we don't make $300K. I wish we did because it would be nice to have another $100K sitting around. The smallest new single family homes here cost $600K and they come with .2 acres. Just in case you could not see the period in that last sentence, that is 2/10ths of an acre or two tenths of an acre. You can essentially see your neighbor on the comode if you look out your window and you can move the grass with a weed wacker. Basically, they are larger townhouses with just enough room to let your dog go outside to do his business. To try and afford a house, my wife and I will not be buying new cars and we drive average everyday cars (i.e., high end Sonata and low end Taurus). The Sonata has 85,000 miles on it and the Taurus has 145,000 miles on it, and they both need their oil changed. However, I have to worry about offending the neighbors and/or the HOA if I change the oil behind my garage. So, lets not make it seem like my life is all roses and I can just go out and buy whatever I want. If I could, I would be living in a 7,500 sf house with 3 acres, I would have a 500 acre farm less than an hour drive away, I would have a house in Ocean City on the bayside with a dock for a boat, I would also have another boat to fish in the Chesapeake Bay, I would be driving a Lincoln LS or Zephyr and my wife would have a Lincoln Navigator. Don't get me started on the guns I would buy, because that list would be really long. With all that said, I saw a sign the other day that said, "Stress less by wanting less." I might just try that out.
Now, if you do need a new vehicle, why not buy an E85 vehicle. Is cost an issue? Probably not. Regarding the cost for the flex fuel vehicle ("FFV") motor, I just went to the Ford website and built a F-150 Supercrew. There is absolutely no extra charge for the FFV motor. Mind you, if you buy the FFV motor, you can still run the vehicle on straight gasoline if E85 is not available around you. However, if E85 becomes available, then you have the choice of using it.
So, if you are in the market for a new vehicle, why wouldn't you buy an E85 vehicle if it doesn't cost anything extra?
As far as the cost of E85 is concerned, it has to be a little less than gasoline because the mpg for gas is greater than E85 even though E85 gives you more torque and horsepower.
You would think that competition would increase on the E85 fuel once there is more demand, thereby enticing additional manufacturers to enter the market. Right now, the limited amount of dealers in the area have a monopoly on the stuff. Lucky for me, the station around me is a government run station, so they probably would not charge me a huge markup. In Maryland, we have all of 4 E85 stations. I am hoping that the number increases with the $30,000 tax credit mentioned above. Ultimately, I am hoping that my wife gets a job across the street as a pharmacist, that I continue to work from home, and that the current vehicles we have area all that we will need for the next 20 years, but something tells me that ain't going to be so. The last vehicle I drove as a everyday driver was a 1980 Ford Fairmont and when it blew a ring I finally let it go at 18 years of age and with 235,000 miles on it. I am hoping to do better with my Taurus and to have my truck my entire life, but if I have to get another vehicle, it will either be a hybrid or an E85. Right now, I would lean toward E85.