Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Need a good sweeps story? Here's one almost no one is covering

I'm fortunate in that I know a few good mechanics. When I started seeing little stickers on gas pumps which read "contains 10 percent ethanol" earlier this year, I asked one his opinion. He didn't think it was good for older cars (since I have one) and isn't kind to plastic and rubber parts. And putting it in a lawn mower really isn't a good idea. Fine. I started cruising past stations with ethanol for ones that were ethanol-free.

Yesterday I was in Florida and zipped through seven gas stations, all selling gasoline with ethanol. Finally I saw one with a sign. "No ethanol!" I went inside and talked to the owner, who was doing big business selling ethanol-free gas.

When I got home I started reading articles about ethanol online, how it can affect your engine, how it will give you lower gas mileage. (Wonder how your station's newscar gasoline budget is doing with that factored in?)

While I understand we must reduce our dependence on foreign oil, this trend seems like it bears looking into.

And let's face it, it's a story that affects everyone in the country.

1 comment:

turdpolisher said...

did this one summer 08. now there are no gas stations in baton rouge withoug at least 10% ethanol.

mechanics are having a field day.