GM, Molson Coors Join To Fuel VIP Vehicles In Denver

General Motors and Molson are working together to provide Democratic VIP delegates with flex-fuel vehicles that operate on E85 produced in part by "waste beer." According to Molson Coors, which is based in Golden, CO, it provides about 3 million gallons of "vehicle-ready" ethanol each year.

GM will supply 400 flex-fuel and hybrid vehicles to the convention, which starts August 25. For its part, GM says that it is working toward a goal of making half of its consumer vehicle fleet flex-fuel capable by 2012. GM recently joined an automotive trade group in asking Federal regulators to ease the proposed NHTSA CAFE standards, which could take effect in 2011. The new standards call for fleet-wide fuel economy averages of 31 mpg overall, with higher mpg ratings for passenger cars, and lower mpg ratings for trucks and SUVs.

Automakers are already spending hundreds of millions of dollars to develop more efficient, cleaner fuels. Flex fuel vehicles do not provide an increase in fuel economy, but rather offer slightly lower CO2 emissions than conventionally fueled vehicles. One of the major criticism of E85 is that it is not cost effective compared to conventional gasoline, and that it does not increase the fuel economy of a vehicle. If automakers are under mandates to produce vehicles that are both cleaner and more fuel efficient, it is unclear how flex-fuel vehicles will fit into the automakers' long-term strategy, if E85 does not also reduce a vehicle's fuel consumption.

Source: Edmunds Inside Line