By Eileen Buckley
Tonawanda, NY – Environmentally friendlier vehicle engines are being produced at GM's Tonawanda Plant. The ethanol powered car engines could provide a new alternative for drivers seeking cheaper fuel prices.
At the Tonawanda Engine Plant on River road workers have manufactured about 170,000 V-6, E-85 Flex Fuel engines for the past year. The engines are being installed in the Chevy Impala and Tahoe and operate on ethanol as well as gasoline.
John Crabtree, plant manager, says there are economical and environmental benefits when using ethanol.
"It helps to reduce greenhouse gases. It reduces dependency on foreign oil. Ethanol is a renewable fuel and helps improve vehicle performance," said Crabtree.
But finding ethanol in this region would certainly be a challenge. Mike Newman, executive vice president of NOCO, says it's not available.
"There is not E-85, or E-80, or even E-5 for that matter, that is available," said Newman.
Newman says with little production in New York State, ethanol is very expensive. He says much of the ethanol supply is already being consumed in other parts of the U-S require it under the Clean Air Act. Areas like Texas, Washington and Philadelphia.
"Even if I went on line right now to try to talk with our suppliers to find the product, I would likely be told it would be two to there months before any product would likely comes on stream," noted Newman.
But Newman says it will definitely be part of his company's portfolio in the future.
Dr. Gary Horvat is the assistant chief engineer for V6-engines at the Tonawanda Plant. He says consumers like to have a choice of fuel they put in vehicle. He says over time ethanol will be available in this area.
"The gasoline stations, from being very limited in applications, are now growing all the time. There are 650 stations nationwide that now carrying ethanol," said Horvat.
General Motors has more than 1.5 million of the flex fuel cars on the road across U-S, and expects that number to double that by the end of the decade.