General Motors is providing the State of Iowa with a vehicle that burns a gas mix that’s 85-percent ethanol in hopes of literally driving people to buy similar vehicles. G-M spokesman Ed Wallace says they’re giving 25 states that produce ethanol the vehicles that burn the “E-85” fuel in hopes opening up the public market. He says a good part of their market up to now has been state vehicle fleets and agricultural organizations — but this summer they’re producing their first E-85 car aimed at families. He says they hope getting an E-85 engine as an option will be the same as choosing power seats and other accessories. Wallace presented the vehicle to the state Wednesday, and G-M’s also providing E-85 vehicles for the upcoming National Governor’s conference in Des Moines. Wallace says there’s another important factor that will help sell the E-85 vehicles. He says if E-85 fuel stays at 50 cents less than gasoline as it is right now, he expects it to catch on quickly. He says it’s also important to get E-85 at more gas stations so people can pull up and use it like any other gas mix. Wallace says the E-85 vehicles won’t cost much more than regular cars. He says the cost depends on what accessories you put on the vehicle. He says it’s not a prototype, they’ll all be the same. Wallace says G-M has already sold one-point-one million E-85 S-U-V’s and trucks and hopes to increase those sales with the introduction of the Impala car that burns E-85. Iowa gets to use the E-85 S-U-V for one year.
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