Honda's watched from the sidelines for the better part of a decade as the Toyota Prius left its hybrids in the dust to become the must-have ride of the green set. Fed up with being an also-ran, Honda hopes to take down Toyota with an entry-level hybrid that gets 60 mpg and costs about $19,000.

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/08/hondas-gunning.html

 

Good to hear, hope its flex-fuel (E-85) !

 

Why in the world do you hope it is flex fuel? Right now E85 is about $3.50/gal here and normal gas is $3.80/gal... With a decrease in FE of about 20% that makes E85 much more expensive than normal gas.

 

I think the focus is to switch to a renewable, domestically produced energy source. I'm not a fan of ethanol, since it simply isn't viable in the long term, but you have to start somewhere.

BioDiesel is a much more likely long term solution, but that is a discussion for another thread.

 

The price of E85 varies depending upon your location. In the Midwest, it is selling in the $2.75 range. That is nearly a $1.00 a gallon cheaper than 87 octane where I live.

 

Not only is E85 cheaper and burn cleaner (less MPG so its 6 of one half dozen of the other) but it helps switch oil dependence from the mideast to the midwest

 

I agree with Robert!

Oh... I also think the Insight is waaay cooler!

Are you SURE that is not a Pruis with black tape?

 

I think E85 is a joke. All corn ethanol has done is quadrupled the price of groceries over the past 5 years or so.

 

Of course, anyone who says something like that, only proves their ignorance in the matter.
While this is not an E85 thread, the production of ethanol has raised food prices by single digit percentages. The generally accepted numbers are 3% to 5% affect on food prices.

The price of OIL, NATURAL GAS, and hence ELECTRICITY has doubled or tripled in recently.
And all those are inputs into the production of food.

2 or 3 years ago a BUSHEL of corn ( 56 pounds of corn ) was about $2.50.

Today, a BUSHEL of corn ( 56 pounds of it ) costs about $5.00.

How many pounds a week of corn, or corn products do you eat sir???

If you eat a whopping 56 pounds worth, your weekly food bill just went up $2.50.
I know, you had no idea, and I forgive you.

How much has your weekly gasoline bill gone up by???

Most industry experts will tell you, ethanol production has lowered the price at the pump for everyone. Estimates range from 6 cents per gallon to 30 cents per gallon, on a national average. This will totally cancel out your increase in food bill from the ethanol production, and them some, if you eat less than 56 pounds of corn per week.

I betcha most people use more than 56 pounds of fuel per week, which is about 8 gallons.

 

while Ethanol is a good subtitute for petrol it does have its disadvantages such as lower power of your vehicle and poorer fuel economy, here Ethonal blend petrol is about 5c/litre cheaper, i wont be putting E10 petrol (10% Ethanol) in my car as i dont think the advantages outweigh the savings.