How far back should America look for examples that deal with an accellerating worldwide energy crisis? The 1970s? 1908?

Two weeks ago, President Joe Biden announced that “his administration will lift the summertime ban on E15 gasoline to help ease high gas prices.” [1]

As the name implies E15 gasoline contains a 10.5% to 15% blend of anhyudrous ethanol. “The sale of E15 gasoline is usually prohibited from June to mid-September because of air quality concerns.” [2-4]

Although such flexible options have only been a part of mainstream vernacular for the last dozen-plus years, =Motor Trend has noted that the “Model T, built from 1908 to 1927, featured carburator jets that could be adjusted to let the engine run on gasoline, ethanol, or a mix of the two ….” An immediate disclaimer to the foregoing noted that “‘flexing’ it may have required some under-hood screwdriver fiddling.” [5]

In terms of vehicles operating on roads today, “screwdriver fiddling” has given way to electronic sensors that are able to precisely determine ethanol ratios in real-time, transmit that data to corresponding electronic control units that instruct downstream components to optimize combustion. Adapting older automobiles for such flexibility involves more than retrofitting a sensor; for example, injectors and fuel pumps would be part of the checklist. [6,7]

Bryan Corfman of Corfman Auto Plus in downtown Saline Michigan is not a fan of E10 — let alone going further. His real-world experience validates concerns shared by tech reporters regarding emission issues and component wear, especially on older and not-so-smart cars, and certainly yard equipment. [8]

“Don’t expect to get more than a season out of your lawnmower on E15,” he shared as word of caution to Saline Journal last week. “You’re better off going up to the hardware store and buying gas of their shelf without ethanol. But it’s not cheap.” [9]

Looking again back to the past as prologue, just under years ago, Chrysler Corporation was rather deep into its turbine project. “This gas-turbine enthusiasm kept building on itself until, finally, the future began to lose its fuzziness. On May 14, 1963, at the Essex House hotel in New York City, Chrysler unveiled a turbine car that wasn’t a prototype,” recalled Patrick Bedard in a 1989 retrospective for Car and Driver. [10,11]

Chrysler seemed to be out front, closest to the day when we’d all be whirring around in jet-age cars devoid of cooling systems, mufflers, pistons, valves, carburetors, and the need for gasoline.

They’d run on kerosene or diesel fuel or, gee, even vodka if you were into party tricks. Chrysler publicists, at a press gala, went so far as to pour in a few precious ounces of fancy French perfume. All it did was give the exhaust that come-hither scent, according to the reviews.

The Turbine Car also reportedly ran on tequila — by request of Adolfo Mateos, then-president of Mèxico. [12]

No word on whether or not it will run on canola oil, however, following The White House announcement that the United States Environmental Protection Agency “is proposing a new approval for canola oil” as part of its “commitment to approving new petitions for renewable fuels that can provide greenhouse gas benefits as well as reduce reliance on petroleum fuels.” [13]

Southeast Michigan automobile appraiser CR Patton of Patton Equity Group is not a fan of the 1960s Chrysler experiment as a go-to model for current or future initiatives. In discussion with Saline Journal, he characterized it as an effort “to provide George Jetson with a toy he could enjoy. [14]

Instead, George refused to follow the instructions.

In his estimation, mainstream acceptance of E10-E15 fueling sources is imperative. He sees a coming together of Generation X, Y, Z drivers with “American car collector guys” on the inevitability of flexible options as a “must.”

And with that, a 360° experts-assessment of this Biden Administration response to the emerging global energy crisis — with choice of options still apparently limited only by consumer ability and interest in spending to exercise right-of-preference. [15,16]

Unlike its visible counterpart of the 1970s, however, that window for choice appears to be rapidly closing. [17]

In fact, it appears to have become decidedly more constricted during the last twenty-four hours. [18]

References

1. “What are the pros and cons of E15 gas? Here’s what to know about Biden’s order” Ella Nilsen (April 12, 2022) CNN.
2. “What are flex-fuel vehicles? Can they cut our dependence on petrol?” Business Standard (November 16, 2021) YouTube (3:30 minutes).
3. “Ethanol Blends” United States Department of Energy.
4. “Biden announces emergency waiver on summer ethanol ban to combat rising gas prices” Donald Judd and Meagan Vazquez (April 12, 2022) CNN.
5. “What Is Flex Fuel? A Look at the Past, Present, and Future of E85” Frank Markus (April 3, 2020) Motor Trend.
6. “Demystifying E85 & Flex Fuel” TheTuningSchool (March 17, 2020) YouTube (9:25 minutes).
7. “How to Calculate Stoichiometric Air Fuel Ratio? | Automobile Engineering” Magic Marks (January 15, 2014) YouTube (1:43 minutes).
8. Corfman Auto Plus (home page).
9. “Revisiting the Future with the 1963 Chrysler Turbine Car” Patrick Bedard (May 1989) Car and Driver.
10. “1963 Chrysler Turbine: Ultimate Edition – Jay Leno’s Garage” Jay Leno’s Garage (November 7, 2012) YouTube (24:29 minutes).
11. The remarkable Chrysler Turbine Car (home page).
12. “That Time the President of Mexico Rode in a Turbine Chrysler Fueld by Tequila” Steve Lehto (April 17, 2017) Road & Track Magazine.
13. “Fact Sheet: Using Homegrown Biofuels to Address Putin’s Price Hike at the Pump and Lower Costs for American Families” (April 12, 2022) The White House.
14. “If ‘Hobbyists’ Are Open-Minded, There May Still be a Future for Traditional Car Collectors” Dell Deaton (May 11, 2018) Saline Journal.
15. “Biden’s energy policies: Fossil fuels powering the world but not in America” Penny Starr (October 8, 2021) Breitbart.
16. “Report: The emerging global natural gas market and the energy crisis of 2021-2022” Morgan D Bazilian, Alex Gilbert, and Samantha Gross (December 2021) The Brookings Institution.
17. “1970s Energy Crisis on Reel America – Preview” C-SPAN (September 28, 2015) YouTube (4:39 minutes).
18. “Ukraine war: Russia halts gas exports to Poland and Bulgaria” Faisal Islam (April 27, 2022) BBC News.