Tank #44

I filled up at Meijer last night. Both E85 and regular gas cost $2.70. The bastards.

I got 6.017 gallons of E85 and 8.007 gallons of regular. The ethanol content of the tank is 39.42% and the octane is 94.2.

I got 23 mpg at 35 mph on the last tank. I did a lot of fast driving, that's why the mileage sucked so bad. I've also had the a/c on a lot, it's hot as hell in Chicago.

What should E85 cost? 6/15/09 edition

With Meijer now gouging their E85 customers again, I've revistied my spreadsheet where I calculate E85 prices based on the spot market for ethanol and unleaded, including the blender credit.

E85 in Indiana should cost between $1.98 and $2.10 a gallon. Meijer currently has it at $2.70 a gallon.

Can you say gouging?

Back in the bad old days of last summer, they priced E85 50 cents a gallon cheaper than regular. That would be about $2.15 a gallon now, which I think would be a very fair price.

One wonders why they price E85 as they do. They can't be selling any at these prices.

tank #43

I filled up at Meijer on June 6th. I got 6.025 gallons of E85 at $2.70 a gallon and 8.121 gallons of regular at $2.76 a gallon. This works out to be 38.83% ethanol and 93.9 octane.

The last tank, at 39.16% ethanol, got 22.4 mpg at 29 mph average speed.

As of today, E85 is still $2.70 a gallon. But regular has dropped to $2.66. I hate that!

Meijer goes back to their thieving ways

No sooner had I praised Meijer for letting their spreads widen then they closed the spread with a vengence.

E85 is now $2.70, and regular is $2.73. Youch.

Bastards.

It's too bad, because E85 was making a lot of sense at the 50 plus cent per gallon spreads of a week ago. I have to think that they were selling a lot of E85 back then, and nothing now.

Tank #42

I filled up at Meijer on the 27th. I got 6 gallons exactly of E85 at $2.10 and 7.862 gallons of 87 octane gasoline, with 2.538 gallons left from the last tank.

It works out to 35.55% ethanol in the tank and 93.95 Octane. I saved $5.65 by mixing in E85.

Since then, I've noticed gas as much as $2.66 a gallon, and E85 steady at $2.10. These are really nice spreads. It's nice to see Meijer let the spreads fall where they may, even if they're higher than 50 cents a gallon.

Was I being hard on Ed Wallace?

Was he right in taking offense as my characterization of his sources as "Bernie's Garage and Hot Dog Emporium"?

I think that that's rather funny.

Anyway, maybe I have too high expectations for so called journalists. I could blog an article with tighter sources than that BW article. At least I would provide some hyperlinks.

More from Ed Wallace

Woo. A little sensitive?

No, but when you open your blog with misstatements such as you did, doesn’t warrant any time for a response.

My reply:

Your article consisted of talking to a couple of mechanics and checking out a BMW discussion board. It was worthy of mockery.

Now, I think the Lexus thing is interesting. I googled it, but all I found was some press statements and such. Why don't you do a little... reporting? Talk to the Lexus engineers. What was the metallurgy of the components that were destroyed by ethanol? Was it 10% ethanol that did it?

Your mechanic buddies made a pretty bold claim when they said that they checked the ethanol content of the tank that had the failed fuel pump. 18% ethanol? Where did that come from? You seem to be slandering the retail gasoline industry, implying that they're spiking their gas with illegal amounts of ethanol. Where did that gasoline come from? Which retailers are spiking their gas?

Maybe the Lexus engineers have some insight. Are they seeing ethanol contents higher than 10%? Are there Lexus owners who are mixing their own gas, like I am, and causing problems? Or is it the retailers?

I'm just sick and tired of the misinformation out there about ethanol. That's why I started mixing ethanol in my gas. I want to prove, one way or the other, that it's either OK or causes damage. No more BS articles about mechanics and discussion boards. I want hard proof, and I took it upon myself to do it.