Which Fuel is Right for You?

Posted on April 18th, 2008 by Bryan

Struggling to understand the differences of all the alternative fuels available today? Do you need a little clairity to get you started in your next automobile purchase?

Here is a little primer on the similarities and differences of the ways that you can fuel your cars today. It certainly is not as easy as it was a few year ago when you went to your local car dealer and picked out the color that you wanted. Each alternative fuel is better or more useful for your particular needs. Do a little research and find which one is best for you.

	Gasoline	Ethanol	Biodiesel	Straight Vegitable Oil	Hybrid/Electric
Modifications	None	Done by Manufacturer	None on most models	Parallel Fuel System installed	None
Price	Regular MSRP	No Price Upgrade	Regular MSRP	MSRP pluse $1,000 to $2,500 conversion	$2,000 to $10,000 over Gas MSRP
Gas Milage	Depends on Engine and Fuel Grade	30 % less than regular Gasoline	Same as regular Diesel	Same as regular Diesel	32-46 Miles per Gallon
Source of Energy	Oil	Corn, other Alcohol based plants	Soybeans and other oil based plants	Used Cooking Oil	Oil for the engine, Engine charges acid based battery
Emissions	Smog and Ozone depleating emissions	Smog and Ozone depleating emissions and Carcinagenic emissions	Virtually no emissions except NOx (smog inducing emissions)	Virtually no emissions except NOx	Same as gasoline only in less quantities.
Availability	Everywhere	Limited	Limited	Check with your local resturant	Everywhere
Quantity	To run out sometime in the next 50 years	Limited only by corn production and consumption for food	Limited by soybean production and counsumption for other goods including food	Limited by consumption of resturants.	To run out sometime in the next 50 years.
Ease of Use	Easiest	Easy	Easy	Some difficulty	Easy