MI: Methanol Industry Praised Ford and Chrysler FFV Offerings

Methanol Industry Praised Ford and Chrysler FFV Offerings

WASHINGTON (June 10, 1997) — The methanol industry today offered its praise to the Ford Motor Company and the Chrysler Corporation for their announced plans to offer hundreds of thousands of flexible fuel cars, minivans and pickup trucks capable of running on alcohol fuels.

"This is exactly what fleet operators have been calling for, a broader range of flexible fuel vehicles," said Methanol Institute President and CEO John Lynn. "In California, where there are over 14,000 methanol FFVs and 58 public methanol refueling stations, we encourage the automakers to offer methanol versions of their FFV cars, pickup trucks and minivans."

On June 3rd, Ford announced it would build 250,000 flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) over the next four model years, including ethanol capable Taurus sedans, Ranger pickups and Windstar minivans. Ford also offers a methanol version of the Taurus FFV. Today, Chrysler is expected to announce that as many as one third of the 550,000 minivans it sells each year will be ethanol compatible.

Ford was the first automaker to offer a flexible fuel vehicle capable of running on any combination of gasoline or an alcohol fuel in the same fuel tank. In 1991, Ford built more than 1,300 methanol FFVs, and in 1993, Ford began production of the methanol Taurus FFV, selling nearly 2,800 units. In both 1994 and 1995, Ford built 2,200 methanol Taurus sedans. The ethanol Taurus FFV was introduced in 1996, when Ford sold a total of 5,500 methanol and ethanol FFVs. Both Chrysler and General Motors have produced methanol FFVs in the past, with Chrysler selling methanol FFV versions of the Spirit, Acclaim and Intrepid sedans and GM offering a methanol Lumina FFV.

Both methanol and ethanol FFVs use parts with alcohol compatible materials, including the fuel pump, fuel injectors and fuel lines. A fuel sensor automatically detects the percentage of alcohol in the tank and then adjusts the spark timing and fuel flow accordingly.

On May 16th, a joint letter to Ford signed by the Methanol Institute, the California Air Resources Board, California Energy Commission, South Coast Air Quality Management District and the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District encouraged the automaker to make the methanol FFV package a standard component of all 1997 Taurus GL sedans sold in California.

The letter stated that, "While fleet operators provide the core market for alternative fuel vehicles today, the real challenge is to break into the consumer marketplace. We suggest that California is the place to make this break, and the methanol Taurus FFV is the vehicle that can do it. Given the pricing of M-85 (a blend of 85% methanol and 15% gasoline) at the pump, the availability of an extensive fueling network, and the sticker price of the Taurus FFV, this is the time."

Methanol has a lower energy content than gasoline, so that it takes 1.6 gallons of M-85 to provide the same range as a gallon of gasoline. Even after adjusting for energy content, at the pump methanol is priced at regular unleaded gasoline levels in California.

The methanol fueling infrastructure was established by the California Energy Commission in cooperation with the state's major gasoline retailers. There are now 58 public retail methanol fueling stations in locations stretching from San Diego to Sacramento. Additionally, there are 50 private methanol fueling stations operated in California, and another 30 methanol stations across the country and in Canada largely operated by public and private fleets. According to the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, there are currently 28 public ethanol fueling station located in 13 states with plans to build more.

For the 1997 model year, Ford is offering a special incentive that brings the sticker price of the Taurus FFV to $345 less than the cost of a comparable gasoline model.

Methanol is a liquid chemical that can be made from renewable resources such as municipal solid waste and biomass crops. Today, methanol is primarily made from domestic natural gas. The United States produces nearly one-quarter of the world's supply of methanol. In 1996, methanol production capacity from 18 U.S. plants in 8 states totaled 2.5 billion gallons.

The Methanol Institute (MI) serves as the voice of the methanol industry in Washington and across the country. MI works to support the use of clean reformulated and oxygenated gasoline, promote the use of methanol as an alternative fuel, and encourage the development of emerging methanol-powered fuel cells.

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