Date:         Tue, 12 Jun 2007 07:22:29 -0400
Reply-To:     John Reddick <SVYOLO@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Reddick <SVYOLO@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: OT E85 in our future?

Easy JIm, that wasn't a personal attack, just my strongly held opinion
of the current state of ethanol economics in the US.
   I would love to put a cleaner burning fuel in my vehicle, or have an
electric vehicle. I would love to put an affordable TDI in my Vanagon and
burn biodiesel. The problem is none of these options currently exist for
most of us in the real world.
   Most of our vans will be long gone before ethanol, or E85, becomes a
widely available and affordable. It will take a decade or two to build the
infrastructure to produce it.
   Veggie oil and biodiesel?  Easily done at home and interesting.  Not
widely available commercially.  TDI's are too scarce and too expensive for
most Vanagon owners, including me.
   Anyone wanting to make a statement and burn E85 is free to do so.  It
is a free country. Same with biodiesel or putting 20 golf cart batteries
in their van and going electric.
   As far as the remark about us not selling an E85 tuned engine
conversion - no customer has ever asked us for it.  Not one. When and if
E85 becomes widely available and our customers are clamoring for its use,
we will offer it. Until that time it doesn't make sense for us to spend
development time on what is currently a pipe dream.

John