General Motors and BP Launch E85 Fuel Program
FOR RELEASE: May 10, 2001General Motors and BP Launch E85 Fuel Program
Michigan station to be re-fueling home for GM company vehicles
DETROIT – General Motors is promoting the use of E85 renewable, alternative fuel in its company-owned vehicles in southeastern Michigan.
In continuation of its longstanding partnership with BP, GM will ask employees at GM facilities located in Pontiac, Warren and Detroit, Mich. who drive E85 compatible vehicles to refuel at a nearby Amoco station. The alternative fuel, composed of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, is now available at the Amoco station located at 3841 South Rochester Road in Rochester Hills, Mich.
“All GM vehicles including our E85 vehicles are engineered to meet today’s low emission requirements,” said Tom Stephens, GM vice president of vehicle integration engineering. “But using E85 makes sense because it is a renewable transportation fuel. Although GM’s E85 compatible vehicles can use gasoline, we want to encourage the use of E85 whenever possible.”
Currently the Chevrolet S-10 and GMC Sonoma 4-cylinder pickup trucks are GM’s E85 compatible vehicles. In just a few months, all 2002 model year GM full-sized sport-utility vehicles, including Chevrolet Tahoes and Suburbans and GMC Yukons, equipped with 5.3-liter V8 engines will also be E85 compatible. In addition to making GM a major producer of E85 compatible vehicles, the share of E85 vehicles in GM’s company fleet will be substantially increased.
“GM is pleased that BP is supporting GM in demonstrating our commitment to the use of renewable fuels by making E85 available for our fleet in metropolitan Detroit,” said Dennis Minano, GM vice president, chief environmental officer. “E85 is an alternative fuel that makes sense. We recognize that the sustainability of our business is dependent on the sustainability of our environment, and we act on that belief.”
“As a leader in the development, refining and marketing of clean fuels, BP is pleased to make E85 available for GM’s company fleet,” said Tom Bond, BP’s director of global fuels technology. “It’s a natural follow-on to supplying clean, low sulfur gasoline to several of GM’s US assembly plants, and many other joint activities involving policy, products and clean fuel and clean vehicle technologies.”
Ethanol is domestically produced from agricultural products. Currently ethanol is made primarily from corn, but in the future, it could also be produced using woods, grasses and waste cellulose-containing materials. It is a renewable fuel, meaning the supply of ethanol is virtually unlimited.
