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Biofuel Push Stalls In 'Car Crazy' Germany
NPR ^ | May 26, 2011

Posted on 05/26/2011 7:54:28 AM PDT by La Lydia

The Germans have a famous passion for automobiles, but it has run smack into European Union directives to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. So rather than ask German drivers to give up those highly tuned Mercedes or BMWs, the government is offering them "E10" — gas mixed with 10 percent ethanol, produced from corn and wheat. But there are two problems: German car lovers are refusing to buy it, and environmentalists say it's no greener than regular gas.

...The German Automobile Association says that some 85 percent of Germans are refusing to buy the biofuel, despite the fact that it is about 8 percent cheaper by the gallon than ordinary super unleaded gasoline.

But German consumers are not convinced. They say there are no guarantees the gas won't harm engines. Germany's attempt to up the amount of ethanol in fuel from 5 percent to 10 percent has proven such a tremendous commercial flop that gas companies in Germany have already drastically reduced production and distribution of E10.

The fuel was introduced as a measure to meet the EU's energy directive — which stipulates that 10 percent of transport fuel must come from renewable sources by the year 2020 as part of the bid to reduce overall energy consumption.

Meanwhile, environmental groups say ecological damage is another reason to steer clear of E10. They say the energy used to make and transport the fuel — as well as the pesticides and water used in the production of crops for ethanol — are just as damaging to the environment as filling up with regular.

Werner Reh, a traffic expert with Friends of the Earth Germany, charges that crop-derived fuels are also boosting global food prices....


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Foreign Affairs; Germany; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: energy; green; regulation
A giant scam, plus: more expensive food.
1 posted on 05/26/2011 7:54:30 AM PDT by La Lydia
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To: La Lydia
Well hell - just mandate it like in the US!
Consumers? What do thay know? The government knows what's best!
2 posted on 05/26/2011 7:59:30 AM PDT by grobdriver (Proud Member, Party Of No! No Socialism - No Fascism - Nobama - No Way!)
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To: grobdriver

This isn’t even their government. This is the unelected bureaucrats at the EU.


3 posted on 05/26/2011 8:00:41 AM PDT by La Lydia
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To: La Lydia

Germany showed us a thing or two.

Consumer activism at its best.


4 posted on 05/26/2011 8:02:16 AM PDT by ImJustAnotherOkie (zerogottago)
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To: La Lydia

So instead of doing the obvious, building more nukes in order to supply more energy, or using coal, they decide to dump their nukes and force ethanol onto the drivers. Good for German drivers for not buying into the ethanol BS.


5 posted on 05/26/2011 8:03:51 AM PDT by calex59
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To: La Lydia
But German consumers are not convinced. They say there are no guarantees the gas won't harm engines.

There is a lot of evidence that Ethanol ruins engines. There is tons of evidence that this garbage causes all types of headaches. In marine applications, E10 will eat away fiberglass tanks and send the sludge through the engine causing catastrophic failure. In older cars, it eats anything that is not metal.

There are still a few stations here that don't have the E10 and I go way out of my way to go there. The Krouts are very wise to disregard anything their Gov't says on this issue. They are being lied to like the rest of us.

The other thing to know is that Ethanol is low octane junk. It gets 10% less energy per gallon than gasoline.

6 posted on 05/26/2011 8:11:27 AM PDT by Lazlo in PA (Now living in a newly minted Red State.)
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To: La Lydia

I think the problem is actually quite simple. The German car owners have not yet learned to walk on their knees. It’s not too difficult, ask an American how we do it.


7 posted on 05/26/2011 8:14:00 AM PDT by B4Ranch (Allowing Islam into America is akin to injecting yourself with AIDS to prove how tolerant you are...)
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To: Lazlo in PA
They put 4% ethanol first and wiped out the fuel pump of my old truck. They wiped out the diaphragm of my ATV. Let the gas set for a couple weeks and the chainsaws do not like it and do not work too well. My old tractor does not have a pressurized tank so the ethanol evaporated leaving behind very poor fuel.
8 posted on 05/26/2011 8:24:15 AM PDT by mountainlion (A nation that forgets it's past has no future. WinstonChirchill)
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To: steelyourfaith

Ping.


9 posted on 05/26/2011 8:33:12 AM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four fried chickens and a coke)
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To: B4Ranch

Germans know about tyranny.


10 posted on 05/26/2011 8:39:45 AM PDT by La Lydia
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To: Lazlo in PA

i do small engine repair work,this stuff will ruin carbs,and turn fuel lines to jelly.


11 posted on 05/26/2011 9:05:07 AM PDT by old gringo
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To: old gringo

Yep, cost me $350 to repair two lawn mowner, glad I didn’t need to use my chainsaw last year.


12 posted on 05/26/2011 9:16:32 AM PDT by razorback-bert (Some days it's not worth chewing through the straps.)
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To: La Lydia

Exactly. They remember what the Wall meant. Americans have no idea about that kind of life. We’re (I say “we” as a society) so used to walking on our knees I think most of us wouldn’t know how to act if we actually stood up for something.


13 posted on 05/26/2011 10:03:22 AM PDT by B4Ranch (Allowing Islam into America is akin to injecting yourself with AIDS to prove how tolerant you are...)
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To: Army Air Corps; DollyCali; markomalley; Bockscar; Thunder90; Dr. Bogus Pachysandra; Normandy; ...
Thanx for the ping Army Air Corps !

 


Beam me to Planet Gore !

14 posted on 05/26/2011 10:31:42 AM PDT by steelyourfaith (If it's "green" ... it's crap !!!)
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