The Battle Between Automakers And Eps Over The Use Of E15 Heats On

By Author: Marty Bay
Total Articles: 423
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The arguments between the EPA and several US automakers over the use of E15 which is a mixture of gasoline and ethanol as an alternative fuel recently became a battle.

The battle was triggered by the Environmental Protection Agency’s move to promote the use of E15 on vehicles that were manufactured from 2011 to the present that were already sold to expensive and cheap new car buyers through cash or by using some of the available auto financing deals.

The EPA has actually cleared the way for the E15 to reach the gas stations. EPA’s clearing also made the sales of the E15 as an alternative fuel possible as early as last month.

However, this move gained a significant opposition from US car makers. As a matter of fact, a group composed of 13 foreign and domestic car makers opposed these activities initiated by the agency. This is because the 13 car makers view that the use of E15 might damage the engine of cars that were included on the car makers’ new car prices ...
... list.

The 13 car makers declared their utmost objection on the use of E15 as an alternative vehicle fuel through a letter that was released last Tuesday. In this letter, Honda pointed out that the use of E15 on cars could possibly cause engine failures. Honda’s statement was also supported by Chrysler saying that they do not agree with the idea that the E15 would not damage their vehicles’ engines.

To defend its move, the EPA claimed that they were able to complete the testing that would prove that the E15 is not harmful to the vehicles’ engines. In this claim, the EPA is referring to the test that they have conducted where the vehicles were allowed to run a distance of over 6 million miles using the E15 and this was completed without any engine damage on the vehicles used.

This test also allowed the EPA to conclude and restrict the use of E15 only to vehicles produced from 2001 up to the present. This alternative fuel will not be used on vehicles produced before 2001, recreational vehicles, and heavy duty vehicles such as buses and trucks for this might be dangerous.

But the automakers were not satisfied with this. They even added that use of the E15 voids the warranties provided by auto makers for new cars that they produce. Due to this, vehicle owners might end up spending more on car repairs in the event that their car engines are damaged by using the E15.

Due to their opposing views, there is an on-going battle between the EPA and automakers with regards to this issue. This will only be settled as soon as the House hearing scheduled sometime this week is finished.