“Environmentally, ethanol is very much a mixed bag. It takes more energy to make a gallon of ethanol than the energy you get when you burn it. It ain’t a renewable fuel.”

The same could be said about every automotive fuel. It takes a lot of energy to distill alcohol and it takes a huge amount of energy to locate, drill, pump, and refine petroleum. Battery powered cars are inefficient as well when you consider how much charge is put into a battery and how much electricity is then available to turn the wheels. Probably more than half the energy is wasted to battery inefficiency.

The most important considerations with regard to alternative fuels are always going to be mobility and availability.

I will agree though that the whole ethanol issue has been turned into a giant farming subsidy program...

Scott