The Governor's Ethanol Coalition is a
bipartisan group of governors devoted to the promotion and increased
use of ethanol. As part of GM's relationship with the GEC, General
Motors has loaned an E85-capable Chevrolet Tahoe to the state of
Indiana that will continue to be showcased in various ways and events
throughout the year.
Lt. Governor Becky Skillman was on
hand, along with the FlexFuel Chevrolet Tahoe. "Indiana is rapidly
becoming a national leader in the production of biofuels," said Lt.
Gov. Skillman. "Governor Daniels and I appreciate GM's support of
alternative fuels and promotion of flex-fuel vehicles. I look forward
to continuing to promote E85 ethanol as I travel the state in the Tahoe
and visit with Hoosiers in every corner of Indiana."
"We are
delighted to continue our work with the Governor's Ethanol Coalition
and the State of Indiana on this important campaign to promote E85
ethanol," said Elizabeth Lowery, Vice President of Environment, Energy
and Safety Policy, General Motors. "At GM, we believe that the biofuel
with the greatest potential to displace petroleum-based fuels in the
U.S. is ethanol and we have made a major commitment to vehicles that
can run on E85 ethanol--with over two million of our FlexFuel vehicles
on the road today and plans to expand production going forward. We will
continue to work with government, organizations and retailers to
promote increased use and awareness of E85 ethanol across the country."
Offering
E85 flexible fuel vehicles and promoting the use of E85 ethanol is an
important element in GM's commitment to improve vehicle emissions and
reduce dependence on petroleum. Since 2005, GM has loaned E85 flexible
fuel vehicles to 30 states and organizations so they may use them to
educate the public and promote the benefits of using ethanol.
Today's
announcement is the latest of a series of efforts GM has made to
promote E85 ethanol in the state. In May of 2006, General Motors
announced that it had facilitated a collaborative partnership with
Meijer and the state of Indiana to add several new E85 ethanol fueling
sites throughout Indiana. GM has been the catalyst behind several
similar partnerships across the country as part of a broader, national
GM campaign to boost the use and awareness of ethanol-based E85 fuel in
the United States. Since May of 2005, GM has announced partnerships in
13 states (South Dakota, California, Colorado, Texas, Illinois,
Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, New York and
Virginia) to locate more than 250 E85 fueling pumps at stations around
the country.
GM's E85 partnership and marketing campaign are
designed to encourage greater E85 use and showcase GM's E85 FlexFuel
vehicle leadership to U.S. consumers. E85 FlexFuel vehicles can run on
any combination of gasoline and/or E85, a fuel blend of 85 percent
ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. E85 can contribute to energy
independence because it diversifies the source of transportation fuels
beyond petroleum, and it provides positive environmental benefits in
the form of reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
Today, GM has
over two million E85 FlexFuel vehicles on the road in all 50 states,
and will produce more this year. For the 2007 model year, GM is
offering 16 E85 ethanol-capable vehicle models, with an annual
production of more than 400,000 vehicles. This is more than any other
manufacturer.
GM believes that developing alternative sources
of energy and propulsion is the key to mitigating many of the issues
surrounding energy availability. Producing E85 FlexFuel vehicles is one
part of GM's strategy to help reduce the use of petroleum and also
reduce vehicle emissions. GM's strategy also includes improving the
efficiency of the traditional internal combustion engine with
technologies available today; and developing electrically-driven
vehicles such as hybrids, plug-in hybrids, fuel cell vehicles, and
electric vehicles.