About the Flexible Fuel Vehicle Club

Why start the Flexible Fuel Vehicle Club of America? It’s personal.

People that say “business isn’t personal”should not be in the energy business. The energy business is very personal, as it has become very obvious in the past few years that the price and use of crude oil and gasoline impacts everyone’s life – in many negative ways. I was tired of just complaining and refused to believe alternative fuel critics when they publicly touted to Congress and the media that “consumers don’t care enough to do anything about crude oil imports, gasoline prices, and they can’t use less, and they really don’t care enough about its impact on the environment or the economy to change their buying habits.” So I wanted to help give consumers the choice – do nothing or respond to the challenge. That is why the Flexible Fuel Vehicle Club of America was formed. After 30 years of advocating alternative fuels and talking to thousands of people from all walks of life, I still believe the majority of Americans are tired of just complaining and want to be empowered to act. They want competition in the fuel market and now they can have it. I am not alone in this belief. We have already received support and encouragement from the major FFV makers, auto dealers, policy makers, Congressional renewable fuel supporters, and other government/industry leaders interested in ethanol we hope to add you to our growing list of FFV Club enthusiasts.

All the news about crude oil prices and our addiction to oil no longer has to be all bad – because consumers now have alternative fuel and vehicle choices! Every consumer and each FFV Club member can play an important role in meeting the energy security goals of the nation. I purchased my first FFV in 1995 and it was my first new car. It was a Dodge Intrepid that was designed to operate on any combination of methanol or gasoline, or M85. I preferred ethanol because it was renewable and it had a good track record. I drove about 40,000 miles on E85 (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline) then another 10,000 miles on M85, and then about 20,000 miles on reformulated gasoline or 10% ethanol gasoline blends when I could not find an E85 or M85 station. My current FFV is a 2003 Dodge Caravan. I really enjoy driving E85. Running my FFV on E85 still feels good, and after 30 years I am still convinced doing this is the next right thing to do to help my country – and to help myself. And thirty years later, FFVs and E85 are the only commercial scale alternative transportation fuels available. They are both a proven success.

I am not alone in the quest for alternative fuels, FFVs and higher blends of ethanol like E85; I am just the one that decided to start the FFV club and I am proud to serve as President. Since leaving college I have had the very good fortune to be employed by several organizations that have also been trying to advance the use of alternative fuels and vehicles to reduce oil imports, reduce pollution and create jobs to help the economy. Protecting the planet, democracy and capitalism all at the same time can be a daunting and time consuming task. This challenge to correct the energy problem is similar to other social injustice challenges our country has faced like smoking, civil rights, voting rights, and the pursuit of economic prosperity. Those social hurdles took the work of thousands of people – jut like you. There are many organizations and hundreds of people that have worked very hard to support you and create this change in America’s energy policy. These organizations are noted in our Who Supports You section and are also linked throughout this website so you can learn more about issues and what they do to help you.

Now it is up to you and other consumers to take advantage of what these organizations, individuals, and your Congressional representatives have accomplished – make sure the goals in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 are achieved, the renewable fuel standard succeeds, and the incentives we provided to automakers to make seven million FFVs gets a good return on our investment.

The FFV Club goal is simple. Work with every person or organization that will encourage consumers to find out if they own an FFV now, help get the right information so they consider buying a new FFV for their next, used or 2nd vehicle purchase, and then help those empowered FFV owners find and buy some E85. To get started, the FFV Club will need to work with and collaborate with several like-minded individuals like you, civic organizations, private companies, and the government in order to help with the daunting task of empowering consumers with knowledge. Like other causes, knowledge will accelerate the production and use of renewable transportation fuels. The FFV Club will have plenty of oversight and guidance from like minded people – but the success depends on you.

The oversight of the FFV Club will be provided by the Clean Fuels Foundation and the Ethanol Across America education campaign (www.ethanolacrossamerica.net), a 501 c 3 non-profit organization. Fifteen percent of the funds generated will be used for administration and the remaining 85% will go towards outreach and education programs to get more FFV owners aware of their existing vehicle benefits, find a new or used FFV, and encourage FFV owners to use higher blends of ethanol like E85. The U.S. ethanol program is not perfect and is not the only or final solution to the nation’s energy problems. FFVs and ethanol are what we have to work with today and the benefits are immediate. The progress made today will lead to better policies, improved vehicle and fuel technologies, more consumer choices, and a competitive fuel market. And that is what the Flexible Fuel Vehicle Club is About.