LYNCHBURG, Va. - Candy
Burnett is part of a growing number of drivers who only fill up with
ethanol-free gasoline. "It??s good on the car. ??It??s better on the engine. It
gets better mileage," she told the Lynchburg
News & Advance.
The vast majority of
gasoline sold in the United States is E10, a blend of gasoline and 10% ethanol.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that cars filling
up with E10 get 3% to 4% fewer mpg than pure gasoline.
David Johnston, who own
two Big Horn Markets, said E10 use contributes to build-up in engines, which
can be a problem for older cars, motorcycles and high-performance vehicles.
"They need that premium gas," he said. "Recent vehicles can get by on the
regular."
Johnston offers 87 octane
ethanol-free fuel at one store and 93 octane regular gasoline at his other
location, in addition to E10.
Sapan Sachdeva, a partner
at Burley??s Market, recently started stocking 90 octane ethanol-free gasoline,
which he says is better for small engines like for boats or lawn mowers.
Customers asked for the ethanol-free gasoline, and response has been good.
"It??s been a week and we??ve seen quite a demand," he said. "You can already see
people are very excited about it."
The cost of unblended fuel
tends to be higher than E10, but Johnston said customers don??t mind paying a
little extra because of the perceived benefits to the vehicles. "The people
that are buying it are not really that concerned over it," he said. "They know
they??re paying more for it, but they believe it??s a better buy."