It’s pretty retarded. Basically a lab stunt. It works, but it eats engine parts, makes less power per gallon, and you have to burn ac tremendous amount of diesel to grow the crops you make it from
Oil is actually cleaner running it (experience, 5000 miles of E85 and the oil looks like it did when I poured it in new). I ended up with it in my truck because it was in the vehicle on the lot that had what I wanted, and it was cheap.
Used it maybe once or twice is 10 years just to try it. It was too expensive that whole time. CA made the DOT buy a bunch of them (Flexfuel, E85 vehicles) so of course, EVERYONE who sold it charged out the wazoo for it because the state had to use it.
Well, the vehicles must have cycled out, price dropped. then gasoline spiked hard here during the covid era. I ran it almost throughout that 3-4 years. And now I’m back to it. $2.839/gallon... I can eat a 10-20% mileage loss for a $3+ spread ALL DAY LONG. I’m rolling up on 600,000 miles on original engine too...
Unless unreasonably priced, I wouldn’t buy a gasoline vehicle without the capability to run it now. Between the flexibility with supply/demand price shocks and the fact that in a SHTF scenario you can turn 5 gallons of gasoline into 35 gallons of motive fuel with access to alcohol or the ability to make it it’s a no brainer for me.