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"If I knew I could get E85 all across the country, I would convert my own engine to burn it right now. I would raise the compression ratio and do other things to increase the efficiency of the engine. I could get greater fuel mileage than I get on gas by doing so with more power."

Building a better, high performace engine is certainly one of the nice things about ethanol, But I don't think you understand the reasons why.

You are dead wrong in thinking that you will get better fuel economy, as you need to burn more ethanol than you would gasoline.

The reason you can develop more power is because ethanol has a higher detonation point , allowing you to raise compression ratio's back to what they were when they used to build good motors.

You need to open up/ replace fuel jets in carberators with bigger ones however, as it takes more ethanol to produce the same amount of power at temperatures that don't melt your valves and pistons.

So, although you will have a very clean running engine, not only will you be paying much more for a gallon of ethanol E85, you won't get as far down the road with it either. (But it would be a little more fun)

Yes, I understand engine building. I've built several. I could take the 350ci chevy out of my truck and put a v6 or even a 4cly 2 liter in and get the same HP as the V8 but also get more torque and better economy than the gas V8. If you have a 4 cly that produces 400 hp when you need 400hp, but runs on 4 cly when you are coasting, you would get better economy. Higher compression, turbo's with 30-lbs of boost, advanced timing, high lift longer duration cams all add to the efficiency of the engine. It's true the jets would be larger for ethanol, but you are using it more efficiently than gas.

Think of the rice burners of today that use nitrous injection. For the few moments they get nitrous, they produce 500 hp, then when the nitrous is cut, they are back to 150 hp. Another advantage would be air cooled engines with high compression and high power, less weight combo's. Having 115 octane fuel opens up several possibilities.