Sure, you can buy E85 here. Sort of.
What is E85? The simple fuel with a techie name could be a key part of ending the U.S.'s reliance on oil. It's a mix of 15 percent gasoline and 85 percent ethanol -- an alcohol derived from corn or other agriculture products.
The National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition promotes it as an alternative fuel that will work in 6 million cars already on the road -- and that pollutes less, comes from American farms and sometimes costs less than gasoline.
The only problem -- at least in much of the country -- is finding it.
asap tried to see how many chances we had to fill up with E85 on a trip from Los Angeles to New York that included stops in Phoenix, Albuquerque, Oklahoma City, Jefferson City, Mo., Louisville, Ky., and Pittsburgh.
The fuel is getting lots of promotion lately through General Motors' "Live Green, Go Yellow" ads. (Yellow because that's the color of corn.) But in some parts of the country, watching an ad about E85 is as close as drivers can get to putting it in their tank.
Albuquerque should have been the first place on our route where we were able to fill up with E85. But as you'll see in the first two parts of our four videos about E85, getting it can be hard even in places where it's supposed to be easy.
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Click here to see Part Two.
Find it online: National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition: www.e85fuel.com
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asap contributor Tim Molloy is an editor on the AP's national news desk. Juan Carlos Montoya is a video producer.
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