As fuel prices reach and exceed $4 a gallon, American drivers are resorting to some pretty drastic measures to find relief at the pump. In Southern California drivers are crossing the border in search of cheaper fuel and in Minnesota many drivers are filling their tanks with a gasoline/E85 blend, even if their cars' aren't meant to burn ethanol.

According to NBC's affiliate in San Diego, California, many of the state's southern residents are venturing into Mexico to find cheaper fuel prices. At a Pemex fuel station just across the border, regular fuel costs only $2.75. At that same station, diesel sells for $2.10 a gallon — more than half the cost in the U.S.
"Well, it's $100 to fill this up in Point Loma where I live and it's about $70 bucks to fill it up here," said one driver. "If you come late at night, when there's no line — where you may have to wait only 20 minutes — then it's worth it."
Mechanics say there is no discernible difference between U.S. and Mexican gas.
Halfway across the country in the heart of the Midwest, several Minnesota residents are filling up their old cars with a blend of E85 and gasoline. In fact, the trend has become so popular that some gas stations have added "blender pumps" which mix about a 1 to 1 ratio of E85 and gasoline.
Residents began using the blend due to the lower price of E85 and to help end their addiction on foreign oil. However, the blend technically violates Environmental Protection Agency regulations as it compromises a car's emissions systems. In addition, burning E85 in a non-flex-fuel vehicles voids the manufacturers' warranty and can cause serious damage to a vehicle's fuel system.
"The carmakers may be worried about it, but I'm not," 77-year old Wally Lutz told the Star Tribune. "And every gallon of ethanol just makes me feel good that it's not a gallon of imported oil."


Source: Leftlane news

What are people doing? Filling up their cars with E85...With gas at $11 a gallon here, I guess we should start to pour our liquor in the tanks as well.

 

Can anyone say Tesla

 

have you guys heard of the term "hypermiling?

I only learned about it recently but it's hilarious what some people do to get ridiculously high MPG's - one guy hit 100mph on his Prius!

do a search on Google....


rk