Ford Minivans Using E85 Ethanol Fuel Are Tested by U.S. Postal Service In Illinois, Iowa, D.C.

9 February 1998

    DEKALB, Ill., Feb. 9 -- Over the United States, more ethanol-
powered vehicles are moving on the roads and highways, and here in the heart
of Illinois' corn country, it's the Ford Windstar minivan that is drawing
attention.
    The Ford minivans are being used by the U.S. Postal Service in a test of
vehicles powered by E85, a clean-air fuel made of 85 percent ethanol and 15
percent conventional gasoline.
    "Neither rain, nor shine nor air pollution will keep the Postal Service in
DeKalb from delivering the mail," said John Diedrich of the Illinois Corn
Growers Association.
    Diedrich said the Illinois test could lead toward expanding ethanol clean-
air technology throughout the U.S. postal system.  Similar tests are now being
conducted in Des Moines, Iowa, and Washington, D.C.
    "This is a positive development for Illinois because we are a large
ethanol-producing state," Diedrich said.  "The Postal Service fleet has a
total of 250,000 vehicles, so there is a lot of potential for expanding this
program.
    "Expansion means less pollution, more jobs and a stronger economy," he
said.
    The E85 minivans used in the Illinois test project are flexible-fuel
vehicles, which can operate on any combination of ethanol and gasoline up to
the E85 level without any modification.
    Illinois is the largest producer and consumer of ethanol fuel in the U.S.
As a major corn-growing state, Illinois puts 274 million bushels of corn, or
17 percent of its crop, into ethanol production.
    Motorists in Illinois and other states have long used a gasoline blend
containing 10 percent ethanol, but E85 is being promoted as a more effective
fighter of air pollution.  E85 is targeted particularly to urban markets with
air quality problems.
    In addition to the Windstar minivan, Ford sells its Taurus sedan with E85
technology.  Ford plans to manufacture 250,000 new flexible fuel vehicles over
the next four years, including production of an E85 Ford Ranger pickup truck
for model year 1999.
    Meanwhile, Chrysler has joined the E85 parade, making its E85 engine
standard in 1998 minivans.  Together, Ford and Chrysler expect to manufacture
more than 250,000 E85 vehicles in the next two years.

SOURCE Fuels for the Future