All models of the 2009 Cadillac Escalade will be able
to run on either ordinary gasoline or E85 ethanol, or any combination
of the two, General Motors announced Friday.
And customers will have the fueling choice at no additional cost.
The Escalade, Escalade EXT and Escalade ESV as well as the GMC Denali,
join the previously announced 2009 Chevrolet HHR, Buick Lucerne and
Hummer H2 and H2 SUT as additions to GM’s industry-leading flex-fuel
lineup .
“The success of E85 as an
alternative fuel depends on having the fuel readily available and
having a range of cars and trucks that can use it,” said GM Vice
President of Environment, Energy and Safety Policy Beth Lowery . “We
will offer more than 15 flex-fuel capable models for 2009 compared with
11 this year.”
The latest E85 product
announcements coincided with the opening of a dozen new E85 fueling
stations in the Greater Atlanta area this week.
“We
continue to believe that ethanol used in high blends like E85 offers
the best near-term solution to offset increased oil demand,” Lowery
said. “There are more than 7 million vehicles today that can use E85.
We need significantly more stations that offer the fuel.”
E85
ethanol (a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline), is a cleaner-burning
alternative fuel that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as
23 percent compared with gasoline.
GM has
committed to make half of its US production flex-fuel capable by 2012
providing the infrastructure is in place. GM built more than 1 million
flex-fuel capable vehicles worldwide last year. It is committed to
helping to speed sustainable ethanol to market via its alliances with
Coskata Inc. and Mascoma Corp., two next-generation ethanol startups
that can make ethanol from a range of non-grain sources.