Performance Evaluation of 10% Ethanol-Gasoline Blends in 1980 Model Year U.S. Cars

The Coordinating Research Council, Inc. (CRC), under contract to the U.S. Department of Energy, conducted controlled tests to determine the effects of 10% ethanol-gasoline blends on emissions, fuel economy, and driveability of 14 - 1980 model year cars representing several emission-control technologies. Two types of ethanol blends were tested, a simple blend with no volatility adjustment, and two volatility-adjusted blends. Addition of 10% ethanol to gasoline resulted in statistically significant changes in emissions, driveability, and efficiency. Statistically significant effects were also found as a result of volatility adjustment. However, because of the limited fleet size, these results should not be used to quantitatively predict effects of the use of ethanol-gasoline blends in the total U.S. vehicle population.