Ethanol doesn't spark interest among consumers

Few consumers are familiar with E15 fuel. In fact, two thirds can't accurately describe the fuel and even fewer know whether it'd be a good deal, according to a new survey by the National Association for Convenience and Fuel Retailing (NACS).

E15 is gasoline that consists of 15 percent ethanol, a corn by-product. Blending ethanol into gasoline reduces dependence on foreign oil, but it increases fuel consumption and not all cars are compatible with it.

To understand public perceptions and purchase intents, the industry trade group for gas station retailers conducted an online survey last month of almost 1,200 Americans who regularly fill up with gasoline. The NACS asked consumers about their fuel preferences and how likely they would be to consider buying a car that uses an alternative fuel, such as diesel or gasoline blended with ethanol. Not many were enthused about these alternatives.

Even when it came to an established fuel like diesel, among the 64 percent of respondents who were considering a new car, more than half said they consider the fuel too expensive. Thirty-one percent said they would consider a diesel-powered model. But of those would consider it, 59 percent gave better fuel economy as the reason. For those who weren't interested in diesel, the top reason was that diesel was more expensive.

Visit our guide to alternative fuels to learn more about ethanol, biodiesel, and other gasoline options.

When it came to ethanol blends, the picture got murkier.

Among those who said they were likely to buy E15 if it were the same price as E10, 46 percent cited better fuel economy as the motivation. However, E15 has worse fuel economy than E10 or lower gasoline blends.

Currently, almost all gasoline sold in the United States is blended with 10 percent ethanol. Twelve percent of 2013 models are flex-fuel vehicles designed to use ethanol blends up to 85 percent.

Looking to reduce the dependency on imported oil, the federal government has programs in place to encourage more ethanol, both through incentives for automakers to build more flex-fuel vehicles and by requiring that gasoline be blended with biofuels (the Renewable Fuel Standard). Although it's not yet on the market in significant quantities, the EPA has approved the sale of a new ethanol blend known as E15. (As the name suggests, E15 has a greater percentage of ethanol than the now-common E10.) But E15 is not approved for vehicles before the 2001 model year, and many survey respondents who have older cars were not aware of the risks of using E15 in older vehicles.