Vehicles line up for cheap fuel in Elgin

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ELGIN — Hundreds of motorists seeking relief from high gas prices swarmed a local gas station Thursday, one of eight in the Chicago area to offer the ethanol-based fuel E85 for just 85 cents per gallon for four hours.

E85 — 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline — is safe for use in more than 30 vehicle models. Flexible-fuel vehicles, as they're known, can burn both gasoline and E85, either alone or in combination. Dodge, Chrysler, Chevrolet, Ford, Mercury and other manufacturers make E85-compatible cars, trucks and SUVs. To see whether your vehicle is among them, check your owner's manual or www.illinoisgreenfleets.org.

In Illinois, the fuel is usually about 10 cents cheaper than regular gasoline. But users typically get 10 percent to 15 percent fewer miles per gallon than with regular gasoline.

The line at the Marathon station on Larkin Avenue east of McLean Boulevard quickly grew to 20 cars or more at 3 p.m., when the station started selling the alternative fuel, which is made from corn, for less than half the usual price.

Among those in line were both E85 veterans and neophytes.

Cliff Luxion of Glen Ellyn, a real estate broker and part-time teacher at Elgin Community college, said he's been using E85 for several years.

"I'm willing to invest a couple thousand dollars every year," if it means the money won't go to the oil-producing countries of the Middle East, said Luxion, who drives a Mercury Sable GS. Certain 2000 to 2004 3.0-liter Sabre models can use E85, according to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

The environmental benefits of the fuel are another reason he's a longtime user, he said.

Reed Rodewald of Elgin is also an E85 veteran. He filled up his 2000 Ford Ranger pickup and two gas cans.

"That's next week's" fuel," he said, pointing to the cans.

Rodewald said he typically fills his tank with half gasoline and half