Envautomental

A company located in the heart of corn country has developed what it calls the first bolt-on kit that safely and easily converts the most common fleet vehicles to ethanol, and it could offer kits for more popular cars and trucks by the end of next year.

The Flex-Box Smart Kit from by the Environmental Protection Agency, meaning it meets all emissions regulations and won”t void the manufacturer”s warranty.

So far it only works on the Ford and Lincoln Town Car. Flex Fuel says it started with those models because they are the most common passenger vehicles used in police, taxi and municipal fleets.

"Many government, city, state and federal and chauffeured fleets are major oil consumers, so our goal is to help this country save taxpayers money, wean itself off foreign oil and support our local farmers and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said Chris Disher, the company”s chief financial officer.

While automakers offer a of flex fuel vehicles and about 6 million vehicles on the road can burn E85, the Flex-Box Smart Kit allows older cars to be retrofitted. It works with existing fuel tanks, fuel injectors and other equipment, and a computer mounted under the hood continuously monitors the engine management and emissions systems to deliver supplemental fuel injection as needed.

than gasoline - and an 85 drop reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Critics of ethanol note that it takes more energy to produce and transport the stuff than is generated by burning it, and vehicles that run on ethanol often get worse fuel economy than those burning gasoline. It can also be hard to find E85 outside of the midwest, as there are of Representatives calling for a five-fold increase in the production of ethanol and other renewable fuels by 2022, ethanol supporters say the fuel is here to stay.

The Flex-Box kit costs about $1,200 when installed by AAMCO Transmissions. Flex Fuel U.S. is developing kits for the Dodge Charger, Chrysler 300, Ford Mustang and Ford F-150 pickup and hopes to have them available by late next year.