Feb 26 2008
Malibu Local Opens BioFuel Station in Brentwood
Click Here to go to the USA Today article. ( They used my photo!)
Christopher Moller, from Malibu, CA, has opened up Brentwood’s first gas station to offer E85 Ethanol, Biodiesel, and regular gasoline. The station, known as Conserv Fuels, is only the second outlet in the state to offer E85 to the public and is one of the few stations that gives Westside diesel owners a chance to fill up on B99 biodisel. The station is located at 11699 San Vicente Blvd. Today’s event from 12-2pm gave GM car owners a chance to fill up their own Flex Fuel vehicles for 85.9 cents a gallon. The price difference will be paid by GM which has sold almost 6 million cars and trucks that can run the alternative fuel.
A Conserv Fuel patron showing his GM notice to receive 85.9 cent fuel. When asked why he came, he replied, “I’m from the Middle East and I want to stick it to those %*$#* by not using their fuel.”
Flex Fuel vehicle owners waited up to an hour to fill up on the promotional priced fuel.
Anyone involved in today’s E85 85-cents per gallon promotion at L.A.’s only station to offer this alternative fuel should be embarrassed and ashamed. I arrived early for the noon-to-two event. The lines quickly formed at every driveway (including the “exit only” drive). By 12:15 only two customers had exited the station with four E85 pumps. At that rate, only 16 drivers would get their fill by the end of the promotion. At one point I backed into the street to let someone leave, only to have my place in line taken.
I would have had to start an altercation in front of TV cameras to save $2.15 per gallon for otherwise overpriced, inefficient, and environmentally questionable fuel. As the gridlock formed, I saw an opening and escaped.
Shame on General Motors for making a selling point of its “Flex Fuel” vehicles when the fuel is not readily available and costs (according to my own test) fully 20% more per mile driven than regular gasoline.
Our government should do more to develop this potential alternative fuel and make it easier to open stations to dispense it. I bought my E85-ready Chevy Avalanche 2-1/2 years before the first E85 was available in L.A.
Conserv Fuel should also be embarrassed for running a miserably planned event with no traffic or crowd control. I can’t imagine they won too many new E85 fans. They definitely lost one.
Brian, Thanks for the comments.
You can’t honestly be surprised when something is being given away at such a good price that even you showed up early? The event could have had better organization, true, but the crazy lines should have been expected. Anytime I have ever heard of something being given away anywhere, the lines and people flock to get their share. Those lines where good for the PR show and if you owned the place you’d be smiling when the cameras showed a huge line down the street. 3 People walking by asked me what was so special about the station.
I’m not a huge fan of Ethanol either and I personally run straight waste veg oil in my truck. I will probably buy biodiesel soon as it is a way to eliminate my use of fossil fuel and I want to support someone who is going against the grain.
Here’s the good that I see happening.
I see consumers demanding more choices and I see car makers responding to them. I’m not a fan of Prius Hybirds BUT I do like the fact the Honda took a chance and went in a new direction while other companies continued to go down the SUV path. They are making money while US manufacturers are losing it. I think hybrids and Ethanol cars are just a stepping stone to more technologies as long as consumers demonstrate that they want more. In a few years, Hybirds getting 50 MPG might be an outdated technology. Its the market demand being shown now by consumers that will propel us further to “the next thing”. So when I see a Prius I’m thinking, “man what a goofy little car but good for you trying something new.”
How can the government do more to speed things up? The environmentalist have demanded more government regulations and stricter guidelines for emissions and now Cal. has the toughest regulations in the nation. That mean more rules are in place, more hoops to jump through, more testing to submit to, and this leads to more time before they will let a station sell alt. fuel. The headlines in the LA Times said that the government was looking to figure out a way to make it easier in Cal. to sell these fuels so at least there is something in the works.
I applaud Conserv Fuel for taking a chance on doing something different. I have to believe there are others who saw the demand at an event like that and soon Conserv Fuel will have competition which will benefit us all. I see a future where there will be more
“Eco Stations” and they too will need to have more competitive prices when we all start searching on our smart phones for who has the cheapest alt. fuel.
Go sell your Flex Fuel and get a clean burning diesel that can run on Biodiesel if you really hate you Chevy.
Try not to be to bent on the event and go support someone who is helping to make a change. Let’s make his station profitable so that others can think of a better and cheaper way to compete with him. We all benefit if he stays in business and the competition smells the green! Wouldn’t it be great if another station open up 5 miles away and knocked 10 cents of the price per gallon?
E85 Ethanol isn’t going to be the answer for tomorrow. I watched a program on CNN where it said that if all the corn in the country was used to create E85 Ethanol, it would only save about 7% of the fuel this country needs to keep our transportation running.
All E85 Ethanol plants are run on COAL and it’s subsidized by the government. Can you say scam?
Thanks Conserv Fuel… I fill my 1997 BMW and my 1976 Porsche with e85 from your pump. Each time I am there your attendent tells me thatI do not have a flex fuel vehicle and I should not use this fuel in my car.
Each time I am there I give him a biz Card and remind him that I have converted 1000’s of cars to Ethanol.
Great fuel and all my users in Santa Monica also fill their vehicles at your station as well.
I would love to get a free e85 conversion kit on one of your cars as well!!!!!!!
Dan Lorenzo
800.376.6380
http://www.mye85kit.com