First Australian Made Holdens to Run on Bio-ethanol

Holden has unveiled its latest Commodore range, which could eventually be powered by household waste. Both V6 and V8 models in the VE Series II Commodore line-up have been designed as the first Australian-made vehicles to run on bio-ethanol as well as conventional petrol. Bio-ethanol, also known as E85, is a cleaner burning fuel capable of cutting carbon dioxide emissions by up to 40%.

By Tim Dornin  for AAP in The Australian (31 August 2010): 

HOLDEN has unveiled its latest Commodore range, which could eventually be powered by household waste.

Both V6 and V8 models in the VE Series II Commodore line-up have been designed as the first Australian-made vehicles to run on bio-ethanol as well as conventional petrol.

Bio-ethanol, also known as E85, is a cleaner burning fuel capable of cutting carbon dioxide emissions by up to 40 per cent.

It is produced from the by-products created during the processing of wheat, sugar and sorghum. The ethanol is then blended with 15 per cent petrol.

But Holden is also investigating the viability of establishing Australia’s first ethanol plant that would produce the fuel from household and other waste.

Holden chairman and managing director Mike Devereux said the introduction of the E85 flex-fuel technology was part of the company’s commitment to leading the push towards alternative fuels.

“We have placed an enormous emphasis on developing technology that can be used in today’s vehicles to make driving better for the environment,” he said.

“That has included leading the way for Australian produced cars with bio-ethanol, providing motorists with a cleaner fuel alternative when filling up their car.

“It is the first major step forward in our efforts to move renewable fuels like bio-ethanol from a niche product into the mainstream by making it available on Australia’s top selling car line.”

Fuel retailer Caltex will start selling the E-Flex high-ethanol blended fuel at 31 outlets in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra from October.

That number will rise to 100 in 2011, including some regional sites.

Holden’s energy and environment director Richard Marshall said the company believed bio-ethanol had a big future in Australia.

“It is a cleaner-burning, renewable fuel and long term we think it has the ability to displace up to 30 per cent of Australia’s petrol use,” he said.

Holden has introduced other changes with the VE Series II models, including revised styling for the front fascia, grille and headlamps.

The new car also gets a state-of-the-art system to integrate music, satellite navigation and phone functions into one unit.

The Holden iQ system uses a new full-colour LCD touch screen mounted in the centre dash which the company benchmarked against high-end multimedia products.

Music can be played direct from an iPod, memory stick or other USB device through dedicated sockets while the system also has the capacity to rip and store up to 15 compact discs on an internal drive.

Mr Devereux said the changes to the Commodore range reflected Holden’s focus on continuous improvement.

“Our approach to Commodore has been about making a great car even better,” he said.

“It’s about introducing more improvements more often and getting technology into the car that our customers need and want.”

The new cars will go on sale in late September.

Source: www.theaustralian.com.au