GRIDLOCK GURU : Straight gas hard to find in the area
Posted on Friday, April 25, 2008
More gas stations are mixing ethanol into the fuel they sell, and that’s not cool if it’s hurting cars’ gas mileage.
Lenora Metz of Fayetteville tells this week about her 2006 Honda Accord’s troubles with ethanol, but an expert says her situation isn’t the norm.
Afterward, The Guru goes to Bella Vista to offer faint hope for Benton County Road 40 drivers in a bid to make a road improvement sound like a bigger deal than it is.
Question: “Could you please tell us where auto fuel can be purchased in north Fayetteville that does not contain ethanol ?” Metz writes. “The ethanol mix is reducing our mileage by more than 10 percent so it makes no sense to use fuel that has a 10 percent ethanol mix. Any information you can give us will be appreciated.” Answer: The Z Mart in Tontitown, Betty Jo Corner in Fayetteville and Shiloh Express in Springdale and Shiloh General Store in Lowell all carry fuel without ethanol, said Randy Slaughter, who buys gas that Springdalebased Fuels & Supplies delivers throughout Northwest Arkansas.
There’s no master list on the Internet to describe stations that are without ethanol.
There remains the question about ethanol’s impact on mileage. Metz said her Honda’s performance dipped to 19. 7 miles per gallon on a recent tank. She thinks it was getting about 24.
John Johnson, who owns the Lowell and Springdale stores, thinks ethanol does reduce mileage.
“All I get is straight gas,” he said.
Michelle Kautz, deputy director of the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, said E 85 (which is 85 percent ethanol ) reduces mileage by 15 percent to 20 percent. E 10 ’s impact is so small that it’s almost immeasurable, she said.
Q: “Thousands of commuters live in the southeast quadrant of Bella Vista,” writes Ron Miller of Bella Vista. “This area has outgrown the infrastructure. Go figure. The only logical route to I-540 is by way of Dartmoor Road or County Road 40. Both are backed up during the morning commute, and I sit in traffic for a half hour some mornings. I’ve seen this addressed in The Guru column in the past, but I have not seen any results. We need more arteries from Bella Vista into Bentonville without going out of the way.” A: Benton County Judge Gary Black told The Guru he keeps a “bucket list” just like the one made by Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson in the movie called The Bucket List.
The “Black List” mentions County Road 40 and fixing it. The road’s difficulties are infamous in Bella Vista.
The county is improving Slaughter Pen Road, which would give motorists an improved way to Bentonville. A bridge is being built, a curvy section of Slaughter Pen is being straightened, and it’ll be paved by this summer. Slaughter Pen slips under Interstate 540 and becomes Northeast A Street in Bentonville and serves as a back way to northern areas of Bentonville.
Still, a better Slaughter Pen won’t make County Road 40 less congested because motorists have figured out long ago that they can leave County Road 40 at Ford Springs Road and take it to Slaughter Pen if they’re willing to take a gravel road. Robert J. Smith, aka The Guru, writes on traffic issues in Northwest Arkansas each Friday. He can be reached at gridlockguru @arkansasonline. com or www. nwanews. com / gridlockguru.
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