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As of today, this fuel is gasoline, or a gasoline blended with either ethanol or methanol. In the case of dual-fuel, both are blended together and stored in the same tank. This is to distinguish FFV from bi-fuel vehicles where an engine runs with two fuels, but both separately. Examples of these are vehicles that run with both gasoline and compressed natural gas (CNG), or hydrogen, or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The two fuels in bi-fuel vehicles are stored in separate tanks.
In the US, the ethanol blend is known as E85, which is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
FFV engines are specially adapted to run with any proportion of blend. The ratio is detected by a sensor that makes appropriate adjustments to the timing and spark plugs. Also, the engine and fuel system must be adapted slightly, because alcohol fuels are highly corrosive. Ethanol flexible-fuel vehicles are the most common on the roads today. It is anticipated that over 16 million vehicles will be running by the end of the year.
In keeping with national policy, Ford is committed to putting alternative fuel vehicles on the road, with over 1.6 million ethanol-blended vehicles sold since 1996. To promote such vehicles, Ford has tied up with VeraSun Energy Corporation to increase the number of gas stations stocking E85. For the last five years Ford has been releasing new models of FFVs every year which are increasingly gaining in popularity.
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