09th Jul 2008
Everything old is new again
For economic and technical reasons a mixture of alcohol and gasoline for automobile fuel is being recommended by farm relief advocates.
Use of the fuel by motorists would consume 680,000,000 bushels of corn a year, greatly reducing the crop surplus, it is said. The gasoline would be diluted with 10 per cent of alcohol. It is claimed the fuel results in greater power at considerably less cost.
Midwestern farmers, seeking adoption of the fuel, claim that it has a higher antiknock value, will start the motor more readily, give a faster pickup, form less carbon, will not increase oil dilution, and results in a cooler engine than ordinary gasoline.
Luckily for those struggling farmers, the ethanol lobby would gain great momentum SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS later.
Article is from the December 1933 Modern Mechanix. Many thanks to Modern Mechanix Blog for the scan.
It’s not from 1933, but I remember a ca. 1980 segment on 3-2-1 Contact with a farmer extolling the virtues of corn-based “gasahol.” I’m glad that name never caught on.