Now I know why

We were at the Pontiac, etc dealership yesterday to get a VIN check on one of our vehicles (an oddity in CO motor vehicle law:  All vehicles must have a VIN inspection prior to registration, apparently to help prevent thieves from registering stolen cars in their name).  So Ba'al and I wandered around the showroom while waiting for our car.  We looked at a hybrid.  Nice, but neither of us really wants to drive an SUV.  Looked at one of their V8 sedans.  Also nice but our next new vehicle is going to have alternative fuel capability.  

At that point, a salesman wandered over and asked if he could help us.  Ba'al asked if he had any flex-fuel vehicles.  The guy says he's got trucks.  Ba'al asks about family cars.  The guy asks why we're interested in such vehicles.  We say economy.  Guy quotes us a (ficitious) current E-85 price.  Completely stupid of him to then argue with me about local prices.  We'd just filled the car not an hour earlier at the station near our house that sells E-85.  I know exactly what we paid.  Then the guy starts into a lecture, well practiced by the sound of it, about how you lose efficiency, etc when you use E-85.  I walked away.

In our house, major financial decisions go through me.  Therefore, the moment I walked away, that salesman lost a potential customer.  The vehicles Ba'al drives at work (Tahoe's) run exclusively on E-85, which is one of the reasons why his department is not in a complete panic yet about the price of fuel.  On the average night, he drives around 200 miles and uses approximately 10 gallons of fuel.  That's darn good milage in any vehicle and anecdotal evidence completely contrary to the party line about losing efficiency.  Finally, the family car is primarily my car.  I do not need, nor do I want a V8 sedan.  The more V's under the hood, the less efficient the car is in stop and go traffic.  Since 90% of my driving is and will be in stop and go city traffic, I want a smaller vehicle and a just-big-enough-for-the-size-of-the-vehicle engine.  That maximizes in city efficiency.

Walking away from that conversation, I told Ba'al I now understand why people are so wary about flex-fuel and alternative fuel vehicles.  The  car lot salespeople convince potential buyers that these vehicles are sub par compared to the big flashy V8's.  What it really is is salespeople losing out on commissions when someone decides to go for the smaller, less expensive flex-fuel option.  Has nothing to do with vehicle efficiency or any of that jazz.  It's all about the pocket book.  Therefore, anybody who is considering flex-fuel or alternative fuel options for their next vehicle purchase, do your research before you go shopping.  The salespeople aren't there to help you pick the perfect vehicle for you.  They're just interested in the biggest commission they can possible make off of you.