Consumer Reports research has shown a high level of interest in flexible-fuel vehicles (FFVs), though many new-car shoppers may not know that E85 (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline) is not readily available nationwide and fuel economy is significantly lessened when using it. We found that there were NO ethanol stations in most of New England. Check http://www.e85refueling.com/index.php to find a station near you.

To help inform consumers, we have compiled a list of 2008 model-year flex-fuel vehicles, presented with the estimated cost differences between running on gasoline and on E85. Where available, we've included the CR overall mileage figure for the FFVs listed here. Those models with asterisks have not been tested by CR and have the EPA overall mileage figure instead. Many trucks are available in 2WD and 4WD. We feature the figures on the 4WD configuration unless otherwise noted.

Based on our findings for a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe, we have applied a 27-percent reduction to the overall mileage to generate a calculated estimate of the FFVs' performance when running on E85. Although the percentage may vary with other models, this E85 efficiency factor represents a fair composite of published test results from other research organizations and the federal government. We calculated the one-year fuel costs on the basis of 12,000 miles, using national average prices of 87-octane gasoline ($3.06, Dec. 3, 2007) and E85 ($2.41, Dec. 7, 2007) prices. The listed manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) includes the cost of an optional flex-fuel drivetrain, if offered, and required equipment, such as an automatic transmission.