A story from the Washington Post (via the San Francisco Chronicle) provides data for a problem many have suspected for a while -- flex-fuel vehicles aren't really boosting ethanol consumption or reducing gas guzzling. The federal government has purchased 112,000 flex-fuel vehicles -- which can accommodate gas (a hydrocarbon) or ethanol (an alcohol) -- over the last 16 years under a program installed after Gulf War I to reduce gas consumption, according to the article. However, most federal drivers are just putting gas in the tank. Ninety-two percent of the government's cars in this program run on gas. Whoops. In some cases, fuel consumption has gone up. The Postal Service wanted to buy four cylinder vehicles. However, to comply with the flex-fuel buying regulations, the only cars that were available had six and eight cylinders. It bought the bigger cars and ran them on gas. That caused the Postal Service to consume 1.5 million more gallons last fiscal year than necessary. About 2,341 flex-fuel cars were placed in states and territories where no ethanol stations existed. Chalk it up to a lack of filling stations. There are only around 1,689 ethanol stations in the country while there are 160,000 gas stations. General Motors, which is trying to encourage ethanol, has issued similar stats and has said that regular consumers who buy flex fuel vehicles often complain about a lack of ethanol stations. Most oil companies also restrict how ethanol can be sold at franchise stations. New laws coming next year will make it easier for station owners to carry ethanol, but it will take time. At a minimum, the U.S. needs 15,000 or so ethanol stations to try to make a dent, GM has estimated. And, of course, let's not forget government ineptitude. In the private sector, many companies that own fleets of vehicles own their own filling stations. Why the feds didn't think this one up remains a mystery.