For Release: July 26, 2007
HOUSTON – Fuel hasn’t been 85 cents per gallon in America since the 1980s. Or was it the 1970s? Either way, it’s been a really long time.
But for two hours on Tuesday, July 25, customers at one Kroger fuel station in Houston were treated to the special offer of E85 ethanol for 85 cents per gallon. Plus, the first 100 people who showed up received a $25 dollar fuel gift card, along with complimentary bags of Fritos corn chips and Monster energy drinks.
“This is great,” said David Ellison, a Houston mortgage banker. He said he doesn’t always fill up on E85, but luckily happened by in time to take advantage of the promotion by filling up his 2007 FlexFuel Chevy Suburban.
Houstonian Odysseus Matthews said he heard about the 85-cent fuel offer the evening before when he stopped by the station to fill up his Chevy Impala. “You can’t beat this,” he said.
The recurring message from customers who came to the fuel promotion was they want the convenience of more ethanol fuel stations throughout the U.S.
“I wish there were a lot more around,” said Ellison. “The biggest thing right now is convenience.”
Across the board, FlexFuel vehicle owners said they like the fact filling up with E85 helps reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and our nation’s dependence on foreign oil.
“I guess there is a conscious decision when buying a FlexFuel vehicle. It’s helping our country and the environment,” Ellison added.
The E85 fuel pump promotion marked the beginning of the second day of GM’s E85 Days of Summer campaign in Houston.
Later the same evening, Chevy Marketing took the ethanol message to Minute Maid Park, where the Houston Astros squared off against the L.A. Dodgers. There, several hundred baseball fans received Chevy “Do More, Use Less” backpacks.
“This will be great for the beach,” one Astros fan was overheard saying.
Chevy’s FlexFuel Tahoe, Impala and Silverado were on display, and product experts helped spread the word on the benefits of E85 ethanol fuel and the availability of E85-capable vehicles. The promotional activities will carryover to Thursday’s game as well.
So for two nights at least, the famous Chevy slogan becomes Baseball, Corn Dogs, Ethanol and Chevrolet.
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