Amidst rising gas prices, gasoline might have competition in the future - from sources such as electricity or alcohol.

There are many alternative-fueled and hybrid vehicles on and around campus, including the Department of Police and Public Safety squad and MSU-owned vehicles.

Alternative-fueled vehicles run on fuels other than gasoline or diesel. These fuels include biodiesel, ethanol, propane, natural gas and blends of such fuels with gasoline or diesel.

Keith Nyquist, MSU's transportation services manager, said there are 13 DPPS vehicles that are capable of running on an ethanol-blended fuel known as E85, a mix of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.

But the vehicles currently run on regular gasoline - because E85 fuel is not available in East Lansing.

Ethanol is alcohol-based. It is produced from starches and is easily replenishable. Automakers make special modifications to create a fuel-flexible vehicle that includes a sensor to detect fuel ratio and specially modified parts to withstand corrosion from alcohol.

In some areas, gasoline already is blended with 10 percent ethanol and doesn't affect the driving of non-modified vehicles.

Don's Windmill Truck Stop, Inc., 7262 Lansing Road in Lansing, is the only gas station in the greater Lansing area that sells E85 ethanol-blended fuel.

Nyquist said the department has looked into obtaining ethanol-blended fuel, but there are no solutions that are cost efficient or readily available.

"It doesn't make all that much sense to run out there and fuel it," Nyquist said, of traveling to Lansing for fuel.

Chris Kobus, assistant professor of engineering at Oakland University, said part of the problem with E85 vehicles is that they are not marked as ethanol capable vehicles and people don't know the advantage to having such vehicles.

Hybrid vehicles, however, run alternately on electricity and gasoline depending on the vehicle's movement, said Brian Wolfe, transportation service garage manager for the Physical Plant. The engine will shut off and run on the electric battery when it is stopped, and the engine will restart once the vehicle has regained a certain speed, Wolfe said.

There are eight MSU-owned vehicles that are hybrids, Nyquist said.

"It drives like a regular car - not a bit of difference," he said.

'People are curious'

Tax incentives for private car owners who buy a hybrid are also available, which lure in some prospective buyers. Hybrid car owners can file an amended tax return to the Internal Revenue Service and receive $2,000 before 2006, when the rebate will go down to $500. After 2006, rebates won't be given.

The university can't use the tax incentives, but a few campus employees have bought hybrids of their own.

Martin Furey, proposal and grant writer in the College of Osteopathic Medicine, owns a 2004 Toyota Prius and said he received a $2,000 rebate.

The rebate wasn't the only reason he decided to buy a Prius, however. He said he disagreed with the treatment of homosexuals in oil-producing countries.

"In Saudi Arabia, you can be executed for expressing your sexuality," he said. "I can't avoid purchasing Saudi oil, but driving a Prius, I can certainly buy less of it."

He said he also likes the high-tech features, being able to get good gas mileage, and help reduce the amount of toxins in the environment.

The Prius is computer controlled, but it still drives like a normal car, Furey said. But it can take about a year before there is a noticeable difference in mileage.

"After a year I was in fact getting 45 miles quite reliably - 51 in the city," he said. "At the current price of gasoline, this will have proven a better buy in six years."

Joy Campbell, associate director of the Center for Language Education and Research, said she shares a Toyota Prius with her husband, Kyle Enger. The Prius costs about $6,000 more than a non-hybrid, or about $21,000 according to Toyota's Web site. She said it would take about eight years to break even on gas savings.

"We didn't buy it to make money back, " she said. "We bought it knowing it would help the environment, and it became available."

Although only having it for less than two months, her hybrid is often a topic of conversation.

"People are curious about it and it's fun to have on and show people what it does," she said.

Lindsey Poisson can be reached at poisson4@msu.edu