A Sweet Ride in Brazil
Alcohol consumption in Brazil is on the rise, but not because people are drinking more. Instead, drivers are filling their gas tanks with ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, which is one of two fuel options used in a new generation of Brazilian cars called Flex. The cars work like traditional vehicles but can run on either gasoline or ethanol derived from sugar cane--a commodity in abundance in Brazil. Volkswagen, Ford, Fiat and GM all produce Flex lines. In May sales of Flex vehicles overtook gasoline models for the first time. By August, Flex sales had risen 61.7%....