Start brewin' your own ethanol

A new start-up company out of California wants to sell you a $10,000 home upgrade for the true blendstock fanatic. E-Fuel's 100 MicroFueler is about as big as a stackable washer-dryer and will use sugar as its main fuel source, along with "specially packaged time-release yeast" the company has developed.         

         Depending on the sugar cost (plus water and electricity), the company claims it could cost as little as a dollar a gallon to make ethanol with the MicroFueler. We're not sure if the math works out, though. It takes up to 14 pounds of sugar to make one gallon of ethanol, and raw sugar is currently selling in the U.S. for about 20 cents a pound.

         And are you supposed to blend your labor-of-love into the gasoline yourself? It's illegal in the U.S. to run a car on 100% ethanol, except for off-road vehicles like Indy cars and farm equipment.