The E85 pump at the Bellmart gas station in La Porte has gotten a workout since gasoline prices spiked, cashier Pam Angeledes said.

Motorists are pumping the gasoline alternative into as many as 40 vehicles a day, double the number of a few months earlier, she added.

The 85-percent ethanol, 15-percent petroleum mix sold for $3.09 a gallon on Friday at the Bellmart, at 1302 Lincolnway, 20 cents a gallon cheaper than gasoline.

"People definitely are asking about it," Angeledes said.

The recent climb in gas prices has again pushed E85 into the spotlight, prompting U.S. automakers on Friday to pledge production of about 2 million more flex-fuel vehicles by 2010.

Flex-fuel vehicles are capable of running on either gasoline or renewable fuel blends of up to 85 percent ethanol.

Ethanol production has ramped up across the country, with 80 biorefineries being built and eight under expansion as of April, capable of adding 6 billion gallons of new capacity by 2009, according to the Renewable Fuels Association.

In Indiana, about 80 E85 pumps are up and running at gas stations across the state, said Deborah Abbott, with the state Department of Agriculture.

Recent legislation provided $1 million to convert another 200 pumps to E85, Abbott said.

"The (E85) supply in the state is very strong," Abbott said.

Supporters of E85 say it can reduce oil imports, cut emissions and help farmers who grow the corn from which ethanol is made.

It typically has been priced at between 20 and 30 cents below regular unleaded gasoline.

The Valparaiso-based Family Express chain of gas stations has seen its E85 sales grow independent of gasoline prices, President and CEO Gus Olympidis said.

"E85 makes sense," Olympidis said.

"We make the stuff here. It is homegrown. It is renewable, and its providing a huge economic engine for Hoosiers, for farmers."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.