Methanol and World Wide

United States

The State of California ran an experimental program from 1980 to 1990 that allowed anyone to convert a gasoline vehicle to 85% methanol with 15% additives of choice. Over 500 vehicles were converted to high compression and dedicated use of the 85/15 methanol and ethanol, with great results. Detroit was not willing to produce any methanol or ethanol vehicles without government subsidy.

In 1982 the big three were each given $5,000,000 for design and contracts for 5,000 vehicles to be bought by the State. That was the beginning of the low-compression flexible-fuel vehicles that we can still buy today.

In 2005, California's Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, stopped the use of methanol after 25 years and 200,000,000 miles of success, to join the expanding use of ethanol driven by producers of corn. In spite of this, he was optimistic about the future of the program, claiming "it will be back." Ethanol is currently (as of 2007) priced at 3 to 4 dollars per gallon, while methanol made from natural gas remains at 47 cents per gallon.

Presently there are over 60 operating gas stations in California supplying methanol in their pumps. Rep. Eliot Engel [D-NY17] has introduced "An Open Fuel Standard" Act in Congress: "To require automobile manufacturers to ensure that not less than 80 percent of the automobiles manufactured or sold in the United States by each such manufacturer to operate on fuel mixtures containing 85 percent ethanol, 85 percent methanol, or biodiesel."
European Union

The amended Fuel Quality Directive adopted in 2009 allows up to 3% v/v blend-in of methanol in petrol.
Brazil

A drive to add an appreciable percentage of methanol to gasoline got very close to implementation in Brazil, following a pilot test set up by a group of scientists involving blending gasoline with methanol between 1989 and 1992. The larger-scale pilot experiment that was to be conducted in São Paulo was vetoed at the last minute by the city's mayor, out of concern for the health of gas station workers, who are mostly illiterate and could not be expected to follow safety precautions. As of 2006, the idea has not resurfaced