Abstract:A solution to growing petroleum imports and continuing urban air-pollution problems is the use of clean-burning nonpetroleum fuels in motor vehicles. Methanol is widely viewed as the most attractive candidate for transportation fuel of the future. We examine how methanol gained this preeminent position by analyzing the historical interplay of economic interests, technical judgements, and ideology and then show that the preference for methanol is not the only conclusion to be drawn from the available evidence. An equally good choice may be natural gas.