LYNCHBURG, Va. - Candy Burnett is part of a growing number of drivers who only fill up with ethanol-free gasoline. "It??s good on the car. ??It??s better on the engine. It gets better mileage," she told the Lynchburg News & Advance.

The vast majority of gasoline sold in the United States is E10, a blend of gasoline and 10% ethanol. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that cars filling up with E10 get 3% to 4% fewer mpg than pure gasoline.

David Johnston, who own two Big Horn Markets, said E10 use contributes to build-up in engines, which can be a problem for older cars, motorcycles and high-performance vehicles. "They need that premium gas," he said. "Recent vehicles can get by on the regular."

Johnston offers 87 octane ethanol-free fuel at one store and 93 octane regular gasoline at his other location, in addition to E10.

Sapan Sachdeva, a partner at Burley??s Market, recently started stocking 90 octane ethanol-free gasoline, which he says is better for small engines like for boats or lawn mowers. Customers asked for the ethanol-free gasoline, and response has been good. "It??s been a week and we??ve seen quite a demand," he said. "You can already see people are very excited about it."

The cost of unblended fuel tends to be higher than E10, but Johnston said customers don??t mind paying a little extra because of the perceived benefits to the vehicles. "The people that are buying it are not really that concerned over it," he said. "They know they??re paying more for it, but they believe it??s a better buy."