what all can cars run on and it not have the engine ruined? i need this question answered for school by audra ?

any engine will likely be ruined if the wrong fuel is run in it.

most street going cars will run best on regular pump gasoline.

some newer cars can tolerate E-10 (regular gasoline blended with 10% ethanol).

"flex-fuel" cars can operate on E-85 (regular gasoline blended with 85% ethanol).

many pickups and some German cars, as well as most 2-ton and larger trucks, run fuel oil, also known as diesel. these vehicles can also run bio-diesel (fuel made from organic wastes) and kerosene. with properly designed fuel systems, they can operate on used cooking oil and most other liquid oils.

some pickups are trucks run on propane, while others are designed to run on compressed natural gas.

Gasoline engines will only operate with gasoline products. Diesel (and other 'oil' fuels) will cause the motors to hydrolock, and there is no way to fill them up with propane or CNG.

Some gasoline cars do not run well on E-10, due to E-10 less powerful explosions and the general corrosiveness of the ethanol component. when a gasoline car does run on E-10, mileage and power is usually sacrificed.

Most gasoline cars will not run on E-85 at all. the few that might, will only do so for a short time. they will quickly foul the spark plugs and carbon up most of the engine. it does not ruin them, but it makes them need a through cleaning.

Since you asked this in the Honda section, there are a few of the above that work for Honda.

in 1998 Honda introduced the Civic GX. this was a standard looking civic that ran on compressed natural gas. the GX model has existed since then, tho they were typically sold to fleets and are hard to find in the standard market.

in other countries, Honda offers a couple of turbo diesel models, but they are not yet available in the US.

all of Honda's hybrids (the Insight, the Civic, and the Accord) are powered by fairly standard gasoline motors with an electric motor sandwiched between the gas motor and the transmission.

Honda does not currently offer a flex-fuel (E-85) model in the US, and most dealers do not recommend using E-10 blends unless absolutely necessary.

hope this was helpful, good luck on your project.

I assume that you are asking about internal combustion engines. Generally speaking, only the fuel for which the engine was designed/set up. This will normally be gasoline and certain mixes, diesel and propane for automobiles with everyday use. Specialty cars such as racers may use exotic mixes for which the engines are especially built.