History Main / AlcoholIsGasoline

* ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm'': Vecs (intelligent robots) on the planet of [[https://orionsarm.com/eg-article/47a67ce4bf7a5 Trip]] often use alcohol as their fuel. This is a deliberate design choice to encourage vecs to interact with biological people in pubs and similar places, leading to greater social harmony.

* ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'': Subverted. Stuck in the old west with no gasoline to power the [=DeLorean=], Doc Brown and Marty attempt this using the strongest liquor they were able to get their hands on. However, all [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome it accomplishes is blowing out their engine]].

** Inverted with the Fenrisian mead of the [[Literature/SpaceWolf Space Wolves]] which supposedly uses jet fuel as an ingredient (thanks to their physiology, Space Wolf drinking contests are less who's left standing and who can ''get'' drunk first).

* [[Manga/OnePiece One Piece]]: [[Main/InvertedTrope Inverted]] with [[Main/{{Cyborg}} Franky]], as he needs [[Main/FrothyMugsOfWater cola]] in order to use most of his robotic attacks. He has a small fridge located in his abdomen, and he can store up to three bottles at a time.

* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'': In "Golddigers of '39," Beans the Cat fills his car's radiator with what appears to be alcohol to get it going again after it conks out. The car goes at super speed as a result.

* ''Series/AroundTheWorldInEightyDays'': In this 1989 miniseries starring Creator/PierceBrosnan and Creator/EricIdle, the heroes travel from France to Italy in a mini-airship called the Purple Cloud, but run out of fuel halfway and land somewhere in the Alps. Things look bleak until Fogg has the idea of pouring the Cloud's bottle of emergency brandy into the fuel tank. While Passepartout splutters in horror at the prospect of being stranded on an Alp without any brandy, the Cloud takes off again

* ''Film/{{Gamer}}'': In an particularly exaggerated example John "Kable" Tillman is a wrongfully accused death row inmate who must escape from a televised death match against other inmates in which his actions are controlled remotely by a teenage "gamer" through nanites implanted in Tillman's brain. An organization called "Humanz" is pulling strings to aid Tillman in his escape, and have smuggled vodka into his prison for him to use as vehicle fuel. Prior to the match Tillman drinks the whole large bottle to disrupt the nanites and his "gamer's" control over his actions. When combat begins Tillman makes a dash for an abandoned car park where he pukes the alcohol into a 1973 Chevrolet C20 Fleetside gas tank, urinates in the tank, hotwires the car, and escapes with the car.

* [[Manga/OnePiece One Piece]]: [[Main/InvertedTrope Inverted]] with Franky the cyborg, as he needs [[Main/FrothyMugsOfWater cola]] in order to use most of his robotic attacks. He has a small fridge located in his abdomen, and he can store up to three bottles at a time.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': All of the robots are fueled by alcohol which many of them, especially Bender, take advantage of to drink incredible proportions (cleaner alternatives like mineral oil exist, but most prefer beer). Without alcohol in their system, they would begin to act like a drunk person. Its a plot point in one episode, that them inefficiently burning alcohol is the reason the future still has problems with global warming.

** Inverted with the Fenrisian mead of the Literature/SpaceWolves which supposedly uses jet fuel as an ingredient (thanks to their physiology, Space Wolf drinking contests are less who's left standing and who can ''get'' drunk first).

[[caption-width-right:350:My car only gets the good stuff.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BettyBoop'': In ""Musical Mountaineers," Betty Boop runs out of gas up in the mountains of apparently Appalachia. After overcoming the hostility of the locals with her performing skills, they agree to help her and pour "corn drippings" in her tank; in 1930s' slang, "corn drippings" was the name for the liquid that came from silos in which corn was fermenting. Betty's engine starts right up, and the mountaineers wave as she drives away.[[note]]With the model car Betty was shown using, this probably would have worked. But it would have been hell on the engine. What it does is get her to where she can make a phone call.[[/note]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfTintin2011'': Tintin and Captain Haddock are flying a sea plane through a thunderstorm, unfortunately they are almost out of fuel. In a last desperate gambit, Tintin suggests Haddock pour the medicinal spirits in the planes first aid kit into the fuel tank, hoping it will enable them to fly just a bit further and give them the opportunity to land. Unfortunately, [[TheAlcoholic Haddock]] had already drunk them. Inspired by Tintin's comment their running on fumes, he instead forces himself to belch into the tank, his breath already being established to be laced with booze. Sure enough it proves so potent it not just restarts the engine but causes it to catch fire.

Sometimes this is used as a gag about how [[GargleBlaster ridiculously strong the liquor is]]. Another common gag is that the drink is so potent, using it as fuel actually causes the engine to run ''better'' (or at least faster) than it should be able to with regular fuel.

And this is where fiction often falls flat at accurately portraying usage of ethanol fuel -- from {{Critical Research Failure}}s such as failing to remember that running a gasoline-only car on ethanol fuel may corrode it internally and risk causing a catastrophic failure, to comically inaccurate depictions such as literally pouring a bottle of whiskey into a car and having it run normally.

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/TrailOfLightning'': Given global industrial collapse, gasoline is unavailable. Maggie runs her truck on pure alcohol with no mention of engine modifications.
[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfTintin'': Tintin and Captain Haddock are flying a sea plane through a thunderstorm, unfortunately they are almost out of fuel. In a last desperate gambit, Tintin suggests Haddock pour the medicinal spirits in the planes first aid kit into the fuel tank, hoping it will enable them to fly just a bit further and give them the opportunity to land. Unfortunately, [[TheAlcoholic Haddock]] had already drunk them. Inspired by Tintin's comment their running on fumes, he instead forces himself to belch into the tank, his breath already being established to be laced with booze. Sure enough it proves so potent it not just restarts the engine but causes it to catch fire.