Details on Honda Civic Natural Gas Vehicle NGV

One technology, natural gas, was beginning to make a charge. But it was inundated by the new technology like hybrids as well as biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel,

Well, natural gas was never really forgotten. One company offering a car fueled by natural gas is Honda.

The Honda Civic GX was introduced in 2006 in California and is already available in other parts of the U.S. Some pundits, including the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, think it is the cleanest mainstream car on the road. In fact, in a list of the cleanest cars in the group’s annual Green Book, the natural gas Honda Civic GX was tops ranking ahead of the Toyota Prius hybrid. In tests it was shown to be cleaner than the Prius.

So why aren't the US roads covered with natural gas vehicles. Well, it's probably the mileage it achieves. The Honda Civic GX gets a range of 220 miles between fill ups. The conventional Civic can go 350 miles on a tank of gas and the Prius, even with an 11 gallon tank, can go farther with its rating of 55 miles per gallon on the highway.

And there are other problems. Just as in the case of ethanol, there are not many filling stations around to accommodate natural gas powered vehicles.

There are ways around this. For example, people who already live in homes heated by natural gas can purchase a car fueling system for $5,000 and install it in the garage. The initial cost for the system may be high but it will ultimately pay for itself because there is a savings of $1 per gallon over gasoline.

Moreover, the federal government is offering a $1,000 tax rebate for the system.
Oh, by the way, the purchase of the natural gas Honda Civic GX qualifies for a federal tax break of $2,000 as well as another $2,000 from the state and local municipality. And some Honda dealers will rent you the fueling system for between $34 and $79 a month.

Our take? So that’s just one more alternative one can be thinking about.

via Hartford Courant