Our Honda Civic GX

NEW CNG OPEN @ Avery Pkwy $1.43 ppgge

2009-11-16T13:00:00.000-08:00

NEW CNG OPEN @ Avery Pkwy $1.43 ppgge

Join the new energy army

2008-10-09T14:18:00.000-07:00

Stuck in Barstow cng power fail

2008-09-18T16:05:00.001-07:00

Too Hot For NBC

2008-08-28T07:02:00.000-07:00

We have four new ads which are either on the air, or ready to go on the air. The ads have been “cleared” by every network… except for NBC which has refused to clear a :15 second ad about Iran.

In the ad Boone talks about how the Iranians are moving quickly to vehicles powered by natural gas so they can free up their $120 a barrel oil to sell to us. Boone says: “Get this one. Iran is changing its cars to run on natural gas and we’re not doing a thing here…”

The problem? NBC wants us to PROVE that “we’re not doing a thing here.”

Sometimes you just have to wonder.

WHATS THE PLAN?

2008-07-14T21:28:00.001-07:00

America is addicted to foreign oil.

2008-07-14T21:17:00.000-07:00

America is addicted to foreign oil.

It's an addiction that threatens our economy, our environment and our national security. It touches every part of our daily lives and ties our hands as a nation and a people.The addiction has worsened for decades and now it's reached a point of crisis.

In 1970, we imported 24% of our oil. Today it's nearly 70% and growing.

As imports grow and world prices rise, the amount of money we send to foreign nations every year is soaring. At current oil prices, we will send $700 billion dollars out of the country this year alone — that's four times the annual cost of the Iraq war.

Projected over the next 10 years the cost will be $10 trillion — it will be the greatest transfer of wealth in the history of mankind.America uses a lot of oil. Every day 85 million barrels of oil are produced around the world. And 21 million of those are used here in the United States.That's 25% of the world's oil demand. Used by just 4% of the world's population.Can't we just produce more oil?World oil production peaked in 2005. Despite growing demand and an unprecedented increase in prices, oil production has fallen over the last three years. Oil is getting more expensive to produce, harder to find and there just isn't enough of it to keep up with demand.The simple truth is that cheap and easy oil is gone.What's the good news?

The United States is the Saudi Arabia of wind power.

Studies from around the world show that the Great Plains states are home to the greatest wind energy potential in the world — by far.The Department of Energy reports that 20% of America's electricity can come from wind. North Dakota alone has the potential to provide power for more than a quarter of the country.Today's wind turbines stand up to 410 feet tall, with blades that stretch 148 feet in length. The blades collect the wind's kinetic energy. In one year, a 3-megawatt wind turbine produces as much energy as 12,000 barrels of imported oil.Wind power currently accounts for 48 billion kWh of electricity a year in the United States — enough to serve more than 4.5 million households. That is still only about 1% of current demand, but the potential of wind is much greater.A 2005 Stanford University study found that there is enough wind power worldwide to satisfy global demand 7 times over — even if only 20% of wind power could be captured.Building wind facilities in the corridor that stretches from the Texas panhandle to North Dakota could produce 20% of the electricity for the United States at a cost of $1 trillion. It would take another $200 billion to build the capacity to transmit that energy to cities and towns.That's a lot of money, but it's a one-time cost. And compared to the $700 billion we spend on foreign oil every year, it's a bargain.

An economic revival for rural America.

Developing wind power is an investment in rural America.To witness the economic promise of wind energy, look no further than Sweetwater, Texas.Sweetwater was typical of many small towns in middle-America. With a shortage of good jobs, the youth of Sweetwater were leaving in search of greater opportunities. And the town's population dropped from 12,000 to under 10,000.When a large wind power facility was built outside of town, Sweetwater experienced a revival. New economic opportunity brought the town back to life and the population has grown back up to 12,000.In the Texas panhandle, just north of Sweetwater, is the town of Pampa, where T. Boone Pickens' Mesa Power is currently building the largest wind farm in the world.At 4,000 megawatts — the equivalent combined output of four large coal-fire plants — the production of the completed Pampa facility will double the wind energy output of the United States.In addition to creating new construction and maintenance jobs, thousands of Americans will be employed to manufacture the turbines and blades. These are high skill jobs that pay on a scale comparable to aerospace jobs.Plus, wind turbines don't interfere with farming and grazing, so they don't threaten food production or existing local economies.

A cheap new replacement for foreign oil.

The Honda Civic GX Natural Gas Vehicle is the cleanest internal-combustion vehicle in the world according to the EPA.

Natural gas and bio-fuels are the only domestic energy sources used for transportation.

Cleaner

Natural gas is the cleanest transportation fuel available today.According to the California Energy Commission, critical greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas are 23% lower than diesel and 30% lower than gasoline.Natural gas vehicles (NGV) are already available and combine top performance with low emissions. The natural gas Honda Civic GX is rated as the cleanest production vehicle in the world.According to NGVAmerica, there are more than 7 million NGVs in use worldwide, but only 150,000 of those are in the United States. The EPA estimates that vehicles on the road account for 60% of carbon monoxide pollution and around one-third of hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions in the United States. As federal and state emissions laws become more stringent, many requirements will be unattainable with conventionally fueled vehicles.Since natural gas is significantly cleaner than petroleum, NGVs are increasing in popularity. The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach recently announced that 16,800 old diesel trucks will be replaced, and half of the new vehicles will run on alternatives such as natural gas.

Cheaper

Natural gas is significantly less expensive than gasoline or diesel. In places like Utah and Oklahoma, prices are less than $1 a gallon. To see fueling stations and costs in your area, check out cngprices.com.

Domestic

Natural gas is our country's second largest energy resource and a vital component of our energy supply. 98% of the natural gas used in the United States is from North America. But 70% of our oil is purchased from foreign nations.Natural gas is one of the cleanest, safest and most useful forms of energy — residentially, commercially and industrially. The natural gas industry has existed in the United States for over 100 years and continues to grow.Domestic natural gas reserves are twice that of petroleum. And new discoveries of natural gas and ongoing development of renewable biogas are continually adding to existing reserves.While it is a cheap, effective and versatile fuel, less than 1% of natural gas is currently used for transportation.

The Mechanics

We currently use natural gas to produce 22% of our electricity. Harnessing the power of wind to generate electricity will give us the flexibility to shift natural gas away from electricity generation and put it to use as a transportation fuel — reducing our dependence on foreign oil by more than one-third.

How do we get it done?

The Pickens Plan is a bridge to the future — a blueprint to reduce foreign oil dependence by harnessing domestic energy alternatives, and buy us time to develop even greater new technologies.Building new wind generation facilities and better utilizing our natural gas resources can replace more than one-third of our foreign oil imports in 10 years. But it will take leadership.On January 20th, 2009, a new President will take office.We're organizing behind the Pickens Plan now to ensure our voices will be heard by the next administration.Together we can raise a call for change and set a new course for America's energy future in the first hundred days of the new presidency — breaking the hammerlock of foreign oil and building a new domestic energy future for America with a focus on sustainability.You can start changing America's future today by supporting the Pickens Plan. Join now.

Gas Away!

2008-06-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

Paying $2.99 a gal for CNG while the rest of the world is paying $4.59 for Regular?

PRICELESS!!!

AltFuelPrices.Com Find the lowest price for CNG

2008-05-06T06:45:00.000-07:00

http://www.altfuelprices.com/

Alternative fuel prices and fill stations for the entire US
Biodiesel, CNG - Compressed Natural Gas, E85 Ethanol, Electric Charging Stations, Hydrogen, LNG - Liquefied Natural Gas, LPG - Liquefied Propane Gas

How to Fuel Your Car for $0.63 per gallon.

2008-05-05T11:48:00.000-07:00

Clean Burning Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs) are hot commodities in some parts of the country, where fuel can sell for as low as $0.63 per gallon.

Unlike the world’s most fuel efficient car (VW’s 285 MPG bullet), the Honda Civic GX looks like a standard passenger vehicle. What makes it special is what you don’t see: tailpipe emissions that are often cleaner than ambient air.

The Civic GX is powered by compressed natural gas—methane—the simplest and cleanest-burning hydrocarbon available. With an economical 113-hp, 1.8-Liter engine, the Civic has been called the “cleanest internal combustion vehicle certified by the EPA,” with 90% cleaner emissions than the average gasoline-powered car on the road in 2004.

And get this: in Utah, natural gas can be purchased for $0.63 per gallon.

At $24,590, buying a new Civic GX won’t exactly break your bank account, especially since up to $7,000 will come back to you in the form of state and federal tax credits. But don’t expect to find one easily. The car is only sold in two states, New York and California, and Honda can’t build them fast enough. One dealership said they have over 80 people waiting to buy.

It’s fairly obvious why densely populated states would be interested, especially since natural gas is a readily available source of heating fuel for many parts of the country. Most importantly, the Civic is the Eagle Scout of emissions certifications: it qualified for the California Air Resources Board’s Advanced Technology Partial Zero-Emission Vehicle (AT-PZEV) status, which means that it’s a Super-Ultra-Low-Emission Vehicle (SULEV) with zero-evaporative emissions. To qualify for AT-PZEV, the Civic must also carry a 15-year/150,000-mile warranty on emissions equipment.

It also meets EPA’s strict Tier-2, Bin-2 and ILEV certification, and has won the green ribbon from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) as the greenest vehicle of 2008. That’s the fifth consecutive year it’s taken the top prize.

So what’s the downside to the Civic GX and other NGVs?

Drawbacks to Compressed Natural Gas Vehicles

Earlier this week I was clued-in to the explosion of compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles in Southern Utah, and their potential to overwhelm the 91 refueling stations already in place there.

That’s the biggest drawback to NGVs:

There are only about 1,600 CNG stations nationwide (compared to 200,000 gas stations), though some areas (like Utah and California) are better served than others.

One way to get around this is to buy your own natural gas refueling station. Since a large number of us burn natural gas for heat, this doesn’t require much more than setting up a pump. The refueling kits, made by FuelMaker, will set you back about $3,500, but that can be offset by substantial tax credits.

Second drawback: since natural gas is a compressed fuel, the tank takes up some trunk space, and only holds the equivalent of 8 gallons of gasoline. Honda estimates the vehicle’s range to be 220 to 250 miles, although Consumer Reports claimed it was closer to 180 miles.

NGV enthusiasts are getting around range limitations (and vehicle scarcity) by converting their own vehicles to run on natural gas and adding spare tank capacity. Throwing extra tanks in the bed of a truck, for example, can boost driving range to around 600 miles. The best part about converting a vehicle (as opposed to the Civic GX) is that if you run out of CNG, the system automatically switches back to gasoline.

Third drawback: NGVs don’t provide that great of a reduction in greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions when compared to their gasoline counterparts.

According to the industry group Natural Gas Vehicles for America (NGVA), the reduction is only 20%, which is about the same GHG reduction you get from corn-based ethanol. That doesn’t sound too impressive, but it’s still a reduction, and clean air could be worth it.

The big question mark is source. If large amounts of biomethane can be produced from biomass (which is probably already done at your local landfill), the emissions reductions would be much greater.

But What About Natural Gas Supply?

Natural gas supplies 20% of all energy use in the US. According to NGVA, “Even if the number of NGVs were to increase 100-fold in the next ten years to 11,000,000 or roughly 5% of the entire vehicle market (a formidable goal), the impact on natural gas supplies and the natural gas delivery infrastructure would be small — equating to about 4 percent of total U.S. natural gas consumption.”

At first glance, that sounds pretty good, but any increase in natural gas usage means importing more fuel.

Taking a look at data from the Energy Information Administration, the US uses about 21.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year, most of which is produced domestically (18.5 trillion cubic feet) with the difference being imported (4.2 trillion cubic feet). Proven natural gas reserves in the US amount to about 211 trillion cubic feet. If my math is correct, without taking into account any increase in demand, the US only has about 11.5 years of natural gas left. After that, we’re back to square one: importing oil from Russia, Qatar, Iran, and Saudi Arabia

Like petroleum, two-thirds of world natural gas supply exists in just a few countries. If we’re at all worried about having domestic (let alone renewable) energy sources, basing the future of US transportation on natural gas puts us right back in the same position we’re in now.

Also like petroleum, there is an “infinite supply” argument: “Don’t worry, we won’t run out… promise.” NGVA says that if we can tap into methane hydrate ice formations that exist under 1000 feet of water at the bottom of the arctic oceans, we’ll be just fine. Right now, this is about as plausible as time travel, and methane hydrates serve a very important function—they’re a crucial sink for carbon dioxide in the global carbon cycle.

Conclusions

Even if we haven’t learned our lesson about importing foreign energy, natural gas could still provide a functional infrastructure and technology for transition to hydrogen fuel cells. Natural gas is currently the number one feedstock for producing hydrogen, and refueling stations along California’s hydrogen highway may produce the fuel by reforming natural gas on-site. Basically, this gives us a transition fuel until we figure out how to make hydrogen sustainably.

As for the Honda Civic GX, it may be the cleanest-burning vehicle on the market, but the drawbacks listed above are likely to keep NGVs out of mainstream production for the forseeable future. It seems unlikely that natural gas will stay as cheap as it currently is in Utah, but relatively low pricing could keep the car’s popularity high in some areas. It will be interesting to see how things resolve there.

For more on the Honda Civic GX, see Honda’s Website and Consumer Reports. See more pictures below.

For more on Natural Gas, see Natural Gas Cars: CNG Fuel Almost Free in Some Parts of the Country.

Happy Earth Day!

2008-04-22T06:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Earth Day, Loving what we are driving, The Greenest Car of 2008.

The Honda Civic GX. Got $5.00 gas yet? You should take a look at this car.

(if you live in California or New York that is...)

2008 Honda Civic GX sold out?

2008-02-25T20:19:00.000-08:00

And you still want to buy a CNG vehicle?

http://cngvehiclesforsale.blogspot.com/

Start your search above!

The top 7 Greenest cars in America are…

2008-02-25T17:39:00.000-08:00

Actually Japanese.

1. Honda Civic GX
2. Toyota Prius
3. Honda Civic Hybrid
4. Smart ForTwo
5. Toyota Yaris
6. Nissan Altima Hybrid
7. Toyota Corolla

"You will without a doubt have noticed that the top green car is not a Prius (which is the only green car I can think of). Actually I really can’t call them cars. First of all, if it can’t go above 60mph (100kph) it’s not a car. And I’ve got proof, look at the picture of the Civic GX; THAT is not a car. It’s something from outer space." -The World Of M

FYI the 2008 Honda Civic GX can go 100 mph. - DRM

The Family Driving the Greenest Car in America is

2008-02-25T15:59:00.000-08:00

The McClure's!

Quick, name the greenest family car in America. The Toyota Prius, right?

Wrong!

The most environmentally friendly family car sold in America is our Honda Civic GX. Yep, Our Honda's compressed natural gas sedan edges out the whimmpy Prius for the title, according to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. Never mind that Honda sells just 1,000 or so of them a year. Mostly to government or corporate fleets. And only in California and New York. AND WE THIS IS OUR SECOND ONE! We replaced our 2001 Honda Civic GX.

1 of 1000

2008-02-25T09:07:00.000-08:00

The greenest of the green is our the Honda Civic GX, (and this is our second GX) which runs on compressed natural gas or CNG. Honda Corp sells about 1,000 GX's like ours a year, with many going to corporate or government fleets. The Civic GX is not available everywhere and forward looking individuals like us can buy GXs only in New York and California.

Dedicated to advancing energy efficiency as a means of promoting both economic prosperity and environmental protection

2008-02-20T21:22:00.000-08:00

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing energy efficiency as a means of promoting both economic prosperity and environmental protection.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has named the Honda Civic GX natural gas car as the greenest vehicle in 2008, for the fifth consecutive year.

PRESS RELEASE:

Recognizing Honda’s application of fuel efficient and alternative fuel technologies, four Honda vehicles earned recognition from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) as the “greenest vehicles of 2008″ with the Civic GX natural gas car taking the title of the greenest vehicle for the fifth consecutive year, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., announced today. In the 11th annual ACEEE’s “Green Book® Online” ranking of environmentally responsible vehicles (available at http://www.greenercars.org/), the natural gas-powered Civic GX ranked first with the gasoline Civic, Fit and Civic Hybrid joining the list of the 12 most environmentally-conscious vehicles available to the public.

This is the eighth year in a row that a Honda vehicle received the number one ranking and the seventh consecutive year that Honda vehicles held at least four positions in the top 12, an impressive one-third of all vehicles on the list.

“The ACEEE awards speak to the commitment Honda has made to lead the industry in lowering emissions, increasing fuel efficiency and reducing dependence on oil,” said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda. “Honda continues to set the standard for socially and environmentally-responsible automotive products and our commitment to alternative fuels will further expand with the zero emissions FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle coming to market this summer.”

Using a singular measure that incorporates fuel economy, health-related pollution impacts and global warming emissions, all vehicles are analyzed and given a “Green Score.” This score is used in ACEEE’s ranking system, resulting in a ranking of each vehicle’s total environmental performance, including a list of the 12 “greenest” and 12 “meanest” vehicles. The Civic GX, first introduced in 1998, is the cleanest internal combustion vehicle certified by the EPA*, and is 90% cleaner than the average gasoline-powered car on the road today.

Honda has a long history of environmental leadership including the introduction of America’s first hybrid, the Honda Insight, delivery of the first fuel cell vehicle in the U.S., and the first vehicles to meet stricter emissions standards, including:

- The first gasoline Low Emissions Vehicle (LEV), the 1996 Honda Civic.
- The first gasoline Ultra-Low Emissions vehicle (ULEV), the 1998 Honda Accord.
- The first gasoline Super Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicle (SULEV), the 2000 Honda Accord.
- The first Advanced Technology Partial-Zero Emissions Vehicle (AT-PZEV), the 2001 Civic GX natural gas vehicle.

*EPA Tier-2, Bin-2 and ILEV certification as of May 2007.

Civic GX is as clean as they come

2008-02-20T13:16:00.000-08:00

While the folks at Tesla, ZAP! and other electric car manufacturers may take umbrage with the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy’s (ACEEE) choice of the natural gas-powered Honda Civic GX as its Greenest Vehicle of 2008, for an internal combustion powered car, the Civic GX is as clean as they come. Ranking above the Civic Hybrid, the Fit and the regular petrol-powered Civic not to mention outscoring the Toyota Prius and the Smart ForTwo, the Civic GX makes a strong case for its place at the top of the list.

Honda Civic GX: Fueling's a Treasure Hunt on Weekend Trip

2008-02-19T16:07:00.000-08:00

Took the Civic GX –just named greenest vehicle sold in the U.S. – on a 611-mile weekend trip. It takes a little planning when your fuel isn't the easiest to find, but all went well.

Part of the reason for taking the GX, usually just a commuter car, was to see if we could stand sitting in it for hours on end. Part was to see how difficult it would be to find the compressed natural gas it needs once we got out of the greater Los Angeles area.

Neither proved problematic, although figuring out the fueling logistics is a bit like planning a treasure hunt. And when you get to some of the stops, you find that CNG pumps aren't often in spots you really want to hang around in after dark.

Before departing, we plugged our starting point and destination into the mapping function of the federal Energy Department's alternative fuels site.

Green book ranks cars by fuel-efficiency

2008-02-19T14:02:00.001-08:00

The Honda Civic GX, a car that runs on compressed natural gas and is only for sale in New York and California, topped the list for a fifth consecutive year.

Meanest, Greenest For '08 Ranked in New Green Book

2008-02-19T14:00:00.001-08:00

It's not packed with sexy new technology like hybrid or fuel cell cars, but its clean, low-carbon fuel and respectable fuel economy combined to earn Honda's 2008 Civic GX top place on a leading environmental guide's "greenest cars" list for the fifth consecutive year.

Honda Civic GX Natural Gas Car Earns Top Spot on ACEEE's 'Greenest Vehicles of 2008' List for the Fifth Straight Year

2008-02-19T13:57:00.000-08:00

TORRANCE, Calif., Feb 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Recognizing Honda's application of fuel efficient and alternative fuel technologies, four Honda vehicles earned recognition from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) as the "greenest vehicles of 2008" with the Civic GX natural gas car taking the title of the greenest vehicle for the fifth consecutive year, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., announced today. In the 11th annual ACEEE's "Green Book(R) Online" ranking of environmentally responsible vehicles (available at http://www.greenercars.org/), the natural gas-powered Civic GX ranked first with the gasoline Civic, Fit and Civic Hybrid joining the list of the 12 most environmentally-friendly vehicles available to the public.

This is the eighth year in a row that a Honda vehicle received the number one ranking and the seventh consecutive year that Honda vehicles held at least four positions in the top 12, an impressive one-third of all vehicles on the list.

"The ACEEE awards speak to the commitment Honda has made to lead the industry in lowering emissions, increasing fuel efficiency and reducing dependence on oil," said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda. "Honda continues to set the standard for socially and environmentally-responsible automotive products and our commitment to alternative fuels will further expand with the zero emissions FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle coming to market this summer."

Using a singular measure that incorporates fuel economy, health-related pollution impacts and global warming emissions, all vehicles are analyzed and given a "Green Score." This score is used in ACEEE's ranking system, resulting in a ranking of each vehicle's total environmental performance, including a list of the 12 "greenest" and 12 "meanest" vehicles. The Civic GX, first introduced in 1998, is the cleanest internal combustion vehicle certified by the EPA*, and is 90% cleaner than the average gasoline-powered car on the road today.

Honda has a long history of environmental leadership including the introduction of America's first hybrid, the Honda Insight, delivery of the first fuel cell vehicle in the U.S., and the first vehicles to meet stricter emissions standards, including:

-- The first gasoline Low Emissions Vehicle (LEV), the 1996 Honda Civic. -- The first gasoline Ultra-Low Emissions vehicle (ULEV), the 1998 Honda Accord. -- The first gasoline Super Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicle (SULEV), the 2000 Honda Accord. -- The first Advanced Technology Partial-Zero Emissions Vehicle (AT-PZEV), the 2001 Civic GX natural gas vehicle.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing energy efficiency as a means of promoting both economic prosperity and environmental protection.

*EPA Tier-2, Bin-2 and ILEV certification as of May 2007

For more information or downloadable high-resolution images of Honda award winners and other Honda vehicles, please visit http://www.hondanews.com/. Consumer information is available at http://www.honda.com/.

The Natural Gas Option

2008-02-17T20:36:00.000-08:00

The Natural Gas Option As I noted in last Friday's posting, two recent scientific studies have severely undermined the environmental rationale for conventional biofuels, including corn ethanol. But if corn ethanol no longer looks attractive as a combined solution for our energy security and climate woes, where should we turn for a better alternative? As odd as it might sound to promote a fossil fuel, rather than another form of renewable energy, our lack of focus on natural gas as a transportation fuel seems equally surprising and illogical to me. It might not be the long-term answer to our complex needs, but making greater use of natural gas in vehicles could provide a broad range of benefits, with fewer drawbacks than some of the alternatives we are pushing now.

In addition to the natural gas-fueled buses that are becoming commonplace in big cities, cars running on compressed natural gas (CNG) are already on the road, including CNG taxis and fleet vehicles. For consumers, Honda sells a natural-gas version of its popular Civic model, which can refuel either at home or at commercial CNG stations, of which there are about 850 nationwide. Although the EPA estimates that the equivalent fuel economy of the Civic GX is about the same as a gasoline-powered four-cylinder Civic, its calculated annual fuel cost comes in $658 lower. Unfortunately, it would take just over ten years to pay out the car's higher sticker price, relative to a comparably-equipped gasoline model. If demand for CNG vehicles took off, their cost premium should come down dramatically, since the technology involved is much less intricate than a hybrid's.

There are good reasons to compare CNG to ethanol. Much of the energy required to produce corn ethanol comes from natural gas, in the form of ammonia-based fertilizer and process heat generation. And unlike corn ethanol, CNG consumes virtually no petroleum in its manufacture or distribution. Even before the latest studies cast doubt on ethanol's greenhouse gas reduction credentials, the emissions from a CNG-powered car looked lower than those of one running on E-85, when viewed on a full "well-to-wheels" basis, coming in at around 25% less than conventional gasoline and even a bit lower than diesel. Emissions of traditional pollutants are low enough to qualify the Honda GX as a partial-zero-emission vehicle under California's strict regulations.

While both fuels face obstacles to wider distribution, CNG's might be easier to overcome. Ethanol's big problem is its incompatibility with pipelines, forcing producers to ship it long distances by rail, before being blended into gasoline at the distribution terminal nearest the retail site. Natural gas has no long-distance pipeline issues, aside from some regional bottlenecks, but faces something of a "last-mile" problem: compressing it and putting it into a retail dispenser. That still looks simpler than digging up tens out thousands of service stations to put in E-85 tanks, because station owners don't wish to forego diesel or unleaded premium sales to add a low-volume new product.

Whenever you add a new category of demand without changing existing supply, prices tend to go up, and that's certainly one risk of shifting some of our transportation energy burden onto natural gas. However, gas used in transportation represents such a tiny fraction of current consumption that it could increase by a factor of ten without causing major ripples. The US still has significant untapped natural gas resources, and global production is rising steadily. The bigger risk is that high oil prices will spill over to natural gas and shrink the latter's cost advantage, which is currently close to a 50% discount on energy content.

CNG isn't a silver bullet, any more than anything else is. However, it's an excellent alternative that's available now. It unambiguously improves greenhouse gas emissions compared to gasoline, and it enhances US energy security by diversifying our energy imports away from OPEC. Given those attributes, it's a mystery why it was virtually ignored in the 2007 Clean Energy Bill.

Qualified Alternative Fuel Motor Vehicle Tax Credit

2008-02-17T20:33:00.000-08:00

IR-2007-181, Oct. 31, 2007

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has acknowledged the certification by American Honda Motor Company, Inc., that its Honda Civic GX Model Year 2008 vehicle meets the requirements of the Qualified Alternative Fuel Motor Vehicle Credit.

The Qualified Alternative Fuel Motor Vehicle Credit was enacted by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. To qualify these vehicles can operate only on alternative fuels or mixed fuels (a combination of alternative fuel and petroleum based fuel). The 2008 Honda Civic GX is an alternative fueled vehicle that operates on compressed natural gas. This vehicle should not be confused with hybrid vehicles.

The Qualified Alternative Fuel Motor Vehicle Credit amount for the Honda Civic GX Model Year 2008 is $4,000.

Greenest and meanest vehicles

2008-02-17T20:28:00.000-08:00

Make and Model	Specifications¹	Fuel Econ. City	Fuel Econ. Highway	Green Score
Honda Civic GX	1.8L 4, auto [CNG]²	28	39	57
Toyota Prius	1.5L 4, auto CVT	60	51	55
Honda Civic Hybrid	1.3L 4, auto CVT	49	51	53
Nissan Altima Hybrid	2.5L 4, auto CVT	42	36	48
Toyota Yaris	1.5L 4, manual	34	40	47
Toyota Corolla	1.8L 4, manual	32	41	46
Toyota Camry Hybrid	2.4L 4, auto CVT	40	38	46
Honda Fit	1.5L 4, manual	33	38	45
Kia Rio	1.6L 4, manual	32	35	45
Hyundai Accent	1.6L 4, manual	32	35	45
Hyundai Elantra	2.0L 4, auto	28	36	45
Honda Civic	1.8L 4, auto	30	40	44

How Green is Your Machine?

2008-02-17T20:27:00.000-08:00

Are you thinking about buying a new car? Check out the rankings of the greenest and meanest cars on MSNBC.com. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy ranked the "greenest" and "meanest" 2007 cars based on fuel economy and emissions -- as well as the estimated impact of those emissions on health and global warming. Surprisingly, the Toyota Prius did not come in first. The Honda Civic GX came in first and the Volkswagon Touareg came in last as the meanest car on the road, even meaner than a Lamborghini Murcielago, a Maybach, and a Bentley (according to this study.)

The Civic GX NGV: looks like a Civic, drives like a Civic, and runs on clean, domestic natural gas.

GNG Civic: Dealers Sold Out as Gasoline Prices Rise

2008-02-17T20:21:00.000-08:00

NGV sticker on the rear flank tells world the Honda Givic GX uses natural gas.

It's been a step-child of the green car movement for a decade now, but Honda's Civic GX is finally getting some notice.

As gasoline prices soar, demand for the company's natural-gas powered emissions fighter is soaring too.

Dealers are actually building waiting lists in California and New York, the two states where the car is sold to regular consumers.

Allocations are sold out through June, and Honda is considering nearly doubling production to 2,000 a year, with the possibility of an even bigger boost if market demand continues to build, a company insider said.

Those aren't earth-shaking numbers, but they reflect quite a jump from the GX's first eight years on the market, when sales averaged a mere 698 cars a year.

They're even more impressive when you consider that the GX gets the same mileage as the comparable base Civic LX with the gasoline version of the 1.8-liter engine yet has less power; fewer amenities,and costs almost $7,500 more.

While federal and local tax credits and incentives can drop the cost by as much as $6,000, only major aftermarket work – and expense –can make the GX more luxurious or give it more oomph – it is rated at 113 horsepower and 109 pound-feet of torque, versus the standard gas engine's 140 horses and 128 lb.-ft. rating.

The GX magic is that its compressed natural gas fuel costs substantially less per gallon than that other stuff . It's about 50 cents cheaper in California and sells for as low as 63 cents a gallon-equivalent in Utah, where natural gas is heavily subsidized. (Honda sells the GX to fleets but not individual consumers in Utah but may be eyeing the state for expanded sales soon.)

The cars also qualify in California and several other states for single-occupancy carpool lane stickers.

And – although Honda says this is not the principal reason people buy them – GXs are the cleanest internal combustion passenger cars sold in the U.S., thanks to CNG's lower carbon content

While its not all that easy to find – there are only 180 CNG stations in all of California, the main market for the Civic GX -- natural gas is relatively plentiful in major metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, where the GX makes sense as a commuter car.

GX owners who want to spend the money – about $6,000 before any applicable local and federal incentives, can also buy home natural gas units that can mount in the garage and provide about half a tank of compressed fuel overnight as a price of about $2 per gallon. That's good for about 110 miles of travel.

From the GX's launch in 1998 through the end of a shortened 2006 model year, Honda sold only 5,586 of the cars in the U.S.

Almost all the sales were to fleet operators – government agencies and private companies that got big tax benefits from using alternatively fueled vehicles.

But Honda sold 1,030 GX models in the 2007 model year, though, and halfway through the '08 model year almost 750 of the cars have been sold with the annual tally expected to hit 1,200, said company spokesman Todd Mittleman.

And while fleets are still big buyers, more than half the cars sold so far this model year have gone to individuals, he said.

"It used to be that the main reason people bought them was for the carpool sticker," said Mittleman. But Honda's consumer research shows that fuel prices are the top reason these days.

Whatever works, it's nice to see a clean, green car in demand.