Honda Civic GX: natural gas vehicle

[Dr Mordrid]

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/automotivetech/c9454ccdc09ae010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

Fueling up here wouldn't be a problem since most of the Meijers stores have natural gas fueling pumps, not to mention a lot of the truck stops

Natural-Gas Guzzler

Will Honda’s natural-gas-powered Civic GX blow other “green” cars off the road? See the first reports from our year-long in-depth test

By Eric Adams and the PopSci Staff | November 2006

Behold the car that could displace the Toyota Prius as the eco-ride of choice. The new natural-gas-powered Honda Civic GX uses domestically produced fuel—the same stuff your gas stove burns—that costs as little as one third the price of gasoline. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy calls it the cleanest-burning internal-combustion vehicle on Earth.

So what’s not to like? Only the scarcity of places to fuel up. Honda has sold compressed-natural-gas (CNG) Civics to fleet operators for eight years—because they have their own CNG pumps, they don’t have to search for the rare public ones. But thanks to a new home fueling station, anyone can fill up in their driveway.
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[Jessterw]

That would be a perfect second vehicle for us. Given I don't drive a whole lot these days and most of it is in town, a home fueling station would work fine. Cost being the prohibitive factor.

[Dr Mordrid]

2007 Honda GX

Price: $24,590
Horsepower: 113
Torque: 109 lb.-ft.
Fuel economy: 29/39 mpg Fuel capacity: 8 gallons (gas equivalent)

Actually you can get NG conversion kits for most cars on the market and some US car dealers will sell NG powered fleet vehicles to individuals. These include vehicles ranging from sedans to full sized vans & panel trucks.

More on home fueling;

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5960905

[Elie]

So what’s not to like?

The fact that the tank is pressurized and could blow at the slightest impact, no thanks!!!

My idea of a green car, is the following...

A car that could run on cooking oil
A car that could run on distilled water, or Air or even a new form of battery power.

Otherwise it's Gasoline run cars for me all the way!

Cheers,
Elie

[KvHagedorn]

A sailcar would be most elegant. Natural gas really doesn't burn any cleaner than gasoline.

[Mehen]

I want a car powered by dell laptop batteries.

[Jessterw]

You mean Dell enclosed, Sony batteries

[Wombat]

What's not to like? 113hp. Dear god, no wonder it's a fleet vehicle.

Civics are not tiny cars anymore, that engine will have a tough time, especially up here.

[Dr Mordrid]

But it would do fine for us flatlanders

[Wombat]

113hp for 2400lbs of car (a 4-door sedan at that) seems a bit sluggish, even at sea level.

[az]

Cars of that size often have less hp here. What's really not to like is the ugly and boring styling of the US Civic.

Here's a stock european Civic:







May not be to everybody's liking, but at least it stands out. Unfortunately, the Civic Hybrid here has the boring US exterior as well

[Brian Ellis]

That quote is full of lies and misconceptions.

1. Domestically produced NG is only a part of the US NG supply. In 2002 (last year I have data for), domestic NG was 19.6 quads and imports were 3.6 quads. As domestic NG is running out and consumption is increasing, the proportions are probably about 65:35 today, and under 50% will be domestic by 2010.
2. The ACEEE are very much mistaken in calling it the cleanest ICE vehicle on earth. There are thousands of hydrogen-powered ICE vehicles, including buses, with zero direct CO2 emissions. NG produces 2.74 kg of CO2 for every kg of methane burnt.
3. NG is actually one of the worst polluting gases in the world. It is true that the relatively pure stuff that comes out of your gas tap burns cleanly, even though it produces massive amounts of CO2, but what about the stuff that comes out of the ground and all the processes that it undergoes before it reaches your gas tap? In reality, it is as bad as coal for its pollution footprint, even if the user does not see it. Read the whole story here.

The eco-ride of choice? Utter bollocks! Give me a Prius any day or even a modern diesel.

[az]

There was a environmental performance evaluation study a while ago (forgot by whom) where the Prius made number 5 IIRC, the Civic hybrid was first, and I think some french Diesels were in between.

[Gurm]

The fact that the tank is pressurized and could blow at the slightest impact, no thanks!!!

My idea of a green car, is the following...

A car that could run on cooking oil

My friend has been running a greasecar for a year now. The only fuel he needs other than filtered cooking oil is some diesel - and he brews that in his basement (biodiesel) since he really only needs a couple gallons of that a month (car won't cold start on cooking oil).

[cjolley]

...
Civics are not tiny cars anymore, that engine will have a tough time, especially up here.

We bought a 2007 Civic Hybrid on Saturday and will be in the Denver area over Thanksgiving.
I'll let you know how it does.


@AZ Ours is that color. I'll post pictures in a separate thread.

Re The Prius. The dealers make buying a Toyota that is popular a nightmarish experience.
We gave up after our third try. Even got to the point of signing the papers on the last one, but at signing out came the hidden add-in charges. We walked.
I own a fair chunk of TM stock. They make great cars, but thier dealers suck