Natural Gas Powered Vehicles

Natural gas powered vehicles (NGV) - why aren't there more on the road?

**Natural gas, an inherently clean-burning fuel, produces 75 percent fewer smog forming pollutants (oxides of nitrogen) compared to the output of a conventional gasoline engine.

**The gasoline gallon equivalent of natural gas costs an average of one-third less than gasoline.

**While NGV filling stations are limited in the US, half of US homes have access to natural gas. NGVs can safely be fueled at home via a compressor that is plumbed into your house gas line. Most personal vehicles in the U.S. have a majority of their annual mileage within a 100 mile radius of the home - allowing home refueling to be a reasonable option.

**98% of natural gas in the US is produced domestically.

**Natural gas is plentiful in the US and reserves are growing

Most major automakers offered production NGVs in the 1990s, primarily for government and corporate fleets. Today, the only production model NGV available in the U.S. is the Honda Civic GX which is assembled in East Liberty, OH. Of the approximately 300,000 Honda Civics sold in the US annually, about 1,000 are the GX or natural gas version of this model. Most are sold as government fleet cars available nationwide, and a handful of them are sold to consumers at select Honda dealers - but only in NY and CA. The 2008 Honda Civic GX achieves an EPA-estimated city/highway fuel economy of 24/36 miles per gasoline-gallon equivalent and a fuel tank with an 8.0 gasoline gallon equivalent capacity at 3600 psi provides a range of approximately 200 to 225 miles.

The Honda Civic GX is often described as the "cleanest internal combustion engine on the planet" and is the only vehicle certified by the EPA to meet both Federal Tier 2-Bin 2 and Inherently Low Emission Vehicle (ILEV) zero evaporative emission certification standards.

If we're really serious about reducing emissions in the U.S. - NGVs need to be part of the solution - and the technology and infrastructure are in place now to satisfy the majority of personal transportation needs in this country.