Honda Civic GX

At my work, both of our Zambonis run on Natural Gas as well as our F150, it takes forever to fill the Zambonis up, we put it in at midnight when we close and when the guys come in at 4AM the next morning, its still not full but i think this is cause our fueling system is crap

 

The GX is the cleanest vehicle available to the public. It is considered a Zero emissions vehicle because Burned Methane creates almost nothing that would be considered a pollutant (besides greenhouse gases). The quote I've heard is that if you spill 1 pint of Gasoline, you've created more pollution than a GX will create in 100,000 miles. Natural gas is Higher Octane so it burns more fully (or something like that). Additionally, the GX uses existing technology and materials. There are no special batteries that make a trip around the world before you can buy the Prius. Because the engine lasts so much longer than one that uses gasoline, the pollution made by building the car is spread over a longer lifetime (Use in Taxi's and Police cars show that a CNG engine, if given regular maintenance, should last 400,000 to 500,000 miles regularly with a realistic chance at 1,000,000 if you are lucky). The Prius is considered a greener car because it uses less Gasoline. A gallon of gas burned in a Prius produces as much pollution as a Gallon burned in a Hummer. The Prius is cleaner because it goes further on that same gallon. It goes further on that same pollution. A CNG car uses a cleaner fuel and a more efficient delivery system from the mine to the car. There is no wasted fuel to evaporation. There are no spills. There is a bit of a vent of CNG when you are filling, but it is far less than one cubic foot of gas. About equal to A drop. Because of that, the car itself is a greener option.

 

No. The pipe the carries Natural Gas to your business works at 20 pounds of pressure (about 5 more than normal atmosphere). You can only pull so much from that pipe. It takes time to get enough gas for the Compressors to squeeze it down to 3000 pounds per square inch and have a GGE. The fastest home unit can make about 1.5 gallons an hour. If you have 2 hooked up, and they have 15 gallon tanks on each, that means you will need 20 hours to fill the tanks from dead zero.

 

If you remember to use a motor oil specifically blended for natural gas use, otherwise you will experience excessive nitration and oxidation. There are motor oils intended for use in natural gas/propane cars, forklift trucks, etc

Not really. Compare the Tier 2 Bin qualification of the Prius vs the Hummer. The Hummer H2 is classified as a light duty truck, so it is allowed to put out a lot more NOx, HC, and PM than the Prius

 

The sticker is a big plus but I can't use the car to go to Vegas from L.A. (250). Who knows where to get CNG if I need to fill up before reaching Vegas. I drove couple of weeks ago in the Prius to SFO (400 miles) non-stop with 3 pips to spare.

 

very interesting, am i wrong that this car is only offered in cali? So what if you want to take a road trip aren't you screwed?

 

The Honda website didn't mention anything about CA only. Apparently the car comes with a handbook that explains where roadside refueling stations are.

 

then how come i cant order one of these? I do believe that there only in cali right now considering most states dont have refueling stations yet. Not saying this is bad there will be filling stations like gas soon enough just have to give it time this is new for the us.

 

Not sure why. What did the dealership tell you? Apparently the GX is fairly backordered, like the Prius is again

I like the idea of a natural gas or propane vehicle. Consider how many forklift trucks used 24x7 in industrial/warehouse duty run on it, and how long the motors last

 

Well theres no filling stations around me so im guessing that you cant get one,

 

I'm surprised to hear that. I suppose you could go the route of using the at-home fueling station.

I'm sure you're aware that you reach a point where - unless you're putting a huge number of miles on the FJ - it's cheaper to just slow down a bit and keep driving it

 

You can go from LA to Barstow, refill, and on the vegas. Personally, I would make sure I have the AAA advanced membership online before I started (100 mile tow). Once you are in Vegas, you have to have arranged a CNG card with the company there to get gas. The stations do not work on Visa or Mastercard, but on a proprietary card.

In general, you do not want to do road trips. You can go from LA to SF, or Vegas without a problem... but still.

 

California and New York, but they are opening soon in Utah and probably OK. Both states have state supported gas stations at less then $1 a gallon, so most of the new and used cars are being imported.

 

Comes back to supply and demand. When I bought mine, I could buy a used one from 2000 for about $3500. Now the 2000 used is about $12000 on ebay. They make about 700 a year for the public. Just about every dealership is sold out (I think every dealer is sold out, but I don't know).

The car does come with a book with the local stations. You can also go to CNGprices.com and get a google map with locations, prices, and availability.

If I were to buy another one, I would go to the Lancaster Honda Dealer and talk to Curtis Martin. They have 200 2008 on order, and he is the most knowledgeable guy around. He knows all of the benefits, has all of the applications to the state, and so on. He will help you fill everything out.

I know he is sold out, and they are waiting for the '09 shipment in September. They are NOT taking a wait list, so it is first come, first served with these once they are on hand.

 

Just wanted to revive an old thread...

Recently purchased a 2011 Civic GX to complement my 2004 Prius, which is still going strong at 160k miles (Although my mileage has dropped from 50-52 mpg to 44 mpg over the years).

I don't notice increased road noise (as some have mentioned) and the amenities are few (apparently this will change with the 2012 model year).

Trunk space is limited, especially when you compare it to the Prius' hatchback configuration, but it makes for a fine commuter car, especially if you live near a CNG station.