2006 Civic GX (Natural Gas)

[CR-V]

Being introduced to New York State this fall. Lower fuel cost,tax incetives,fuel up at home if you purchase Phill.
http://hondanews.com/CatID1000?mid=2006041333114&mime=asc

[Ridgeline2006]

How much does Phill cost? And how much for installation? I wonder if the 50% less than gasoline figure takes into account the cost of Phill.

[CR-V]

Got no idea about the cost of Phill, I think Honda is invested in the Co. You could contact them.
http://www.fuelmaker.com/

[Ridgeline2006]

A little research shows that the price for Phill is about $3500 minus rebates/incentives which can reduce the price to about 1/2 of that, plus installation (which shouldn't be too much, just a connection to the natural gas source and a 15amp dedicated circuit). So, it looks like a couple thousand to get Phill up and running, minus the tax incentives. The estimates are that you would spend about 50% to 60% less on natural gas than gasoline.

So with the price of a gallon of gas at about $3.00, and with driving about 500 miles per week (a bit above average), and with the vehicle rated at 31/37 mpg (let's use 33 as an average mpg), I'd pay about $45.00 per week for gasoline and about $22.50 per week for natural gas. (500 miles divided by 33 miles per gallon times 3 dollars per gallon)

At that rate, it would take me about 100 weeks (actually a bit less) to pay for Phill...that's less than 2 years! So, if you drove 1/2 as much as I do, it'd take you about three years to pay for Phill, and that'd be about the length of a lease....not really a good deal at this point!

The best thing about this car, and the hybrids, is getting a little less dependent on foreign fuel sources, but the cost isn't really all that attractive, yet. It will be attractive when the cost of a gallon of gas hits five dollars, though.

[bigdave269]

Something else to consider: CNG cars get about 2/3 the "mileage" as gasoline cars do. You're not going to get 500 miles on a tank like you do with gasoline, mostly because of the way it is handled and stored in the car.

Our city fleet of CNG Crown Vics only get about 200 miles on a tank compared to about 350 on a tank of gasoline. Conversion wise, I am not sure how it works out, but CNG is cheaper and cleaner. Distribution is a problem, but if you can fill up at home, why not?

By the way, Natural Gas is actually a byproduct of oil fields. While it's cheaper right now, it is a fossil fuel we will also run out of eventually. In terms of true alternate fuel, electric and hydrogen fuel cell are probably the best bet, but still need a lot of development to make it practical for everyday use.