Honda Civic Natural Gas - A Clean Alternative

In 20 years of automotive testing, it's rare when you get to drive something for the first time. Well, I just did. I spent a week with the Honda Civic Natural Gas, which runs on, that's right, compressed natural gas (CNG). While Honda has offered the GX model in small quantities over the last several years, particularly to fleets, it now has "Natural Gas" emblazoned on the trunklid, with a blue CNG diamond below it, and plans to make the car more widely available.

The CNG sticker, apparently, is for emergency crews so they'll know that instead of a normal gas tank, your vehicle has an 8-gallon (equivalent) one, which is not only holding the fuel in a gaseous state at 3,600 psi but takes up most of the trunk (behind a panel).

The good news is substantial. I averaged 30.5 miles per gallon (the EPA says 31), which is very slightly lower than a normal Honda Civic. Posted EPA scores are 27 City, 38 Highway. There was no difference in driving the car from the typical pleasant Civic experience, despite a difference of 30 horsepower (110 vs. 140). And the thing runs extremely cleanly thanks to CNG's inherently more efficient combustion. The EPA numbers are 9 for Air Pollution and 8 for Greenhouse Gas compared to 6 and 7 respectively for a standard Civic.

CNG is less expensive than gasoline. I paid $2.40 and $2.50 per gallon (equivalent). Oh, and CNG comes from the USA--not on tankers from hostile nations.

The bad news? Well, with a 250-mile range and few available filling locations, you've really got to watch your fuel gauge and plan ahead. I made two fuel stops instead of one during my test week. Also, the car is more expensive than a standard Civic. List price for my car, with the Navigation system, came to $28,425, which is a lot for a compact car with cloth seats and a plastic steering wheel. It costs money to modify the Honda engine and tank to accommodate the different fuel, which is delivered at higher pressure. But those are the only downsides.

I had two "learning experiences" filling the tank. It doesn't take long, but you do need to go to places you normally don't. In my case,  I visited the north and south ends of the San Francisco Airport, where two companies, Clean Energy and Trillium, offer unpretentious accommodations. You might drive right past the little row of pumps without even noticing unless you go to the websites and get the information. Both locations had attendants, and I needed both of them.

The first station, Clean Energy, had a short video training built into the pump that I had to watch before pumping. It explained the method of clamping the filler nozzle onto the slim chrome filler in my car and working the pump. Unlike a typical gasoline pump, this one not only shows gallons and cost but also percent of full. At 100 percent, you carefully remove the nozzle and you're done. See a short video by my friend Chris.

Trillium provided a different type of connection but was basically the same. They didn't require any video viewing, but I might have liked one. They had a list of steps posted on the side of the tank, but I needed the attendant to show me that I left a lever up, which is why the system didn't know I was finished.

If you don't plan on making too many long trips this car could work great for you. That's why fleets, in which the vehicles have specific routes and the company can run its own fueling stations, have been the primary clients for CNG cars. The Civic, at this point, is the only standard CNG car you can buy. My companions at the filling stations were shuttle buses and commercial trucks. Some municipal buses fleets use CNG, and I can see that it would be handy. Surely someone else could offer a CNG car, right?

Propel - New Way to Get Alternative Fuels

I was driving along in a familiar spot a couple of days ago and at the Valero gas station, I saw a little "mini station" at the corner with a green sign that read "Propel." Curious, I stopped in.

Propel is a new concept in supplying alternative fuels--biodiesel and E85 ethanol--to drivers. Rather than setting up their own stations, they lease a small area from existing stations and in partnership, offer the fuels in a separate, but very compact, "clean fuel point." For the established fuel provider, it's turnkey--they lease out the space and get a profit while Propel builds, supplies and maintains the mini station. This sounds like a brilliant idea. And Propel says that these clean fuel points are built in an environmentally sensitive way and with their small footprint, are highly efficient.

The station I visited was a few miles from my office, but when I took the information card from the rack on the spotless pump, I saw that there are several places to obtain the fuels not too far from my house, too. These other clean fuel points were partnered with 76 and Chevron stations, so dealers from at least three major oil companies are participating in this new idea.

Today, Propel offers plant-based E85 ethanol for flex-fuel vehicles that can run on this fuel as well as gasoline. They also offer biodiesel. The blend of fuel sold (5%, 20%, or 99%) varies depending on location. Any Diesel car can use 5% and the 20% blend is being promoted as usable by most Diesel cars. The full-strength fuel may require some preparation of your car, and some new Diesel vehicles may not be able to use it.

Propel is actively looking into future alternative fuels from waste, algae and other sources, too.

By making alternative fuels easily available at existing, familiar locations, Propel is helping to move us to toward the cleaner energy we need to improve the environment and reduce our dependency on imported oil.

The next time I'm driving a flex-fuel or Diesel car, I'm heading in!

Drive More Efficiently--Without Buying a New Car

My friend Chris just turned me on to a website that promotes something I've talked about for years--driving more efficiently. GasSavers.org is an online community for fuel economy enthusiasts. It offers information, forums, blogs, and a "garage" where you can post information and photos of your car.

Using Ben Franklin's "a penny saved is a penny earned" philosophy, you can learn how to use less gas through smarter driving techniques, and also see some great examples of economical cars you can buy and drive that will help. This is not a community of hybrid enthusiasts--it's more for the guy nursing that old Saturn or Geo Metro along who wants to save some money--and perhaps the planet, too.

My friend Chris's 2009 Toyota Yaris (pictured) is a good example of a modern, inexpensive fuel saver. I drove one a few years ago and was impressed by its basic goodness. My current enthusiasm for non-hybrid economy drives is the Mazda2.

But go check out this website when you have a chance, even if you're driving a Suburban. Maybe they'll talk you into trading down--or at least show you how to pay a little less at the pump until you do.

Hybrid Trucks and Fascinating Truckdrivers

Yesterday, as I walked between the post office and my bank, I came upon a shiny new Pepsi delivery truck. Across its tall hood was the word "HYBRID." Apparently, Pepsi is using new hybrid diesel/electric heavy duty trucks from Freightliner. In this industrial application, the electric motor saves fuel and the regenerative braking prolongs brake life. Here's some information from another Pepsi distributor's hybrid efforts in central Florida.

It's a start. I wonder when the first all-electric industrial truck will make its debut--and who will make it?

The friendly truck driver, Javier, and I got into a conversation about the hybrid. Then, he noticed my music-themed tattoo, and we then talked about his ink--same place on the left arm--and he had more. Then we got into discussing music, and it turns out he's interested in Flamenco guitar. He's also, apparently, well read in philosophy. Never prejudge those around you! I didn't want to keep him from his work, as the end of the day was approaching so we parted ways. But here were two surprises in just a short time, and I had made a new friend, too.

Fill it Up With Hydrogen, Please

Last week, Toyota opened the first hydrogen fueling station in the U.S. fed directly from an active industrial hydrogen pipeline. The station, located in Torrance, California next to Toyota's sales and marketing headquarters, is a collaborative effort between Toyota, Air Products, Shell, South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) and the Department of Energy (DOE).

Toyota will use the Shell hydrogen station for fueling its hydrogen-powered vehicles in its fuel cell hybrid demonstration program. And, as a friendly gesture, they will let other manufacturers' fuel cell vehicles in the Los Angeles area pull up to the pump.

With this new station, the City of Torrance becomes part of the California Hydrogen Highway initiative, which aims to create clean air solutions and develop new technology jobs across the state.

Read Toyota's press release for more details.