I would think a large percent of people have natural gas for their homes. They could refill the cars at their homes very quickly. I would think it would be less expensive than gasoline. It would burn much cleaner than gasoline.
2007-12-30 05:06:35 · 16 answers · asked by Bman 1 in Environment ➔ Alternative Fuel Vehicles
Here is a very informative USA Today link about natural gas powered cars...
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2007-05-08-natural-gas-usat_N.htm
They are available now, but they are not being marketed, so nobody knows about them!
2007-12-30 05:27:17 · update #1
Link to the Honda GX NGV (Natural Gas Vehicle) page...
http://automobiles.honda.com/civic-gx/?ef_id=1097:35:b5e0f4831bb1d960c3f5c688378ccf4d:Fy6LQdB6B2YAADKVrPQAAAAI:20071230182813
2007-12-30 05:30:36 · update #2
According to this website http://www.cngmotors.com/gal/cng/index.php , apparently there are several used "natural gas" vehicles available. I even found a F-150 on their site that will run on gasoline OR natural gas. The site also states that one of the pros to the vehicles is that it gives you access to the HOV lanes!
2007-12-30 05:58:29 · update #3
Please read this about the Toyota Prius Hybrid vs. the Hummer...
http://clubs.ccsu.edu/Recorder/editorial/editorial_item.asp?NewsID=188
"Prius Outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage"
Apparently Hybrids aren't as "FRIENDLY" as many people think!
2007-12-30 11:24:07 · update #4
Well the only new natural gas vehicle available is the Honda Civic GX. As you can see from the link below, its environmental impact is on par with the Civic hybrid and Prius. However, the GX costs a bit more. While refueling does cost less, it also doesn't have the mileage efficiency of the hybrids.
On top of that, you have to lease the equipment to hook up to your home natural gas system to refuel at home. If I recall correctly, this is an additional $75/month. And the only place you can refuel is at home.
Plus natural gas is still a fossil fuel and non-renewable resource.
So basically it's no more environmentally friendly than a hybrid, but costs more and has less convenience. That's why they're not more popular.
*edit* Prius does more environmental damage than a Hummer is a myth. It's based on a study done by a marketing company. Not surprisingly, when a marketing company tries to do a scientific study, they make all kinds of terrible assumptions which lead to incorrect results.
Do a Google search for "Dust to Dust debunk" if you want to see the many errors made in that study.
A *scientific* study by the Swiss government showed that the Prius is the greenest car on the planet.
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSL2733658020070727
2007-12-30 08:13:53 · answer #1 · answered by Dana1981 7 · 2⤊ 3⤋
first were did you read that people could fill there own tanks at home. not a chance maybe you should visit a place that actually fills tanks and see whats involved. and LNG vehicles are around in major metro areas only. Because they're cleaner and the don't have to go far before refueling. they have a relatively short range that's the problem with storing a gas takes up a lot of space for a relatively small amount of energy.
2007-12-30 19:13:28 · answer #2 · answered by j2 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The main reason more natural gas powered vehicles aren't available is because there isn't a refueling network out there... Sure, you'll find the occasional station that will also supply natural gas, but it is not readily available for refueling.
As for the home fueling stations, if I remember correctly those things cost around $1,000 to have installed, and the small compressor will take about eight hours to refill your tank from your home supply.
That being said, I worked with a guy who worked in the "oil patch" in Wyoming, and one of the company trucks was a dual-fuel vehicle, and the mechanic informed him that the engine didn't have the sludge or near the problems as a conventional gas-powered vehicle...
One other thing: With the number of homes using natural gas for heating, and the number of electric utilities using natural gas to fire their boilers to produce electricity, threre have been times in the last couple of years that the actual supply of natural gas has been running a bit thin. Couple that with the vehement opposition that many environmental groups throw at any attempts to drill wells for natural gas, and you'll see the actual supply of that commodity starting to dwindle - just like petroleum...
2007-12-30 14:02:52 · answer #3 · answered by acidman1968 4 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I worked for Ford for 6 years. I had a chance to drive a NG car and truck for awhile. They are expensive to run, are terribly inefficient and a terrible on power. It was like driving a moped. It lacked power very badly.
2008-01-01 18:46:46 · answer #4 · answered by wcowell2000 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We have been there and already tried natural gas. It didn't work.
In the early 70's the dooms day media hype at that time was there would ABSOLUTELY be no oil left on the planet in 10 years. A few dooms day scientist dreamed it up, and the media hyped it, and it was taught in all the schools as fact.
Lots of vehicles were converted to natural gas, and Chrysler / Dodge came out with several vehicles that were natural gas powered vehicles / gasoline engines. They had dual fuel intake systems and the operator switched to the system that used whichever fuel he could get at the time.
In actual road performance, natural gas does not produce the power needed to transport goods, and gives poor performance under loads such as going up hill.
In the end, economics killed the Natural Gas powered engines. Natural gas gets around 60% of the distance a comparable energy load of gasoline gives you. Gasoline got you farther, faster and for less $$.
So when 10 years came and went and the oil wells were still pumping, Natural Gas engines became an interesting experimental footnote in history.
2008-01-01 00:40:07 · answer #5 · answered by Ranger 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What a lot of people don't realize is that it takes 2 units of natural gas to do the same things as 1 unit of gasoline.
So the cost would be as high if not higher.
2007-12-31 15:02:06 · answer #6 · answered by mikew19532004 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Using natural gas would actually cost more. Here check this out. http://discovermagazine.com/2007/dec/12_18_the-cheapest-way-to-power-your-car its a breakdown of several different possible fuels.
2007-12-30 19:52:54 · answer #7 · answered by The Shoz 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
it costs too much to change the way vehicles are produced and to change all of the tanks etc. Plus the oil companies are most likely bribing the makers of vehicles to not make cars that would run with natural gas so that they can keep making money. This is sort of like the EV1 car. You should watch who killed the electric car. You could learn alot.
2007-12-30 13:14:40 · answer #8 · answered by 12638 4 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Although natural gas is cleaner than gasoline, it IS still a fossil fuel, and it will be depleted before gasoline is. Also, home filling would require the ability to increase the pressure again, unless you wanted to bypass the gas meter entirely. And that sounds kinda illegal.
2007-12-30 17:43:58 · answer #9 · answered by Michelle C 4 · 0⤊ 4⤋
It will loose about 15% of its power on natural gas.
2007-12-30 15:31:01 · answer #10 · answered by JOHNNIE B 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋