Since natural gas fuel is so cheap in Utah, 5,000 vehicles today run on the fuel. Buyers are flying in from the state in search of these vehicles. Another area where natural gas fuel is popular is Los Angeles, California. Clean Energy fuels lists the price as $2.85 a gallon and when compared to the $4.30 a gallon for gasoline and over 5 dollars a gallon for diesel, drivers who own natural gas vehicles are making a large profit. If you use only 10 gallons a week (that would be for small cars), you would spend $6.30 (natural gas) to fill up your car in Utah, $28.50 (natural gas) to fill up your car in Southern California, and over 40 dollars to fill up your car most places in America (average price of gas is four dollars a gallon in America). Furthermore, you would spend around 43 dollars a week in California for gasoline and over 50 dollars a week for diesel. Like stated earlier, these prices are for small cars, making natural gas fuel for larger cars even more economical.
In model year 2000, automakers produced 15 models of natural gas vehicles that ranged from the Honda Civic to Chrysler minivans, the Chevrolet Tahoe, Ford's F-150 pickup, and many more. The perception at first glance of this technology is that the car can only run on natural gas. This is a fallacy. Some natural gas cars have been made as bi-fuel vehicles that can run on gasoline or natural gas.
Today, the Honda Civic GX is the only natural gas vehicle being produced by a major automaker. The reason is many of the automakers dropped their natural gas vehicle programs in pursuit of their slice in the hybrid gasoline-electric vehicle market. Despite this, the Honda Civic is not alone in new vehicles you can buy that run on natural gas fuel. BAF Technologies, a Texas-based firm, converts vehicles like the Ford F-150, F-250, and F-350 to run on natural gas fuel. This company has EPA and CARB certification, meaning it meets the quality standards of major automakers. This same company also converts the Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis, and Lincoln Town Car as well as the Ford E-350 and E-450 vans to run on natural gas fuel. They have a lineup of GM vehicles (bifuel and dedicated) and medium/heavy duty vehicles (biofuel) as well. There are other companies that convert vehicles to run on natural gas as well, although many only have EPA certification because the price tag for CARB certification is high. Natural gas vehicles are similar to hybrid vehicles in added cost. While the initial price tag may look high at first, about 3 quarters of it can be redeemed through federal tax rebates. For example, if you buy the Ford F150 converted to natural gas by BAF Technologies, the added cost would be $16,500. However, the federal tax rebate for this vehicle can reach $8,000 making the incremental cost only $8,500, and the amount of time to recoup the cost depends on the price of natural gas in the area you live. If you cannot afford the high price of a new natural gas vehicle, many options are available for used vehicles, which sell for a low price. In addition, many government fleets used natural gas vehicles and are selling them at auto auctions.
To fuel your natural gas vehicle, you have two options: ensure there is a natural gas station nearby that you can routinely drive to (essentially, not 40 miles away), or purchase a home refueling device called Phil. This costs about 4,000 dollars and uses the natural gas line that goes to your house.
Natural gas is a fuel option for many in a time where gas prices are squeezing the money out of people. It is not for everyone, but it is a technology to consider when buying another car.
