Honda CIVIC GX Natural Gas Fuel Tank Installation

Comment by Ana L. Perez on July 23, 2008 at 12:41pm

I'm sorry but where in the car does that huge thing go????

Comment by Lee K. Shuster on July 23, 2008 at 5:59pm

Hi Ana,
Thanks for your question, no apologies required. The picture is only a little bit deceiving. Honda designers managed to package it just behind the rear passenger seat. Same place the Hybrid Civic mounts it's battery pach. The CNG tank does manage to use up about 6 cu ft of usable trunk space. (Normal Civic's have 12 cu ft trunks.) But they are much stronger than the flimsy gasoline tanks and hold up much better in crash testing. The Civic GX is an amazingly clean running car. Here, where I live in Salt Lake City, they actually drive around and produce cleaner, healthier air out their tailpipes on "RED BURN" days. No wonder the EPA rates them the CLEANEST CAR ON EARTH.

Comment by Greg Dubiel on July 24, 2008 at 1:42am

Is fuel stored in a liquid or gas state? Not sure how much PSI is required.

Comment by Lee K. Shuster on July 24, 2008 at 10:15am

NGV's (Natural Gas Vehicles) such as the Civic GX, Busses, Refuse trucks, etc. use CNG - Compressed Natural Gas. "Natural" Gas requires almost zero refining or energy intensive processing unlike liquid petroleum-based fuels. It is compressed to 3000 or 3600 PSI at the local refueling station which in the case of the FuelMaker "Phill" can be located in your home's garage. CNG is often referred to transistional or "stepping-stone" to the holy-grail -- Hydrogen transportation fuel. Both are used in a compressed, gaseous state. Hydrogen is zero-carbon (H2) while CNG (90% Methane) is very low-carbon( C1H4). Hope this answers your question?

Comment by Greg Dubiel on July 24, 2008 at 10:34am

Wow, so this is huge when considering the energy used just to make and then transport fuel to the end user. This is mind bending if you can get people to just think about it for a second.
Thanks
Greg

Comment by Charlie on July 29, 2008 at 4:22pm

can anyone break down the miles per $. Hard to compare the cost savings. Not that that is a deciding factor. Just curious.

Comment by Vincent Donellan on August 3, 2008 at 3:17pm

I work for a utility company. Some of our trucks have been using the CNG technology for at least 25 years. Our tests were unbelieveable. There is very little emmissions and no hydrocarbon deposits. Oil only needs to be changed every 30-50K. The Civic is a good addition but a true "hybrid" including batteries and CNG is a better choice. With a M/G set only to recharge the batteries, the batteries do not need a large capacity. The ability to plug in the vehicle at night to receive a charge would reduce the run time of the M/G set on short trips. If anyone is in the San Antonio area you could explain the boats on the Riverwalk. They have converted to CNG as has the trolleys. In closing, the technology is already here. We just have to start using it wisely.

Comment by Lee K. Shuster on August 4, 2008 at 11:43am

Charlie,

To answer your question, "Can anyone break down the miles per $.."

The Honda Civic is such a great example because you can purchase it in three distinct
versions:
1) Conventional Gasoline (LX)
2) Dedicated Nat Gas (GX)
3) Hybrid - Gasoline/Electric

The EPA provides a great tool for you to perform your own analysis at:

GREEN CARS

Comment by Lee K. Shuster on August 4, 2008 at 11:46am

Hi Vincent,

A Hybrid that incorporated Electric and CNG is being considered by GM for the Volt according to Larry Burns, VP of R&D at General Motors.

But keep in mind, that this represents some very serious packaging issues in the placement of battery packs, computer controllers and fuel storage tanks, especially in smaller vehicles.

Comment by No NGV in LA on August 5, 2008 at 11:36pm

I'd like to understand why the GX is not available in all 50 states?

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