Filling up at 71st and Union

Tulsa World's 2/7/10 coverage of CNG

Examining the caveats of CNG and Only Natural are the two Tulsa World articles.  I have a couple of comments about some information shared in the articles.

"The biggest challenge is infrastructure not only in the state but throughout the U.S.," Chris Hoffman, Oklahoma State University's manager of transportation services, said. "And there's going to be a payback on fuel costs, but not a total payback." 

As readers of this blog know, I paid less for the CNG-powered 2010 Honda Civic GX after federal and state tax credits than it would have cost me to buy a gasoline-powered 2010 Honda Civic LX.  And, of course, the fuel is $1.00 per gallon cheaper...

And then there's the filling-up part. Some companies may make kits to take natural gas straight from the home meter, but the process reportedly is slow. And getting to the station is hardly like pulling into the local QuikTrip. CNG stations are spread out, unmanned and require a credit card.

As I've shared in this blog, there are multiple, convenient locations to fuel with CNG in Oklahoma. The process is faster than fueling with gasoline. See all available CNG fueling locations at cngprices.com.

View Craig's CNG Honda in a larger map

Honda Civic GX tops ACEEE's Greenest Car List for 2010

"The natural gas-powered Honda Civic GX continues its stronghold on the number one spot for the seventh year running."

Greenest Vehicles of 2010

Make and Model	Specifications a	Emission Standardb	MPG: City	MPG: Hwy	Green Score
HONDA CIVIC GX c	1.8L 4, auto [CNG]	Tier 2 bin 2 / PZEV	24	36	57
TOYOTA PRIUS	1.8L 4, auto CVT	Tier 2 bin 3 / PZEV	51	48	52
HONDA CIVIC HYBRID	1.3L 4, auto CVT	Tier 2 bin 2 / PZEV	40	45	51
SMART FORTWO CONVERTIBLE / COUPE	1.0L 3, manual	Tier 2 bin 5 / ULEV II	33	41	50
HONDA INSIGHT	1.3L 4, auto CVT	Tier 2 bin 3	40	43	50
FORD FUSION HYBRID / MERCURY MILAN HYBRID	2.4L 4, auto CVT	Tier 2 bin 3 / PZEV	41	36	47
TOYOTA YARIS	1.5L 4, manual	Tier 2 bin 5 / ULEV II	29	36	46
NISSAN ALTIMA HYBRID	2.5L 4, auto CVT	PZEV	35	33	46
MINI COOPER	1.6L 4, manual [P]	Tier 2 bin 5 / ULEV II	28	37	45
CHEVROLET COBALT XFE / PONTIAC G5 XFE	2.2L 4, manual	Tier 2 bin 5 / PZEV	25	37	45
HYUNDAI ACCENT BLUE	1.6L 4, manual	Tier 2 bin 5 / ULEV II	27	36	45
HONDA FIT	1.5L 4, auto	Tier 2 bin 5 / ULEV II	28	35	45
[CNG] denotes compressed natural gas fuel. [P] denotes premium gasoline "auto CVT" denotes continuously variable automatic transmission. a Certain other configurations of these models (with different transmissions or meeting different emission standards) score nearly as well. b A listing with two emission standards (e.g., Tier 2 bin 2/ PZEV) denotes a single vehicle carrying both a Federal and a California emission certification. Green Scores for such listings reflect the cleaner of the two certifications. c Compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle fuel economy given in gasoline-equivalent miles per gallon.

From http://www.greenercars.org/highlights_greenest.htm

Now, I wonder what the stats look like if you apply some economics?  What if the Green Score is adjusted for the vehicle purchase price and the fuel price? The Honda Civic GX is thousands cheaper than the Toyota Prius, the Honda Civic Hybrid, the Honda Insight, the Ford Fusion Hybrid and the Honda Civic GX fuel is cheaper also.