natural gas vehicle
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Building a fueling network turns out to be more of a challenge than many advocates, regulators, and drivers may have anticipated. The attempt to boost passenger vehicles fueled by cheap, abundant U.S. natural gas is now essentially over, with a mere 942 public natural-gas fueling stations throughout the 50 states. E85 ethanol, the biofuel that's largely derived from corn in the U.S., is in slightly better shape: there are roughly 3,000 U.S. gas stations that now offer it. DON'T MISS: When fueling stations shut down for your natural-gas car: one reader's experience That's still only a tiny...
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Which alternative fuels will survive long-term? Take our Twitter poll
You just don't hear the phrase "alternative fuels" as much as you did, say, 10 years ago. With a couple of million plug-in electric cars now on the world's roads, the idea of swapping in one hydrocarbon fuel for another may have passed its time. Admittedly biodiesel continues to make quiet inroads...
John Voelcker -
When fueling stations shut down for your natural-gas car: one reader's experience
Let's say you buy the greenest car you can, one that uses a different kind of fuel, and drive it happily for several years. What happens when the supply of your fuel suddenly ends, and you can no longer fill up your car? That's just what happened to Duncan Chalmers of Seattle, who can no longer...
John Voelcker -
Audi A5 Sportback g-tron: first drive of natural-gas luxury sport sedan
Audi’s vision of future mobility primarily centers around an array of long-range electric cars scheduled to debut in the coming years under the "e-tron" badge. These are intended to be Tesla killers, as they’re often called in Germany. But there’s another kind of tron with a...
Green Car Reports -
RIP natural-gas cars, doomed by cheap gas and electric cars
Natural gas vehicles were first promoted starting in about 2000 as a way to reduce reliance on imported oil and cut tailpipe emissions. Their promise appeared to grow near the height of the global financial crisis, when gas prices hovered around $4 per gallon across much of the United States. The...
Sean Szymkowski -
UPS to spend $90 million more on natural-gas vehicles, fueling stations
Natural gas has not proven popular for vehicles bought by individual consumers, but some fleet operators continue to find it an attractive alternative to gasoline and diesel. That's because the lack of public fueling infrastructure proves a major drawback for natural-gas passenger cars, but fleets...
Stephen Edelstein -
Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded a $1 million prize to a little-known team for what you might call a new garage appliance. The SimpleFuel team—actually a collaboration of three separate companies—won the prize, first offered in November 2014, for its hydrogen home-fueling station. The goal is to let drivers of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles generate hydrogen fuel at home rather than having to visit possibly scarce public hydrogen fueling sites. DON'T MISS: Toyota Mirai touted in ad on electric-car charging station Home "refueling" is not something that's possible with...
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Oklahoma claim: first state with natural-gas fueling on highways
Oklahoma has a natural-gas fueling station every 100 miles on its highways.
Stephen Edelstein -
Natural-Gas Vehicles To Get Electric-Car Tax Credit In Transportation Bill?
The House transportation bill includes provisions benefiting natural-gas vehicles.
Stephen Edelstein -
Armored Natural-Gas Plug-In Hybrid Truck To Hit The Roads
A plug-in hybrid armored truck with a natural-gas engine will hit Los Angeles streets next year.
Stephen Edelstein -
Natural-Gas Vehicle Sales Globally Won't Quite Double In 10 Years: Analyst
Cars running on natural gas have been around for decades now, and presently represent 2 to 3 percent of global auto production. Their tailpipe emissions are much cleaner than gasoline or diesel cars. And North American production of natural gas has soared over the last decade. You might think that...
John Voelcker -
Tax Breaks Back For Electric-Car Charging Stations, Natural-Gas Cars, Through End Of Year
It's the end of another Congressional session, which means that a budget extension bill has now been rushed through and is likely to be signed. Called The Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 (H.R. 5771), it contains special provisions, rule tweaks, and concessions for many, many, many different...
John Voelcker -
Natural-gas vehicles have never had much acceptance in the North American passenger car market, and even trucks powered by it are struggling. While natural gas is presently abundant in North America, courtesy of the controversial process of hydrofracturing ("fracking"), a new study suggests there's a better use for it than using it to power combustion-engined cars. DON'T MISS: Why Aren't Natural Gas-Powered Long-Haul Semi Trucks Selling Better? Researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratories recently published a paper in the journal Energy, covered by Green Car Congress, that looked at the...
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Natural-Gas Vehicles: Honda, Chevy Are 'Neglected Stepchild' Among Green Cars
Diesels seem likely to gain U.S. market share in light trucks and SUVs, hybrids are at least holding their own, and of course sales of plug-in electric cars are rising steadily. Wait...are we missing a green-car technology? As an article in The Los Angeles Times points out, natural-gas powered...
John Voelcker -
Californians: Buy Honda Civic Natural Gas, Get $1,000 Off--But, Hurry
Do you live in California? Have you been mulling over the purchase of a natural-gas vehicle? If so, Honda wants you to know that its 2014 Honda Civic Natural Gas model is eligible for an immediate $1,000 purchase credit--but you'll need to act swiftly. DON'T MISS: 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas...
John Voelcker -
Natural Gas For Long-Haul Trucks: Which Version Makes More Sense?
LNG or CNG? If that just looks like a jumble of letters to you, we're talking about liquefied natural gas and compressed natural gas--and so is the trucking industry. Natural gas has, to a degree, been overlooked in the passenger vehicle industry while companies look towards electrification (in...
Antony Ingram -
Natural-Gas Powered 2015 Chevy Impala To Start At $38,210
The 2015 bi-fuel Chevrolet Impala can run on natural gas or gasoline.
Stephen Edelstein -
Honda To Install Natural-Gas Fueling Station Near Ohio Car Plant
Honda hopes to encourage suppliers to use CNG for their delivery vehicles.
Stephen Edelstein -
Once again, President Barack Obama used the State of the Union Address on Tuesday night to raise the issue of natural gas vehicles as a way of promoting energy independence and cutting the impact of climate change. In his talk, Obama urged the U.S. Congress to support the construction of natural-gas fueling stations around the country, as well as the production of natural gas vehicles themselves. MORE: 2014 Chevrolet Cruze: Gasoline, Diesel, Now Natural Gas Natural gas has been relatively slow to take off in the U.S., though it has gained pace over the last few years. Thus far, the selection...
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2015 Chevrolet Impala To Be Offered As Bi-Fuel Model With Natural-Gas Tank
Natural gas has so far made little impact in the automotive sector, at least when it comes to passenger vehicles. As new extraction techniques such as fracking increase domestic supply of the gas, that could change--and Chevrolet will become the second manufacturer to sell a production passenger...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Chevrolet Cruze: Gasoline, Diesel, Now Natural Gas (Bi-Fuel Conversion)
Cruze buyers will soon be able to choose from three fuels, but one of them requires an aftermarket conversion.
Stephen Edelstein -
Volkswagen To Add Natural-Gas Cars As Well As Diesels, Hybrids?
Volkswagen wants to promote natural gas as an alternative to electrification, and hopes the EPA will help it.
Stephen Edelstein -
AM General Buys VPG, Defunct Natural-Gas Handicapped Van Maker
Less than a year ago, Vehicle Production Group seemed a success: The startup maker had built 2,500 MV-1 handicapped vans in a year, about one-quarter of them powered by natural gas. But this past April, VPG shut down due to a cash crunch that meant it couldn't make payroll. Now, its $50 million...
John Voelcker -
Bi-Fuel Mercedes-Benz E-Class Runs On Natural Gas, In Germany
While electric cars get a lot of press, electricity is hardly the only way to power vehicles without using gasoline. Discussion of natural gas as a vehicle fuel is rising again, in part due to huge supplies coming online in North America. Now Mercedes-Benz has launched its latest vehicle powered by...
John Voelcker