natural gas

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...

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...

A new bill in the U.S. Senate would amend Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules to encourage production of a new class of natural-gas vehicles with "reserve" gasoline tanks. As demonstrated in a drive of prototype vehicles earlier this year, the range-extended natural gas cars would run for perhaps...

With Teslas and BMW i3s dominating the green car headlines, it's easy to forget that plenty of other automakers are creating their own low-emission vehicles. In Russia, that company is Yo-Avto. The automaker has promised a natural gas hybrid vehicle for some time--and that time could now be 2015...

On Tuesday, six prototype cars powered by natural gas for their first 60 or so miles and by gasoline thereafter were unveiled in Washington, D.C. Now, the natural-gas industry is taking them on the road to "drive a conversation about the benefits of natural gas as a transportation fuel for...

We lost count of just how many times Audi engineers used the phrase "no compromises" during their 'tron' presentations in Berlin. And driving the Audi A3 Sportback g-tron, a near-standard A3 running on natural gas, it's hard not to agree with them--at least initially. For the average car buyer, the...

We've been thinking a lot about natural-gas fueled vehicles, for reasons that will become clear in due course. Writing about green cars can occasionally be awkward, because there are different audiences for diesels versus hybrids, for plug-in electric cars, and for other types of alternative fuels...

The U.S. is increasingly awash in natural gas, so it's natural to consider it as a potential vehicle fuel. From passenger cars to long-haul trucks, both compressed natural gas (CNG) and refrigerated liquid natural gas (LNG) are being eyed as a replacement for diesel fuel and gasoline. Now, natural...

As a vehicle fuel, natural gas holds considerable promise but faces a number of challenges. Overcoming those challenges is the goal of recent funding granted by the U.S. Department of Energy for a handful of research projects. Among them are the challenges of incorporating high-pressure natural gas...

Volkswagen chairman Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn covered virtually every area of green technology in his talk at the recent Vienna Motor Symposium. Plug-in cars, natural gas vehicles, diesels and a new ten-speed dual-clutch transmission were all discussed, pointing to a bright future for...

Sometimes there comes an idea so audacious, so inspired, so downright jaw-dropping that it's worth covering even if it doesn't directly involve cars. You may know Earth Day is coming up on Monday, April 22. Localities and groups all over the country celebrate it. So, how has the Utah Department of...

Natural gas is increasingly considered a cleaner alternative to coal when it comes to energy production--not to mention a greener alternative to gasoline when used in vehicles like the Honda Civic Natural Gas. However, a new study suggests its green credentials may be damaged by methane...

Back in 2010, General Electric promised it would replace over half its fleet with electric and plug-in vehicles. With planned orders for 25,000 plug-ins, it was quite some commitment--particularly at a time when only a handful of cars was available, and selling in very small numbers. Three years...

If you've been considering the purchase of a 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas, now might be the time to sign on the dotted line. Honda, in conjunction with Clean Energy, is offering a $3,000 fuel card for the purchase of natural gas at any of Clean Energy's natural gas filling stations. When natural...

The market for compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles may be just about to get the kick-start it needs, as a coalition of U.S. states gets ready to buy up to 10,000 CNG vehicles. Representatives from the 22 states met in Detroit in July, to push automakers to build more CNG vehicles on the promise...

Last week, governors of more than 20 states joined together to ask the auto industry for a specific kind of car: a mid-size sedan powered by natural gas, rather than gasoline. This week, the industry responded, with auto-company representatives gathering in Oklahoma City to discuss the request with...

With the yen weak against the dollar, Japanese automakers like Honda, Nissan and Toyota are working hard to relocate production of U.S. market cars to the U.S. Now it seems Honda has chosen the U.S. as its development base for the next-generation Honda Civic, due some time around 2016. The...

The relationship between natural gas vehicles (NGVs) and natural gas stations is a 'catch-22' situation. Without the former, companies are reluctant to built more natural gas stations, as the demand won't be there. But without the latter, manufacturers see no reason to produce natural gas vehicles...

A government-funded laboratory that helped pioneer the battery technology behind many electric vehicles, including the Chevy Volt, has recently begun to focus on developing technologies to improve natural gas-powered vehicles, in anticipation of government and industry soon seeking to bring...

We missed it last week while we were covering all the new cars at the Geneva Motor Show, but Chrysler has officially stepped forward into the world of natural-gas vehicles. Its Ram truck brand announced that it would offer a bi-fuel version of its 2500 Heavy Duty pickup, to be known as the Ram 2500...