NGV
-
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 “made in Germany” label as well, and it’s not a robot from a 1990s science fiction movie: Audi’s g-tron cars run on compressed natural gas (CNG) as well as gasoline; running on natural gas emits less carbon dioxide per mile. DON'T MISS: Audi A5 is third model to run on natural...
-
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 -
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 -
Mack Trucks Updates Its Natural-Gas Powered Semi Tractors
Mack Trucks adds a new transmission and adaptive cruise control to its Pinnacle series tractors.
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 -
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...
-
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 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 -
Is A $500 Garage Fueling Appliance The Missing Link For Natural-Gas Cars?
Home refueling could help natural-gas cars gain mainstream appeal, but first the price will have to come down.
Stephen Edelstein -
The Tata Nano CNG emax can switch between gasoline and natural gas on the fly.
-
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 -
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 -
Senate Bill Boosts CAFE Ratings For Natural-Gas Vehicles With Gasoline Backup
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...
John Voelcker -
'Add Natural Gas' Ad Campaign To Promote New Type Of Cars
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...
John Voelcker -
To date, natural-gas vehicles have come with significant compromises. The high-pressure tanks that hold enough compressed natural gas to run 200 miles or more take up many cubic feet of space in the trunk, load bay, or pickup bed. But what if you could design a vehicle that had just enough natural gas to run 50 to 75 miles--without any change to its cargo space? That's just what vehicle-development consultant Carlab designed--four of them, in fact--and we drove the prototypes last month. The concept is identical to that of a Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car: Run the vehicle's first...
-
Do Electric And Natural-Gas Cars Compete Against Each Other?
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...
John Voelcker -
State Governors Ask For Natural-Gas Cars, Industry Listens
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...
John Voelcker -
'Strong Case' For Natural-Gas Car Research, National Lab Says
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...
Talking Points Memo -
Ram To Offer Natural-Gas HD Pickup Trucks, Joining Chevy, GMC
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...
John Voelcker -
2013 Chevy, GMC Natural Gas Bi-Fuel Pickup Trucks Announced
General Motors announced today it will offer bi-fuel versions of its 2013 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks that run either on gasoline or natural gas. The two trucks are the 2500 HD (heavy duty) model, and can be ordered in rear-wheel or four-wheel drive and with a standard or long...
John Voelcker