It's hard to imagine a vehicle better suited for cruising the Las Vegas Strip than a Cadillac stretch limousine. It's an excessive car for a town of excess.
Yet even massive, blinged-out luxury limos can go green, to some extent.
MGM Resorts International recently began deploying what it claims is the world's first fleet of natural gas-powered stretch limousines.
MORE: Natural-Gas Vehicles: Honda, Chevy Are 'Neglected Stepchild' Among Green Cars (Sep 2014)
Each vehicle in the 31-car fleet is based on the Cadillac XTS, but is stretched to a full 70 inches longer than the stock sedan.
Running on compressed natural gas (CNG), the limos produce roughly one-ninth the emissions of comparable gasoline models, MGM says.
The natural-gas limos have 200 miles of range, which should be enough for plenty of trips shuttling guests to and from the airport.
2014 Cadillac XTS Limousine
There are only a handful of natural-gas fueling stations in the U.S., and most of those are not open to the public.
CHECK OUT: Where Are Natural-Gas Vehicles Most Popular And Most Numerous? (Aug 2014)
Among other factors, that has kept sales of natural-gas passenger cars to decidedly niche levels.
Honda has sold natural-gas versions of its Civic in the U.S. for almost 15 years, moving only about 1,000 to 3,000 units per year.
2014 Cadillac XTS Limousine
Chevrolet also offers a bi-fuel version of its Impala that runs on natural gas or gasoline, and an aftermarket company has offered similar conversion kit for the compact Cruze.
ALSO SEE: 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas: First Drive (Nov 2011)
Still, remarkably, natural gas probably has a brighter future than the Cadillac XTS itself.
That model is set to be discontinued at the end of its lifecycle--at which point Cadillac is also expected to exit the livery business.
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