We're suckers for a good conspiracy theory, and we've stumbled upon one involving getting our nations off imported oil. Perfect! After reading through it, though, we're a little less enthusiastic. The whole thing centers around the Honda Civic GX, which is powered by natural gas as opposed to liquid petroleum. Sure, it's still coming from the ground, but it burns cleaner in an internal combustion engine and there is lots of it around these parts. So, is the Civic GX the perfect car to wean ourselves on? Maybe not. While the gas is available almost anywhere right in your home, the car takes a very long time to fill with the home-based Phill device and it's pretty pricey. So, you'd better have a CNG filling station nearby.
Here's a possible scenario. Honda builds about 1,000 Civic GXs a year and supply is short. Those are sold in California and New York only - states with strict environmental standards. Spokane Community College, which is in Washington State (not California or New York), wants to buy a fleet of GXs, as they have lots of CNG there, but the order is denied. Conspiracy! Or not. Maybe it costs Honda a bit more to make these than normal Civics. Maybe there really aren't enough of them to go around. We hope the cars become more widely available, but for now they aren't. Phill was just sold to Clean Energy Fuels, which could make them more prominent, but kills the idea that Honda is only interested in limiting its use. Feel free to read the whole thing here.
Here's a possible scenario. Honda builds about 1,000 Civic GXs a year and supply is short. Those are sold in California and New York only - states with strict environmental standards. Spokane Community College, which is in Washington State (not California or New York), wants to buy a fleet of GXs, as they have lots of CNG there, but the order is denied. Conspiracy! Or not. Maybe it costs Honda a bit more to make these than normal Civics. Maybe there really aren't enough of them to go around. We hope the cars become more widely available, but for now they aren't. Phill was just sold to Clean Energy Fuels, which could make them more prominent, but kills the idea that Honda is only interested in limiting its use. Feel free to read the whole thing here.
[Source: The Auto Channel / Edwin Black]
Sign in to post
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Continue