IMPCO can put CNG powertrain into your Chevy Cruze

The 2014 Chevrolet Cruze now comes in three fueling choices – gasoline, diesel, and natural gas. Conversion company Impco Automotive is offering a bi-fuel Cruze – compressed natural gas (CNG) and gasoline – that it claims is the first and only EPA certified 2014 model year bi-fuel passenger sedan on the US market.

While there are several CNG vehicles on the market for commercial/fleet use, the Cruze (diesel version pictured) brings the number of CNG-powered passenger vehicles up to three. It follows the Honda Civic Natural Gas car and recently launched Ford F-150 CNG pickup truck.

Being a bi-fuel car means that its range is extended by how far the CNG and gasoline engines and fuel tanks can carry it. Impco says the CNG engine can deliver more than 200 miles through its 8.4 gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE) tank. The CNG tank is mounted in the trunk and is a lightweight, carbon fiber-on-aluminum tank made by SCI-Worthington. There are nearly seven cubic feet in the trunk for storage space, about half of what the non-CNG Cruze offers. On the gasoline side, the Cruze comes with a 1.4-liter GM engine. Impco has added Bosch injectors and a GFI regulator. Impco has been offering alternative fuel vehicles in the US market for several years, and says that the bi-fuel Cruze is strategically important to its growth plans.