Honda To Offer GX Natural Gas Powered Car To General Public

Natural gas vehicle to sell for about $20,000

August 28, 2003

Marysville Ohio August 26, 2003; The AP reported yesterday that American Honda Motor Co. Inc. plans to become the first automaker to mass market a vehicle that runs on natural gas.

The Civic GX will go on sale to the public during the second half of 2004, spokesman Andy Boyd said Wednesday. It will sell for about $20,000, about $3,000 more than a gasoline-powered Civic.

The GX will cost about one-third less to operate than a car that runs on gasoline and will be much better for the environment, Boyd said. It will have a driving range of about 200 miles, about half of a regular Civic.

On average, a car with a natural gas-powered internal-combustion engine emits 87 percent less nitrogen oxide, 70 percent less carbon monoxide and 25 less carbon dioxide than a car with an engine that uses gasoline.

The GX is not entirely new. The automaker has produced 500 to 1,000 of them each year since its introduction in 1998.

Most have been sold in fleets to utility companies, universities and government agencies that drive them short distances and are set up to easily refuel them.

To make the GX more appealing to consumers, Honda will sell for $2,000 an appliance that allows owners to fill their tanks with natural gas from their homes.