Natural Gas Powered Cars Linger in Obscurity

2007 Honda Civic - Natural Gas Vehicle

Washington DC May 10, 2007; The AIADA newslettter reported that owners of natural gas powered vehicles pay as little as $1.25 a gallon to run their cars. They can even fill up in their own garages every night just like they would power-up with one of the gas-electric plug-in hybrids still under development.

So why is no one interested in those vehicles? Not government officials. Not auto executives. Not consumers. Not even some environmentalists. According to USA Today, while natural gas offers a common-sense, immediate and ecological relief valve to the nation's dependence on foreign oil, only one major automaker still makes a production model.

Some natural-gas proponents feel natural gas is being overlooked. "It's like shouting in the wind sometimes," says Ron Cogan, publisher of the Green Car Journal and a big believer in natural gas. "It seems crazy we are not exploring more natural-gas vehicles, because the technology is here."