Honda offers $3,000 fuel cards to promote natural gas Civic
BY ALAN OHNSMAN Bloomberg News
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
10/10/12 at 2:23 AM
Honda Motor Co., the only automaker selling compressed natural gas cars to American drivers, will offer $3,000 of the fuel to buyers of its CNG-powered Civic to expand sales of the vehicle.
The promotion for Honda's Civic Natural Gas is being done with Clean Energy Fuels Corp., the largest owner of natural gas stations in the nation, the carmaker said in a statement Tuesday.
The fuel debit card can be used only at stations operated by Clean Energy, which is 23 percent owned by billionaire T. Boone Pickens.
"We want to draw even more consumer attention to the many environmental and cost-saving benefits of the vehicle," said Angie Nucci, a Torrance, Calif.-based spokeswoman for Honda.
Clean Energy has two CNG fueling stations in Oklahoma - one at the Oklahoma State University campus in Stillwater and the other at Will Rogers International Airport in Oklahoma City.
Pickens is an ardent supporter of both OSU and CNG issues. His Pickens Plan seeks congressional approval of tax incentives for converting fleet vehicles to CNG.
Honda has said it wants to sell as many as 5,000 of the Indiana-built Civic Natural Gas this year. The Tokyo-based company's promotion of natural gas, a domestically sourced fuel that's cheaper than gasoline and emits less tailpipe exhaust, comes as Detroit-based General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC are preparing to sell pickups powered by the fuel.
The Civic Natural Gas sedan costs $26,305, or $2,105 more than a hybrid version, according to Honda's website. The car averages 31 miles per gallon equivalent of fuel and holds the equivalent of 8 gallons of compressed gas.
Honda has inventory of about 1,500 Civic Natural Gas vehicles, Nucci said. While the promotion runs until the end of 2012, the fuel cards don't expire, she said.
The equivalent of a gallon of compressed natural gas cost an average of $2.05 in July, according to the Energy Department. Incentives for owners in California also include a permit allowing solo drivers to use highway car pool lanes.
Original Print Headline: Honda touts CNG incentive
The Tulsa World Business staff contributed to this story.
Associated Images:
Honda requires the free fuel to be pumped at stations operated by Clean Energy Fuels, partially owned by T. Boone Pickens. HONDA / Associated Press
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