Natural Gas Cars Offer Drivers 50 Cents Per Gallon
MUD, O'Daniel Honda Push For Public Filling Stations
POSTED: 3:10 pm CDT June 18, 2009
UPDATED: 4:03 pm CDT June 18, 2009
OMAHA, Neb. -- Natural-gas powered vehicles are finally edging their way into mainstream despite the technology having existed for decades.
O'Daniel Honda in Omaha became the first dealership a few months ago to offer vehicles that run on natural gas. Drivers who buy one will be able to fill up their tanks for 50 cents a gallon -- after paying $25,000 for the car and $6,000 for a home "filling station."
Metropolitan Utilities District has powered some of its fleet with natural gas since the 1980s. Spokesman Mike Corrigan said 62 MUD vehicles run on natural gas. Two of the vehicles are Honda Civics, the same kind available at O'Daniel Honda.
To make the concept more practical for the driving public, O'Daniel and MUD are pushing for city filling stations.
"That's the big piece of the puzzle; once that's done this becomes a viable car for everybody," said Matt O'Daniel of O'Daniel Honda.
Until then, home filling stations will act as overnight automatic gas stations.
"The theory is, you drive it home, plug it in, go to bed, wake up and your car is always full," O'Daniel said.
The charges will be tacked onto consumers' regular monthly MUD bills.
For those who buy a natural gas Civic and a filling station, O'Daniel said they will get a return on their investment in a few years.
Buck