Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mark on July 7, 2009 at 3:22

Wow... They are really moving with this. Explains why they are importing NG from the LNG plant in Baja.

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Permalink Reply by RAY on July 7, 2009 at 3:45

i dont see it happening, not nation wide... the best I foresee, is large fleets [ Postal service, Fedex,UPS, city buses, etc...

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Permalink Reply by Mark on July 7, 2009 at 4:24

Then I could set them up with a fleet account. It may be slow starting but it would probably catch on pretty soon.

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Permalink Reply by Jon Williamson on July 7, 2009 at 4:35

For the auto industry to survive they are going to have to think outside the box and plan for 3-5 years down the road. I think this has to include CNG powered vehicles as well as PHEV. Build the cars and the fueling stations will come.

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Permalink Reply by Mac Davis on July 7, 2009 at 14:52

I really wish someone would produce the next VW beetle.

A box with wheels that gets you where you're going.
Built to be cheap to buy and maintain.
Good gas mileage.
Two passenger (maybe).
Small.
Something like a 4 wheel motorcycle or fast, enclosed golf cart/4 wheeler.

Problems I see
A small car is going to suffer more in a collision. Sad but unavoidable. Even the treehuggers can't change the laws of physics.
You'll still have a lot of mandated expensive stuff such as airbags.

Sorry, but the Smart Car ain't it. It's expensive and overly stylish.

A CNG option would be perfect match for such a vehicle.

I don't really see the big car manufacturers doing something like this. They're too tied into the big car/style sells/big bucks mindset. There's a bit of an oligopoly aspect to the car industry with artificial barriers to entry for new players.

These mintrucks are $5000 or so, but aren't street legal. http://www.americasminitruckcenter.com/daihatsu-japanese-mini-trucks/

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Permalink Reply by benny688 on July 8, 2009 at 14:05

I think Ray is right that this is most practical for municipalities or businesses with large fleets. The cash strapped city of Corpus Christi just installed a station for their first 30 gas vehicles. Now I think it'll just be a matter of time before all of their city vehicles will be runnin' on gas.

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