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The Honda Civic GX is a passenger car that has been created to run on compressed natural gas (CNG). It is a derivative of the Honda Civic, and is sold only in parts of the United States.

[edit] History

The Honda Civic GX first appeared in 1998 as a factory-modified Civic LX that had been designed to run exclusively on CNG (compressed natural gas). The car looks and drives just like a contemporary Honda Civic LX, but does not run on gasoline. In 2001, the Civic GX was rated the cleanest-burning internal combustion engine in the world by the EPA.^[1][2]

The GX was first leased to the City of Los Angeles to be used by parking enforcement officers and other city employees as a live beta test. The GX follows the same model year design changes as the Civic LX model, until the model year 2001 when a CVT (continuously variable transmission) was introduced in place of the 4 speed automatic transmission. In the 2006 year model, the GX again was equipped with the automatic 5 speed transmission, which increased its mileage and extended its range to 250 miles.^[3]

In 2005, Honda started offering the GX directly to the public through factory trained dealers certified to service the GX. Before that, only fleets were eligible to purchase a new Civic GX.

In 2006, the Civic went through its greatest modification since its inception. All variants of the Civic were awarded the 2006 Motor Trend "Car of the Year" award.^[4] The 8th generation Civic remains unchanged from 2006 and is also available in the GX model. The GX is a very limited-availability car with fewer than a thousand units per year being produced by the factory.^[5]

In 2006, the Civic GX was released in New York, making it the second state where the consumer is able to buy the car.^[6]

Home refueling is available for the GX with the addition of the Phill Home Refueling Appliance. The Appliance is manufactured by Fuelmaker, a Canadian company that markets the device in conjunction with American Honda. This allows owners of the Civic GX to refuel directly off of their home's natural gas supply when the car is not in use.^[7]

[edit] Statistics

The GX was originally introduced with a 1.6 liter engine. The 2001 model make-over carried a 1.7 liter engine. Beginning in model-year 2006, the 1.8 liter inline four-cylinder engine was introduced to the Civic lineup.

Compression in the Civic GX is 12.5:1. This is to accommodate the 130-octane natural gas that powers the car. Performance of the Civic GX (113hp)^[8] is significantly less than that of the comparable LX model (140hp).^[9]

The CNG cylinder (fuel tank) is carried in the trunk of the car and holds according to Honda, 8.0 GGE (Gasoline Gallon Equivalent) at 3600 psi.^[10] Although most owners report that its rare to see 8GGE fillups - 5-6GGE fillups are typical from an "empty tank."^{[citation needed]}

Range on a full 3600 psi fill is variable, depending on driving conditions and driving technique. While Honda claims an estimated 225-250 miles from a full CNG tank charge,^[11] independent tests have found a lower ranges, at 180-200 miles^[12] and "just over 200 miles".^[13] The EPA rates the 2009 Honda Civic GX at 24 equivalent MPG city and 36 equivalent MPG highway.^[14] Independent tests with mixed driving usage found rates of "nearly 32"^[15] and 26.8^[16] equivalent MPG. The estimated fuel cost for this vehicle to drive 25 miles for a combination of city and highway driving is $1.47 using CNG.^[17] The GX qualifies for HOV Lane access in California.^[18]

[edit] See also

• Liquefied natural gas (LNG)
• Compressed Gas Association (Compressed Gas Association)
• Compressed Natural Gas (Compressed Natural Gas)

[edit] External links

• CNG Honda Civic America's only factory CNG car being sold to the public
• Phill - CNG Home Refueling Appliance Manufactured by Fuelmaker
• CNG Honda voted Greenest Car of the Year
• CNG Users Site

[edit] Notes