Honda Civic GX

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The Honda Civic GX is a passenger car that has been created to run on CNG (Compressed Natural Gas).

[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 Honda Civic LX of the era but does not run on gasoline. Since its release, the Civic GX has been rated the cleanest burning internal combustion engine in the world by the EPA.

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 slightly over 300 miles.

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. The 9th 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.^{[citation needed]}

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

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.

[edit] Performance

The GX was originally introduced with a 1.6 liter engine. The 2002 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 (115hp) is slightly less than that of the comparable LX model (140hp).

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. Although most owners report that its rare to see 8GGE fillups - 5-6GGE fillups are typical from an "empty tank"

CNG is a gas, not a liquid fuel like gasoline; in the unlikely event of a leak, the gaseous CNG would dissipate into the air rather than pool under the vehicle like liquid fuels. Considering that CNG has nearly twice the ignition temperature of gasoline, and a very narrow range of flammability (5%-15% air to fuel) to be combustible, CNG is a much safer fuel than gasoline.

Range on a full 3600 psi fill is 200-300 miles (320-480 kilometers approximate) depending on year model, driving conditions and driving technique. The 2007 Honda Civic GX averages 24 MPG city and 36 MPG highway.^{[citation needed]} The estimated fuel cost for this vehicle to drive 25 miles for a combination of city and highway driving is $1.47 using CNG.[1]

With the clean nature of the fuel, maintenance on the GX is much lower than on a gasoline-powered car. Oil changes are around 10,000 miles. Tune-ups are required at somewhere above 100,000 miles. Without hydrocarbon fuel (gasoline/diesel/etc) there are no carbon deposits in the engine, eliminating the need for valve jobs and greatly reducing cylinder and ring wear. The engine should last well in excess of 500,000 miles with proper vehicle maintenance. The GX qualifies for HOV Lane access in California.[2]

[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