Honda to Mass Market Natural Gas Civic

American Honda Motor Co. plans to become the first automaker to mass market a vehicle that runs on natural gas.

The Civic GX would go on sale to the general public sometime during the second half of 2004, said Andy Boyd, a spokesman at Honda’s U.S. headquarters in Torrance. It would sell for about $20,000, approximately $3,000 more than a gasoline-powered Civic.

The GX would cost about one-third less to operate than a car that runs on gasoline and would be much better for the environment, Boyd said. It would have a driving range of about 200 miles, about half of a regular Civic.

On average, a car with a natural gas-powered internal-combustion engine emits 87% less nitrogen oxide, 70% less carbon monoxide and 25% less carbon dioxide than a car with an engine that uses gasoline, Boyd said.

The GX is not entirely new. The automaker has produced 500 to 1,000 of them each year since its introduction in 1998.

Most have been sold in fleets to utility companies, universities and government agencies that drive them short distances and are set up to easily refuel them, Boyd said.

Although more common in big cities, there are relatively few natural gas refueling stations in the United States -- about 1,300. That has limited the production and use of natural gas-powered vehicles.

To make the GX more appealing to consumers, Honda will sell for $2,000 an appliance that allows owners to fill their tanks with natural gas from their homes. The device, called Phill, is made by Toronto-based FuelMaker Corp.

Boyd said Honda hopes to sell tens of thousands of the vehicles each year.

David Friedman, senior engineer at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a science-based environmental group in Washington, said the GX gives consumers concerned about the environment another option.

“It just means more choices for consumers,” he said. “That’s part of the problem in the marketplace today -- consumers don’t have a lot of choice if they want to reduce their impact on the environment.”