American Honda has officially begun production of the 2012 Civic Natural Gas: the only purpose-built compressed natural gas (CNG) powered passenger car in North America. The alternative fueled 1.8 liter powerplant is being built at Honda’s Anna, Ohio plant. The engines are then sent off so that final assembly can take place at the Greensburg plant. Everything is overseen by Honda Manufacturing of Indiana, LLC (HMIN).
“We’re extremely proud Indiana is the home for this all-new Civic Natural Gas,” said Jun Nishimoto, HMIN President. “As the sole producers of the Civic Natural Gas, our associates in Greensburg are making an important contribution to Honda’s global effort to reduce CO2 emissions and advance the deployment of vehicles that can help the transition away from gasoline to cleaner and more sustainable alternative fuels.”
The 2012 Civic Natural Gas will go on sale later this month. Pricing starts at $26,155 but the real advantage is in fuel costs. CNG averages $1.85 a gallon plus the car qualifies for special grants if used for public entities such as schools. On top of all of that, in the state of California, a driver of a Civic Natural Gas can pilot his vehicle in the carpool lane solo.
Source: Honda
