GNG Civic: Dealers Sold Out as Gasoline Prices Rise

NGV sticker on the rear flank tells world the Honda Givic GX uses natural gas.

It's been a step-child of the green car movement for a decade now, but Honda's Civic GX is finally getting some notice.

As gasoline prices soar, demand for the company's natural-gas powered emissions fighter is soaring too.

Dealers are actually building waiting lists in California and New York, the two states where the car is sold to regular consumers.

Allocations are sold out through June, and Honda is considering nearly doubling production to 2,000 a year, with the possibility of an even bigger boost if market demand continues to build, a company insider said.

Those aren't earth-shaking numbers, but they reflect quite a jump from the GX's first eight years on the market, when sales averaged a mere 698 cars a year.

They're even more impressive when you consider that the GX gets the same mileage as the comparable base Civic LX with the gasoline version of the 1.8-liter engine yet has less power; fewer amenities,and costs almost $7,500 more.

While federal and local tax credits and incentives can drop the cost by as much as $6,000, only major aftermarket work – and expense –can make the GX more luxurious or give it more oomph – it is rated at 113 horsepower and 109 pound-feet of torque, versus the standard gas engine's 140 horses and 128 lb.-ft. rating.

The GX magic is that its compressed natural gas fuel costs substantially less per gallon than that other stuff . It's about 50 cents cheaper in California and sells for as low as 63 cents a gallon-equivalent in Utah, where natural gas is heavily subsidized. (Honda sells the GX to fleets but not individual consumers in Utah but may be eyeing the state for expanded sales soon.)



The cars also qualify in California and several other states for single-occupancy carpool lane stickers.

And – although Honda says this is not the principal reason people buy them – GXs are the cleanest internal combustion passenger cars sold in the U.S., thanks to CNG's lower carbon content

While its not all that easy to find – there are only 180 CNG stations in all of California, the main market for the Civic GX -- natural gas is relatively plentiful in major metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, where the GX makes sense as a commuter car.

GX owners who want to spend the money – about $6,000 before any applicable local and federal incentives, can also buy home natural gas units that can mount in the garage and provide about half a tank of compressed fuel overnight as a price of about $2 per gallon. That's good for about 110 miles of travel.

From the GX's launch in 1998 through the end of a shortened 2006 model year, Honda sold only 5,586 of the cars in the U.S.

Almost all the sales were to fleet operators – government agencies and private companies that got big tax benefits from using alternatively fueled vehicles.

But Honda sold 1,030 GX models in the 2007 model year, though, and halfway through the '08 model year almost 750 of the cars have been sold with the annual tally expected to hit 1,200, said company spokesman Todd Mittleman.

And while fleets are still big buyers, more than half the cars sold so far this model year have gone to individuals, he said.

"It used to be that the main reason people bought them was for the carpool sticker," said Mittleman. But Honda's consumer research shows that fuel prices are the top reason these days.

Whatever works, it's nice to see a clean, green car in demand.