The Honda Civic GX is the only car factory-built to run on
compressed natural gas
Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in cy ...
(CNG) in the United States available to non-fleet customers. The GX was based on the
Honda Civic
The is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1972. Since 2000, the Civic has been categorized as a compact car, while previously it occupied the subcompact class. , the Civic is positioned between the Honda Fit/City and Honda Acc ...
and available for fleet sales in all 50 states. It was previously available for retail sales in four states (
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
,
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
and
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
), but later was made available to retail consumers in 35 states throughout the United States.
The GX was manufactured in Honda's
Greensburg, Indiana
Greensburg is a city in and the county seat of Decatur County, Indiana. The population was 11,492 at the time of the 2010 census.
History
Greensburg was laid out in 1822. The founder, Thomas Hendricks Sr.'s wife being a native of Greensburg, ...
, plant together with the production of conventional Civics from late 2009. It was previously produced in East Liberty, Ohio.
The third generation GX was awarded the 2012
Green Car of the Year
The Green Car of the Year is a ''Car of the Year'' award from the ''Green Car Journal''.
The winner is selected by an 11-member panel comprising automotive and environmental experts. Invited jurors have included Mario Andretti; Carroll Shelby, J ...
by the
Green Car Journal
''Green Car Journal'' a monthly publication created in 1992, now published as an annual, focuses on green vehicles and environmentally friendly energy and technologies. The founder and editor is Ron Cogan. Co-founder and executive publisher thro ...
in November 2011 at the
Los Angeles Auto Show
The Los Angeles Auto Show is an annual auto show held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in early December. The LA Auto Show is an OICA sanctioned international exhibition. It is open to the public for ten days each year, filling of exhibit s ...
.
For eight years up to 2011, the Civic GX was rated first by the
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization. Founded in 1980, ACEEE's mission is to act as a catalyst to advance energy efficiency policies, programs, technologies, investments, and behavi ...
in the "Greenest Vehicle of the Year" list (excluding the years 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2006 when the
Honda Insight
The is a hybrid electric vehicle that is manufactured and marketed by Honda. Its first generation was a two-door, two passenger liftback (1999–2006) and in its second generation was a four-door, five passenger liftback (2009–2014). In its ...
hybrid topped the list) For 2012 the GX was surpassed by the
Mitsubishi i-MiEV
The Mitsubishi i-MiEV (MiEV is an acronym for ''Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle'') is a five-door hatchback electric car produced in the 2010s by Mitsubishi Motors, and is the electric version of the Mitsubishi i. Rebadged variants of t ...
.
For 2014, the GX ranked 10th, after several hybrids and electric vehicles. 2015 was the last model year for the Civic GX.
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). In 1998 the Civic GX cost $4500 more than a comparable Civic LX. The car looked and drove just like a contemporary Honda Civic LX, but did not run on gasoline. In 2001, the Civic GX was rated the cleanest-burning internal combustion engine in the world by the EPA.
The GX was first leased to the City of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
to be used by parking enforcement officers and other city employees as a live pre-production test. The GX followed the same model year design changes as the Civic LX model, until the model year 2001 when a CVT (
continuously variable transmission
A continuously variable transmission (CVT) is an automatic transmission that can change seamlessly through a continuous range of gear ratios. This contrasts with other transmissions that provide a limited number of gear ratios in fixed steps. T ...
) was introduced in place of the 4-speed
automatic transmission
An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving c ...
. In the 2006 year model, the GX again was equipped with the automatic 5-speed transmission, which improved its fuel economy and extended its range to 250 miles.
In 1998 the GX was available for special order in some states to consumers, California and Colorado in particular.
In 2006, the Civic went through its greatest modification since its inception. All variants of the Civic were awarded the 2006 ''
Motor Trend
''MotorTrend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949.
Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles published ''MotorTrend'' until 19 ...
'' "Car of the Year" award. The 8th generation Civic remained unchanged from 2006 and was also available in the GX model. The GX was a limited-availability car, with fewer than a thousand units per year being produced by the factory.
In October 2006, the 2007 Civic GX became available in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
["Honda Press Release: Honda Announces Natural Gas-Powered Civic GX on Sale At Retail Dealers in New York State"]
, 19 October 2006 In July 2009, the GX became available to the public in Utah. In April 2010 the GX became available to the public in Oklahoma. The CNG Civic in this market related to favorable natural gas costs and the numerous high-pressure filling stations. The promotion of CNG conversions by natural gas producers headquartered in Oklahoma provided incentive for Honda to market the Civic GX there. State of Oklahoma incentives were a factor that led
United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service (UPS, stylized as ups) is an American multinational corporation, multinational package delivery, shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company ...
to convert part of their delivery truck fleet to CNG.
After December 2010, the GX was available for fleet sales in all 50 states. Retail sales were expanded to 35 states in the fall of 2011.
The last model year for the Civic CNG was 2015. The company said it had sold about 16,000 natural-gas vehicles since the model was introduced, mainly to taxi and commercial fleets. American Honda Motor Company executive vice president John Mendel commented that Honda was phasing out efforts to develop natural-gas powered vehicles and would instead focus on hybrids and electric vehicles. He cited the lack of a CNG fueling infrastructure in the United States as the main reason for the decision to stop producing the Civic CNG. "The infrastructure, while it improved, just wasn't as convenient as petrol," Mendel said. "We gave it a pretty long run and we tried and tried and tried."
Specifications
![2012 Honda Civic GX CNG WAS 2012 0823](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/2012_Honda_Civic_GX_CNG_WAS_2012_0823.JPG)
The GX was originally introduced with a 1.6 liter
inline-four engine
A straight-four engine (also called an inline-four) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft.
The vast majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the ...
(I4). The 2001 model makeover 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. The
compression ratio
The compression ratio is the ratio between the volume of the cylinder and combustion chamber in an internal combustion engine at their maximum and minimum values.
A fundamental specification for such engines, it is measured two ways: the stati ...
in the Civic GX is 12.5:1, higher than that of most United States gasoline-powered automobiles. The significantly higher compression ratio is usable without detonation due to the 120-
octane
Octane is a hydrocarbon and an alkane with the chemical formula , and the condensed structural formula . Octane has many structural isomers that differ by the amount and location of branching in the carbon chain. One of these isomers, 2,2,4-Tri ...
natural gas that powers the car. Acceleration of the 2012 Civic Natural Gas is less than that of the comparable 4-door 2012 LX model due to both lower power (110 hp vs. 140 hp) and heavier weight (2848 lbs vs 2705 lbs).
Times from a standing start to 60 miles per hour (100 km/h) have been clocked at 12.6 seconds.
The
cylinder
A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base.
A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...
containing the high-pressure fuel is carried in the trunk of the car and holds 8.0
gasoline gallon equivalent
Gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE) or gasoline-equivalent gallon (GEG) is the amount of an alternative fuel it takes to equal the energy content of one liquid gallon of gasoline. GGE allows consumers to compare the energy content of competing fue ...
(GGE) at .
Range on a full 3,600 psi fill is variable, depending on driving conditions and driving technique. While Honda claims an estimated 225–250 miles from a full CNG tank,
independent tests have found lower ranges of 180–200 miles and "just over 200 miles" (about 300 km).
["Aug 2007"](_blank)
Edmunds Edmunds may refer to:
People
*Edmunds (given name)
*Edmunds (surname)
Places
* Edmunds Center, an arena in Deland, Florida
* Edmunds County, South Dakota
Companies
* Edmunds (company), provider of automotive information
See also
* Edmonds (dis ...
There were improvements in the 2012
EPA fuel economy as the range increased to 225~250 miles. The EPA rates the 2009 Honda Civic GX at 24 equivalent
miles per gallon
The fuel economy of an Car, automobile relates distance traveled by a vehicle and the amount of fuel consumption, fuel consumed. Consumption can be expressed in terms of volume of fuel to travel a distance, or the distance traveled per unit volu ...
(MPG) city and 36 equivalent MPG highway.
Independent tests with mixed driving usage found rates of "nearly 32" and 26.8
equivalent MPG. The estimated fuel cost for this vehicle to drive 25 miles in a combination of city and highway driving is
US$1.47 using CNG, based on an average fuel price of US$1.93 per gasoline equivalent gallon (121.5 cubic feet).
The GX qualifies for
high-occupancy vehicle lane
A high-occupancy vehicle lane (also known as an HOV lane, carpool lane, diamond lane, 2+ lane, and transit lane or T2 or T3 lanes) is a restricted traffic lane reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles with a driver and one or more passengers, i ...
(HOV) access in California, Arizona, Utah, and other states.
Home refueling
Home refueling is available for the GX with the addition of the Phill Home Refueling Appliance. This unit attaches to a home or commercial natural gas source, and compresses the gas into the car's tank through an attached hose. The unit requires a 240-volt power source, and uses 800 watts when in operation.
Honda did not recommend utilizing home refueling options due to possible moisture and chemical contamination of some natural gas supplies. Honda reserved the right to void the warranty of a car needing service based on inspection of the fuel system for contamination.
Recognition
In 2000 the Civic GX rated first in the "Greenest Vehicle of the Year" list by the
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization. Founded in 1980, ACEEE's mission is to act as a catalyst to advance energy efficiency policies, programs, technologies, investments, and behavi ...
. It ranked cleaner than the
General Motors EV1
The General Motors EV1 was an electric car produced and leased by General Motors from 1996 to 1999. It was the first mass-produced and purpose-designed electric vehicle of the modern era from a major automaker and the first GM car designed to be ...
. It was dethroned by the SULEV-rated
Honda Insight
The is a hybrid electric vehicle that is manufactured and marketed by Honda. Its first generation was a two-door, two passenger liftback (1999–2006) and in its second generation was a four-door, five passenger liftback (2009–2014). In its ...
hybrid a year later.
The GX again ranked No. 1 after the Insight, sold from 2007 to 2011, was discontinued. In 2012 it was beaten by the i-MiEV from Mitsubishi.
In 2014, the GX ranked 10th, after several hybrids and electric vehicles.
The 2012 Honda Civic GX was awarded the 2012
Green Car of the Year
The Green Car of the Year is a ''Car of the Year'' award from the ''Green Car Journal''.
The winner is selected by an 11-member panel comprising automotive and environmental experts. Invited jurors have included Mario Andretti; Carroll Shelby, J ...
by the
Green Car Journal
''Green Car Journal'' a monthly publication created in 1992, now published as an annual, focuses on green vehicles and environmentally friendly energy and technologies. The founder and editor is Ron Cogan. Co-founder and executive publisher thro ...
in November 2011 at the
Los Angeles Auto Show
The Los Angeles Auto Show is an annual auto show held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in early December. The LA Auto Show is an OICA sanctioned international exhibition. It is open to the public for ten days each year, filling of exhibit s ...
.
See also
*
Compressed Gas Association
The Compressed Gas Association (CGA) is an American trade association for the industrial and medical gas supply industries.
The CGA publishes standards and practices that codify industry practices. In cases where government regulation is inspeci ...
*
Compressed natural gas
Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in cy ...
*
Honda Civic Hybrid
The is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1972. Since 2000, the Civic has been categorized as a compact car, while previously it occupied the subcompact class. , the Civic is positioned between the Honda Fit/City and Honda Acc ...
*
Liquefied natural gas
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volu ...
(LNG)
References
External links
CNG Honda CivicAmerica's only factory CNG car being sold to the public
{{Honda
GX
Natural gas vehicles
Front-wheel-drive vehicles
Sedans
Vehicles with CVT transmission