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).
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[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 Civic LX of the era but does not run on gasoline. Since it's 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 employies 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 (continuous 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 it's mileage and extended it's range to slightly over 300 miles on a single fill up.
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 it's greatest modification since it's inception. All variants of the Civic were awarded the prestigious 2006 "Car of the Year" award by "Car and Driver". The latest, 9th generation Civic remains unchanged from 2006 and is also available in the GX model. The GX is a very limited availability car with little more than a thousand units per year being produced by the factory.
In 2006, the Civic GX was released in New York, making it the second state where the consumer is able to buy the car.
Home refueling is available for the GX with the addition of the Phill Home Refueling Appliance. A device manufactured by Fuelmaker, a Canadian company, that markets the device in conjunction with American Honda. This allows the owner of the Civic GX to refuel directly off of his homes natural gas supply when the car is not in use, and at a fraction of the cost of gasoline.
[edit] Performance
The GX was originally introduced with a 1.6 liter. The 2002 model make-over carried a 1.7 liter engine. Beginning in year model 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 accomodate the 130 octane natural gas that powers the car. Performance of the Civic GX (115hp)is slightly less than that of the comperable LX model (140hp). Under normal driving conditions, the difference in power is nearly undetectable.
The CNG cylinder (fuel tank) is carried in the trunk of the car and holds 8.0 GGE (Gasoline Gallon Equivalent) at 3600 psi. Remember that 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 flamability (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 depending on year model, driving conditions and driving technique. The 2007 Honda Civic GX averages 28 MPG city and 39 MPG highway, making the Civic GX an ideal daily driver or choice for commuters.
In concert with the home refueling option, and the ever increasing number of public refueling stations, the GX is gaining wide acceptance among many Californians, who commute on a daily basis).
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/deisel/etc) there is 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.
[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
