|
News from the roadway:
Past 'Clean Car' Scorecards
Our 'clean car' road tester, Alan Richardson, decided to purchase and drive a Honda Civic GX fueled by natural gas to lessen his impact on the environment. These scorecards track the running total of the economic and environmental consequences of his decision.
Autumn 2006
Autumn 2005
Summer 2005
Winter 2004-2005
April 2004
February 2004
November 2003
June 2003
Autumn 2006
By Alan Richardson
Period covered: Purchase date (18 October 2000) to
12 September 2006
| Distance driven: |
91,029 miles |
| Fuel purchased: |
2800 gallons gasoline equivalent (GGE) |
| Fuel economy: |
32.5 miles/GGE |
| Fuel cost of CNG used: |
$2910 |
| Cost economy: |
31.3 miles per dollar |
| Savings over gasoline: |
$2,039 |
| Economic payback mileage*: |
82,217 miles |
| Economic payback date*: |
30 May 2006 - Payback complete! |
* Payback of $4500 purchase premium for natural gas fuel option reduced by $2000 Clean Cities rebate and $2000 federal income deduction at 28% marginal tax rate.
The environmental impact:
Estimated exhaust emissions of different passenger vehicles driven 91,029 miles (in pounds)
| |
Average car |
California LEV** |
Civic GX |
| Hydrocarbons |
561 |
15 |
0.6 |
| Carbon Monoxide |
4191 |
682 |
32 |
| Oxides of nitrogen |
278 |
40 |
4 |
| Total |
5030 |
737 |
37 |
** This estimate is based on the standards for a 'Low Emission Vehicle' passenger car required by California starting in 2001
In short, the Civic GX emits 5,030 fewer pounds of gunk into the air than the average car driven the same distance. This is 99% less pollution than the average
car on the street – it’s even 95% less than California’s requirements for a “Low Emission Vehicle”!
A common question I am asked is the price for natural gas vehicle fuel. At the moment,
I pay $1.95 per GGE. (One GGE is that amount of natural gas with the same energy content as
a gallon of gasoline.) Over the past year, DTE Energy has changed the price of natural gas
at the pump every few months, presumably in response to market conditions for natural gas.
The lowest price was $1.23 per GGE last autumn, and the highest was $2.38 per GGE during the
winter months. My average cost over the last year was $1.97 per GGE. The average price for
gasoline over the same period was $2.58.
The IRS has finally announced the tax credit for purchasers of Civic natural gas cars.
If you buy a 2005 or 2006 Honda Civic GX, you can apply a $4000 tax credit on your next
income tax return. Not too shabby, particularly since that is more than the tax credit
allowed for any hybrid. To see all the credits announced so far, visit the IRS press
room at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/index.html, select the ‘News releases’ button. One more good thing about the natural gas vehicle tax credit is that it does not
phase out, as does the hybrid credit. The credits for hybrids automatically phase
out for each manufacturer after 60,000 vehicles of its vehicles are sold. So if you
want the full $3150 credit for buying a Toyota Prius, you need to buy it before the end of
September 2006, because Toyota has sold over 60,000 units and the tax credit is cut in half
according to the provisions of the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Back to the 'Past Scorecards' index
To the current scorecard
Back to the 'Clean Car' index
Autumn 2005
By Alan Richardson
Period covered: Purchase date (18 October 2000) to
13 September 2005
| Distance driven: |
79,377 miles |
| Fuel purchased: |
2430 gallons gasoline equivalent (GGE) |
| Fuel economy: |
32.7 miles/GGE |
| Fuel cost of CNG used: |
$2190 |
| Cost economy: |
36.4 miles per dollar |
| Savings over gasoline: |
$1816 |
| Economic payback mileage*: |
84,817 miles |
| Economic payback date*: |
13 January 2006 |
* Payback of $4500 purchase premium for natural gas fuel option reduced by $2000 Clean Cities rebate and $2000 federal income deduction at 28% marginal tax rate.
The environmental impact:
Estimated exhaust emissions of different passenger vehicles driven 74,442 miles (in pounds)
| |
Average car |
California LEV** |
Civic GX |
| Hydrocarbons |
490 |
13.1 |
0.52 |
| Carbon Monoxide |
3654 |
594 |
28 |
| Oxides of nitrogen |
243 |
35 |
3.5 |
| Total |
4387 |
642.1 |
32.02 |
** This estimate is based on the standards for a 'Low Emission Vehicle' passenger car required by California starting in 2001
In short, the Civic GX emits 4,084 fewer pounds of gunk into the air than the average car driven the same distance. This is 99% less pollution than the average
car on the street – it’s even 95% less than California’s requirements for a “Low Emission Vehicle”!
Back to the 'Past Scorecards' index
To the current scorecard
Back to the 'Clean Car' index
Summer 2005
Originally published in the Summer 2005 "Lookout"
Period covered: Purchase date (18 October 2000) to
31 May 2005
| Distance driven: |
74,442 miles |
| Fuel purchased: |
2279 gallons gasoline equivalent (GGE) |
| Fuel economy: |
32.7 miles/GGE |
| Fuel cost of CNG used: |
$2015 |
| Cost economy: |
36.4 miles per dollar |
| Savings over gasoline: |
$1591 |
| Economic payback mileage*: |
90,787 miles |
| Economic payback date*: |
5 June 2006 |
* Payback of $4500 purchase premium for natural gas fuel option reduced by $2000 Clean Cities rebate and $2000 federal income deduction at 28% marginal tax rate.
The environmental impact:
Estimated exhaust emissions of different passenger vehicles driven 74,442 miles (in pounds)
| |
Average car |
California LEV** |
Civic GX |
| Hydrocarbons |
459 |
12 |
0.5 |
| Carbon Monoxide |
3427 |
557 |
26 |
| Oxides of nitrogen |
228 |
32 |
3 |
| Total |
4114 |
603 |
30 |
** This estimate is based on the standards for a 'Low Emission Vehicle' passenger car required by California starting in 2001
So what does it all mean? The Civic GX emits thousands fewer pounds of gunk into the air than the average car driven the same distance. This is 99% less pollution than the average
car on the street – it’s even 95% less than California’s requirements for a “Low Emission Vehicle”!
Back to the 'Past Scorecards' index
To the current scorecard
Back to the 'Clean Car' index
Winter 2005
Originally published in the Winter 2005 "Lookout"
Period covered: Purchase date (18 October 2000) to
10 December 2004
| Distance driven: |
66,233 miles |
| Fuel purchased: |
2017 gallons gasoline equivalent (GGE) |
| Fuel economy: |
32.8 miles/GGE |
| Fuel cost of CNG used: |
$1815 |
| Cost economy: |
36.5 miles per dollar |
| Savings over gasoline: |
$1309 |
| Economic payback mileage*: |
98,196 miles |
| Economic payback date*: |
10 December 2006 |
* Payback of $4500 purchase premium for natural gas fuel option reduced by $2000 Clean Cities rebate and $2000 federal income deduction at 28% marginal tax rate.
The environmental impact:
Estimated exhaust emissions of different passenger vehicles driven 62,233 miles
| Average car |
3660 pounds |
| Low Emission Vehicle** |
536 pounds |
| My car |
27 pounds |
** This estimate is based on the standards for a 'Low Emission Vehicle' passenger car required by California starting in 2001
In short, the Civic GX emits 3,633 fewer pounds of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and oxides of
nitrogen than an average car driven the same distance. This is 99% less pollution than the average
car on the street – it’s even 95% less than the California’s requirements for a “Low Emission Vehicle”!
Back to the 'Past Scorecards' index
To the current scorecard
Back to the 'Clean Car' index
April 2004
Originally published in the April 2004 "Lookout"
I added a new measure of operating cost for a vehicle: Cost economy. You can find this
number for your vehicle by dividing total miles driven by total cost of fuel used.
Another way to get the same answer is to divide your fuel economy (miles per gallon) by
your fuel cost (dollars per gallon). I get over 36 miles per dollar. What do you get?
Period covered: Purchase date (18 October 2000) to
25 March 2004
| Distance driven: |
52,758 miles |
| Fuel purchased: |
1605 gallons gasoline equivalent (GGE) |
| Fuel economy: |
32.9 miles/GGE |
| Fuel cost of CNG used: |
$1436 |
| Cost economy: |
36.7 miles per dollar |
| Savings over gasoline: |
$905 |
| Economic payback mileage*: |
113,047 miles |
| Economic payback date*: |
28 Feb 2008 |
* Payback of $4500 purchase premium for natural gas fuel option reduced by $2000 Clean Cities rebate and $2000 federal income deduction at 28% marginal tax rate.
The environmental impact:
Estimated exhaust emissions of different passenger vehicles driven 52,758 miles (in pounds)
| |
Average car |
California LEV** |
Civic GX |
| Hydrocarbons |
325.00 |
8.72 |
0.35 |
| Carbon Monoxide |
2429.00 |
395.00 |
18.60 |
| Oxides of nitrogen |
161.5 |
23.20 |
2.32 |
| Total |
2916.00 |
427.00 |
21.27 |
** Standard for 'Low Emission Vehicle' passenger car required by California starting in 2001
The Civic GX pollutes 100 times less than the average car on the street... and 20 times less even than the California's "Low Emission Vehicle" requirements!
Back to the 'Past Scorecards' index
To the current scorecard
Back to the 'Clean Car' index
February 2004
Originally published in the February 2004 "Lookout"
Period covered: Purchase date (18 October 2000) to 16 January 2004
| Distance driven: |
49,677 miles |
| Fuel purchased: |
1507 gallons gasoline equivalent (GGE) |
| Fuel economy: |
33.0 miles/GGE |
| Fuel cost of CNG used: |
$1347 |
| Savings over gasoline: |
$830 |
| Economic payback mileage*: |
116,086 miles |
| Economic payback date*: |
25 May 2008 |
* Payback of $4500 purchase premium for natural gas fuel option reduced by $2000 Clean Cities rebate and $2000 federal income deduction at 28% marginal tax rate.
The environmental impact:
Estimated exhaust emissions of different passenger vehicles driven 46,308 miles (in pounds)
| |
Average car |
California LEV** |
Civic GX |
| Hydrocarbons |
307.00 |
8.21 |
0.33 |
| Carbon Monoxide |
2287.00 |
372.00 |
17.50 |
| Oxides of nitrogen |
152.1 |
22.90 |
2.19 |
| Total |
2745.00 |
402.00 |
20.02 |
** Standard for 'Low Emission Vehicle' passenger car required by California starting in 2001
The Civic GX pollutes 100 times less than the average car on the street... and 20 times less even than the California's "Low Emission Vehicle" requirements!
Back to the 'Past Scorecards' index
To the current scorecard
Back to the 'Clean Car' index
|
