G. David Felt

Baby Guiness

5 Reasons Why You Should Switch to Compressed Natural Gas According to the Natural Gas Vehicles for America, there are now over 120,000 vehicles in the United States that run on compressed natural gas. Around the world, there are now more than 14 million natural gas vehicles or NGVs. And these numbers will continue to rise as compressed natural gas increasingly becomes the alternative fuel of choice. But what made almost 14 million vehicle owners all over the world decide to choose CNG vehicles over traditional? Let’s take a look at 5 of the best reasons why compressed natural gas should be your choice too. Compressed natural gas is ECO-FRIENDLY? Engines running on CNG produce less hydrocarbon exhaust emissions than gasoline-fuelled engines. In fact, compared to cars fuelled by gasoline or diesel, natural gas vehicles produce 70% less carbon monoxide (CO), 87% less non-methane organic gas (NMOG), 87% less nitrogen oxide (NOx) and 20% less carbon dioxide (CO2). And although natural gas vehicles do emit methane, one of the principal greenhouse gases, the methane emission is offset by the significant reduction in CO2 emissions. Compressed Natural Gas is SAFE? CNG is stored in spherical or cylindrical tanks that are much stronger than gasoline fuel tanks. In case of an accident, CNG will dissipate into the atmosphere unlike gasoline, which pools in the ground and becomes a dangerous fire hazard. CNG also has a narrower range of flammability, which means that natural gas will not burn in concentrations in air that is below 5% and above 15%. In addition, natural gas is not toxic or corrosive. And because any leaks dissipate into the atmosphere instead of the ground, CNG will not contaminate ground water. Compressed Natural Gas is EFFICIENT - Since natural gas is 90% methane, it has a substantially higher octane rating compared to gasoline. This allows for higher compression ratios that make the engines running on CNG significantly more efficient. Also, because CNG is a clean-burning fuel, it causes less wear and tear on the engine. This results to longer engine life and more savings from maintenance costs such as tune-ups and oil/ spark plug changes. Compressed Natural Gas COSTS LESS? Natural gas costs significantly less than either gasoline or diesel. In fact, CNG is available at a third of the price of gasoline on average. Also, the prices of natural gas are less volatile compared to oil prices. This stability makes long term cost planning easier. Reduction in engine wear and tear due to the clean burning characteristic of natural gas also helps NGV owners save up on expensive tune-ups, parts replacements and oil changes. Compressed Natural Gas is ABUNDANT and READILY AVAILABLE - The United States has an abundant supply of natural gas. There is also an extensive, well-established network of gas pipelines distributing natural gas to several areas in the country. Also, there are now more than 1,300 CNG fuelling stations across the US with more being built everyday. This makes CNG use convenient as NGV owners have easy access to natural gas fuelling stations. With these five top reasons, it’s easy to see why CNG is an excellent alternative to petroleum-based fuels. Making the switch to CNG is easy even if you currently own a gasoline or diesel vehicle. Many CNG Companies offers the best conversion systems on the market- Auto Gaz the world leader of consistent top quality CNG systems, Versus another world leader of Bi-fuel auto switching CNG Systems. You can find a system to match most any vehicle from Ford - Chevy, Mazda - BMW, GMC - Volkswagon , local CNG conversion shops will handle it and your Local Fuel Maker Distributor can install Home CSA certified Fueling appliance. This alone usually keeps you under a Dollar a gallon. Same MPG, More HP, More Torque, Considerably less Green house gas as it is a green fuel. Why not switch to CNG Today! Need more proof, check out the NGVA site for an abundance of great facts on why America should move to CNG! http://www.ngvc.org/index.html

Again, the i3 and i8 are very new...and disgusting, IMO. Personally, I like the generally evolutionary styling BMW, M-B, and Porsche use...continuity and heritage to grow on, rather than total change every few years...better than the generic appliance styling seen from other car makers, IMO.. True, BMW, MB and Porsche are better than what Toyota, Nissan, Honda put out. Yea, American auto companies have also had their turds, but still you are dealing with luxury makers that can do much better than they have. I feel they are truly resting on their past accomplishments.

Need to do an editorial about the abuse of old style design by BMW and MB. Nothing new, nothing inspiring, same old garbage yet they are praised as amazing. What a joke.

CNG Safety CNG is one of the safest vehicle fuels available, CNG is safer than gasoline. According to the Federal Transit Administration. Data collected over time has demonstrated natural gas vehicles to be safe in actual operation. Based on a survey of 8,331 natural gas utility, school, municipal and business fleet vehicles (NGVs) that traveled 178.3 million miles on CNG: • The NGV fleet vehicle injury rate was 37% lower than the gasoline fleet vehicle rate. • There were no fatalities compared with 1.28 deaths per 100 million miles for gasoline fleet vehicles. • The collision rate for NGV fleet vehicles was 31% lower than the rate for gasoline fleet vehicles • The fleet of 8,331 NGVs was involved in seven fire incidents, only one of which was directly attributable to failure of the natural gas fuel system. Gun Test on Natural Gas Tank Sever Abuse Tank Test Because CNG is mostly made of methane and methane is odourless CNG is odorised with Mercaptan to provide a ready means of leak detection. An average person can easily detect the smell of gas at a concentration as low as 0.3% by volume in air. That concentration is about 16 times lower than the level which will support combustion. CNG has a high ignition temperature, about 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit, compared with about 600 degrees Fahrenheit for gasoline. It also has a narrow range of flammability, that is, in concentrations in air below about 5 percent and above about 15 percent, natural gas will not burn. The high ignition temperature and limited flammability range make accidental ignition or combustion of CNG unlikely. CNG has no known toxic or chronic physiological effects (it is not poisonous). Exposure to a moderate concentration may result in a headache or similar symptoms due to oxygen deprivation but it is likely that the smell would be detected well in advance of concentrations being high enough for this to occur. The fact that CNG is lighter than air further enhances its safety. Unlike other fuels such as diesel, petrol or LPG, which are heavier than air, and pools on the ground creating a fire hazard and potential pollution to waterways. Should a CNG leak occur, the gas will disperse rapidly upwards into the atmosphere and dissipate. CNG fuel systems are "sealed," which prevents any spills or evaporative losses. Even if a leak were to occur in an NGV fuel system, the natural gas would dissipate into the atmosphere because it is lighter than air. Natural gas is not toxic or corrosive and will not contaminate ground water. CNG combustion produces no significant aldehydes or other air toxins, which are a concern in gasoline and some other alternative fuels. CNG fuel cylinders are much, much stronger than gasoline tanks. The design of the cylinders is subject to a number of "severe abuse" tests such as heat and pressure extremes, gunfire, collisions and fire. The systems are also fitted with valves and other safety devices to prevent leakage and eliminate the risk of an explosion - actually making them safer than the legal requirements stipulate. CNG cylinder pressure - as CNG is stored at high pressure, it is often perceived that the high pressure of the product makes it more hazardous than other fuels. While a high pressure gas leak tends to make a lot of noise as the gas is escaping. The resulting high concentrations of gas and its tendency to dissipate upwards make it less likely for the gas in the immediate vicinity of the leak to ignite. Safe distribution, CNG is delivered via underground pipeline networks, the same networks that deliver natural gas to our homes and businesses. This method not only eliminates the need for road tankers to deliver fuel from the refinery, but also the need for ocean going oil tankers to deliver crude oil to the refinery. The CNG delivery system itself also has an excellent and proven safety record. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the natural gas transmission and distribution system is the safest way to transport.

Tall Boy

DONE! Your hired to clean up that Euro Mess of dealerships. Modernize and streamline it Auto Yoda!

Interesting look for what might seem to be the supercharger. In the pictures it looks like the drivers side port on the hood is the functional scoop to ram air into the supercharger as it looks like a chrome plug is in the hood scoop on the passenger side.

I see more problems than help with this alliance and GM should just kill it and walk away. No real gain and I doubt they will truly see any gains from the two auto lines they are supposedly working on or from the parts. PSA Peugeot Citroen is a dying entity and I think France would be stupid to prop it up. Let the Chinese be vultures and clean the bones.

They will need to do more than just move a few Q50 and QX60's. Start with actually getting something more than bland design language. Infinity seems to be on life support as you see many sit on the dealer lots but not many moving about in traffic.

This will be interesting to see if anyone really goes for this car as I think it is over priced. Then again this could just be a stop gap measure till they have their new body style ready. Not long till the Detroit auto show.

Silvia would be cool. At the same time this has more style and would make a wicked Skyline in comparison to the current bland Turd they have now.

While I do not care for the style or design of the bug, I will say I think this is one of their better dashboard implementations even though it is rather plain. Very sparse but then VW was always about utility not luxury.

I remember when the first Camero's came out after being out of production for a while and also with the SSR pickup truck. You could not find a dealer that would sell the auto for below MSRP and in most cases they added 3-5K on top of MSRP calling it Market demand justified and yet while some morons bought at that price, most sat for a while before finally moving. I do think the point made of the new trucks not being on their feet and the possible rebates is valid. I wish GM would ignore the rebates and sell at a reasonable price to show value and retain value. This would do them better in the long run than to do stupid 5-10K rebates.

I wish a car company would break down by region the auto sales as I have only seen a couple BMW's 1 on the lots and they still seem to be there. People who know their auto's consider the 1's to be an insult to the Ultimate Driving Machine logo. Yet I do acknowledge that many 1 buyers are clueless to the FWD versus RWD design.

BMW 1 - NOT a Driving machine!

BMW will Hurt not Help their image with FWD in the US. This is DEAD on Arrival for them as a FWD appliance.

I would rather have a dodge challenger RT over this car.

Or Pedigrees are lost. Great info on your rental of the car, but it sounds like it left you empty. Nothing to really strike a cord of memory. Nice solid auto's can build a reputation as we have seen how many lemmings buy Camry another non inspiring auto. So #1 thing that stuck in your mind about the car as a positive and #1 thing as a negative now that you have spent time behind the wheel?

Interesting, so I wonder if the Odometer is disconnected or are they going to discount these units that have miles built up on them? At the Seattle Auto show the man who was talking about the Trail Hawk edition of the Cherokee said deliveries would show up on dealer lots in January. He for the most part never said more than arriving soon at a jeep dealer near you but when pushed by people always defaulted to January as the availability time frame.

The Chevy R130 I would think would compete directly against this car.

I think these dealers are cry babies and just trying to get an easy way to make a sale. Comparing the New Chevy/GMC trucks to the old Fords and Rams is like comparing night to day. They are huge steps above and if the only customers buying are the cheap skates, that is a customer you can avoid with good reason. People who really compare the trucks will see that the new trucks are worth the price and way ahead of the old 2013 models.

Yup agree with everyone here that the TT V6 would be a great starter motor, then go to a natural V8 and have a TT V8 for the high end. Course I would miss the wine of that supercharger.

WOW, this was a great write up but the car leaves me dead on arrival. Just a rebadge of the Toyota and non inspiring. So many other auto's that are far more inspiring than this is.

Morning the loss of the 1 series, wow that writer is clearly smoking to much BMW Weed.