Reader Question: CNG Vehicles and Conversions
Wednesday December 26, 2007
In our series of highlighting questions from our readers as 2007 comes to a close, here's another one:
Jill wrote: "I work for a large state government in the Northeast. For the past few years our state has encountered severe problems trying to procure CNG vehicles for our statewide fleets. We have attempted to bid out conversion-ready vehicles but there just don't seem to be enough reliable upfitters out there. The other problem we face is that these conversion systems must carry EPA and CARB certification to be registerable in our state. With none of the major manufacturers producing CNG engines anymore (sans the Honda GX), do you have any suggestions on how to accomplish getting CNG pickup trucks for a state that is desperately trying to move to ultimately alternative fuels?"
Hi Jill,
Thanks for writing. We recently answered a similar question from another reader who was interested in procuring a 2008 CNG (compressed natural gas) personal use pickup truck from General Motors. We did a little digging and contacted a GM rep who told us that the factory will put together a run of vehicles for fleet use, but they do not build one-offs. This sounds like it would be the perfect scenario for your state fleet. Though the rep didn’t give exact numbers indicating what constitutes a fleet, we think a reasonable number would be on the order of a dozen or two. Our advice to you would be to contact a large metropolitan dealer and inquire directly with them about placing an order. You probably will have to jump through a few hoops to get to the right person but persistence should prevail. We believe that Ford and possibly Dodge also offers CNG factory-built vehicles, so those could be worth pursuing as well.
As far as conversions go, we usually suggest this resource locator to interested folks who would like to have their current vehicle retro-fitted. Perhaps one is reasonably near your location, and their conversion meets the EPA and CARB requirements.
Other avenues you may want to consider exploring if your interest is in moving to alternative fuels in general would be propane conversions or flex-fuel vehicles (those that can use E85). Most manufacturers offer pickup truck and sedan FFVs at the same price as their gasoline counter-parts. And, lastly, consider hybrids. Although not technically alternative fuel vehicles, they are powered in part by electricity which is an alternative fuel, and they are extremely fuel efficient. Furthermore, hybrid pickup trucks will be available from General Motors in late 2008 or 2009. Certainly other manufacturers will follow. Feel free to start with these alt fuel resources to find out more about some of these options. And please, let us know if we can be of further assistance.
Kind regards,
Christine and Scott
Jill wrote: "I work for a large state government in the Northeast. For the past few years our state has encountered severe problems trying to procure CNG vehicles for our statewide fleets. We have attempted to bid out conversion-ready vehicles but there just don't seem to be enough reliable upfitters out there. The other problem we face is that these conversion systems must carry EPA and CARB certification to be registerable in our state. With none of the major manufacturers producing CNG engines anymore (sans the Honda GX), do you have any suggestions on how to accomplish getting CNG pickup trucks for a state that is desperately trying to move to ultimately alternative fuels?"
Hi Jill,
Thanks for writing. We recently answered a similar question from another reader who was interested in procuring a 2008 CNG (compressed natural gas) personal use pickup truck from General Motors. We did a little digging and contacted a GM rep who told us that the factory will put together a run of vehicles for fleet use, but they do not build one-offs. This sounds like it would be the perfect scenario for your state fleet. Though the rep didn’t give exact numbers indicating what constitutes a fleet, we think a reasonable number would be on the order of a dozen or two. Our advice to you would be to contact a large metropolitan dealer and inquire directly with them about placing an order. You probably will have to jump through a few hoops to get to the right person but persistence should prevail. We believe that Ford and possibly Dodge also offers CNG factory-built vehicles, so those could be worth pursuing as well.
As far as conversions go, we usually suggest this resource locator to interested folks who would like to have their current vehicle retro-fitted. Perhaps one is reasonably near your location, and their conversion meets the EPA and CARB requirements.
Other avenues you may want to consider exploring if your interest is in moving to alternative fuels in general would be propane conversions or flex-fuel vehicles (those that can use E85). Most manufacturers offer pickup truck and sedan FFVs at the same price as their gasoline counter-parts. And, lastly, consider hybrids. Although not technically alternative fuel vehicles, they are powered in part by electricity which is an alternative fuel, and they are extremely fuel efficient. Furthermore, hybrid pickup trucks will be available from General Motors in late 2008 or 2009. Certainly other manufacturers will follow. Feel free to start with these alt fuel resources to find out more about some of these options. And please, let us know if we can be of further assistance.
Kind regards,
Christine and Scott
Comments
Your response regarding how to convert your convert vehicle to CNG is pathetic and very unhelpful if not evasive. Have you gone to the page you provided in the link for “resource locator” yourself? How about making it so someone can figure out for example ” If I have a 1996 Toyota Camry, can I convert it to CNG and if so how and who does it in my area?” That’s what we are looking to find out. Instead I wound up frustrated and no more informed than when I started because you didn’t want to take the time to actually answer the original post’s question directly. If you have a site that claims to help the users, try actually helping!
Hey Brian -
You’re exactly right–our coverage of CNG conversion is thin and minimal. The main reason for that is that it is not a popular option for personal transportation, and the purveyors of conversion kits and/or services are few. Through all of our research we haven’t been able to find a listing anywhere that tells what cars are able to be converted (and who can convert them). This link to the Department of Energy is the only one we know that’s a comprehensive listing.
The frustration you find in tracking down this information is the same thing we’ve run into–and we can’t help but wonder if this deters some folks from converting to CNG. We spend the bulk of our time researching hybrids, electrics and diesels, and it seems to us that natural gas (along with propane) are predominantly fleet fuels. Even the major manufacturers who had built assembly line CNG vehicles have pretty much abandoned the practice.
In our opinion, in most cases it’s not worth converting a vehicle to natural gas–as you’ve experienced, it can be challenging to find resources and fuel availability can be challenging. For instance, the single CNG station in our region is 30 miles away and is in the process of being closed because of lack of demand. CNG is a great option for fleets, but not as much so for personal transportation. Good luck, and please let us know if you find more information–we’d be happy to put it up on the site for other readers also.
Christine & Scott