How difficult would it be to make a hybrid car using a CNG engine?

Question

Think about it. The Honda Civic CNG has the smallest carbon footprint of any combustion engine. If this car was also a hybrid, you would kill three birds with one stone. First, oil dependence is gone and U.S. has abundant reserves of natural gas. Second, you would increase the range of the car dramatically and you would have a car that gets the greatest MPG of any other production car. Third, you would have such small carbon emissions that a new category would be needed to classify this vehicle. The only downside that I can see is a limited storage area. Am I missing something?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

I know of at least one person in the UK who has converted their older Toyota Prius to run on gas (I don't recall if it was CNG or LPG), and will do conversions for others.

I suppose that you could do the same with the Honda Civic Hybrid and convert it to natural gas instead of gasoline. Converting a hybrid to use natural gas instead of gasoline would be much easier to do than to convert a natural gas vehicle to add in a hybrid drivetrain...

Honda Civic CNG had a fuel economy equivalent of 24mpg city/36mpg highway (similar to that of the gasoline-only standard Civic), but thanks to full-cycle production/sourcing analysis it ranks as the greenest vehicle currently available in the US according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. It is followed closely by the Toyota Prius at 48mpg city/45mpg highway, and the Honda Civic Hybrid at 40mpg city/45mpg highway.
http://www.greenercars.org/highlights_gr…

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

I appreciate your knowledgeable answer. You've given me a direction to go. It seems that Honda may have the inside track since they offer a home CNG unit (PHIL ?). Now to find out if Honda will special order and if so, will the price be too steep?

Answer 2

Sounds terrific! Do tell us more. Sounds perfect.

Answer 3

Why would you hybridize it? It already runs on natural gas only, and that's what makes it super cheap and super clean. What are you meaning to hybridize it with? Hydrogen? I have 2 Fords that run on natural gas, and it's pretty awesome to go down the road using not one drop of foreign oil, and knowing they're 99% cleaner than any other car out there, along with the Honda Civic GX. Also, they are super cheap to fill up (less than $10 here in Utah). Go get a natural gas car if you have a place to refuel it, and you'll be miles ahead of everybody else!