Natural Gas Powered Vehicle Owners Still Pay Under $1 Gallon

1 April 1999
Natural Gas Powered Vehicle Owners Still Pay Under $1 Gallon
  Domestically Produced, Abundant Fuel Available Today Throughout California

    SACRAMENTO, Calif., March 31 -- Thinking twice about driving
to grandma's house over the Easter Weekend since the price of gasoline has
dramatically risen in the past two weeks?  You can still purchase gas for
under $1 a gallon in California.  Clean, domestically produced, abundant
natural gas that is.
    An industry survey, completed this week by the California Natural Gas
Vehicle Coalition in Sacramento, shows the price of natural gas ranging from
$.88.9 to $1.07 per equivalent gallon.
    With 200 natural gas refueling stations strategically located throughout
California, a growing number of individuals and fleet operators have continued
to pay a consistent price for their fuel and have not been inconvenienced by
daily price increases blamed on regional oil refinery problems and threats
from OPEC.
    Natural gas used as a vehicle fuel is the same safe, reliable natural gas
used in homes throughout the West.  At refueling stations, it is compressed
and dispensed into vehicles, both large and small, in much the same way
gasoline is.
    California leads the nation with over 13,000 natural gas vehicles (NGVs)
on the road.  This count includes vehicles ranging from light-duty passenger
cars, trucks and vans to transit buses used in many communities in the State.
    Most major auto manufacturers offer NGVs -- to name a few, American Honda
offers their ever popular Civic in a natural gas model, Toyota just released a
dedicated natural gas Camry, and Ford offers the largest variety of NGV
products of any manufacturer in North America.
    Many owners have purchased NGVs based on the clean air benefits, as well
as the stable, consistently lower operating costs.
    On an average, natural gas vehicles reduce harmful emissions by
seventy-five percent compared to gasoline vehicles and contain no
environmentally harmful additives such as MTBE.
    Natural gas is California's clear fuel of choice -- today and for the
future.