The Sierra Club

Roadway

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.

Spring 2008
Winter 2007-8
Autumn 2006
Autumn 2005
Summer 2005
Winter 2004-2005
April 2004
February 2004
November 2003
June 2003

Spring 2008

By Alan Richardson

Period covered: Purchase date (18 October 2000) to 1 April 2008
Distance driven: 110,565 miles
Fuel purchased: 3369 gallons gasoline equivalent (GGE)
Fuel economy: 32.8 miles/GGE
Fuel cost of CNG used: $4081
Average fuel cost: $1.21 per GGE
Cost economy: 27.1 miles per dollar
Savings over gasoline: $2,471
Economic payback mileage*: 82,438 miles
Economic payback date*: 25 August 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 682 18.3 0.73
Carbon Monoxide 5090 828 38.97
Oxides of nitrogen 339 48.7 4.87
Total 6110 895 44.57
** This estimate is based on the standards for a 'Low Emission Vehicle' passenger car required by California starting in 2001.

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Winter 2007-8

By Alan Richardson

Period covered: Purchase date (18 October 2000) to 5 December 2007
Distance driven: 106,337 miles
Fuel purchased: 3258 gallons gasoline equivalent (GGE)
Fuel economy: 32.6 miles/GGE
Fuel cost of CNG used: $3858
Average fuel cost: $1.18 per GGE
Cost economy: 27.6 miles per dollar
Savings over gasoline: $2,350
Economic payback mileage*: 83,421 miles
Economic payback date*: 7 September 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 656 17.6 0.70
Carbon Monoxide 4895 796 37
Oxides of nitrogen 326 46.8 4.68
Total 5877 860 43
** 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 5,877 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”!

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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.

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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”!

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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”!

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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”!

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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!

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To the current scorecard
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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