What came first the chicken or the egg? Or is it a paradox?
CNG cars will not sale unless there are fuel stations. Fuel stations won’t invest in CNG pump equipment unless there are enough CNG cars on the road to make it profitable
Good news, guys! VW is now taking orders for an all-carbon fiber car. Think of the weight savings! And it’s only $344,000!
Gas stations are small businesses. The focus of their owners is not on creating a national refueling network to enable CNG cars that manufacturers may or may not make and people may or may not buy. Their focus is on maximizing the use of the property and capital equipment on which they carry mortgages and loans, and on having enough money left at the end of every week to feed their families and send their kids to college…so they too won’t have to spend 80 hours a week at the gas station for a modest income.
You’re 100% correct, americar. Stations won’t invest in CNG pumps unless CNG cars become commonplace. And as long as no infrastructure exists, and as long as CNG vehicles are more expensive, that isn’t going to happen. How do we get out of that hole? I honestly don’t know. But I do believe that if federal dollars are invested in developing some form of alternative refueling infrastructure, the investment would be better made in EV charging stations rather than CNG stations. While I recognize the instant-refill advantage of CNG, EVs seem to be the way the technology is headed.
JT, I’ll run straight to my VW dealer after work. Must have a CF VW!
I’m confused. What happened to fiberglass? While CF clearly has a much higher strength to weight ratio, fiberglass is still a perfectly good and far less expensive material for lightweight body panels. Carbon fiber clearly cannot justify its cost. I guess that being the working class person that I am, I keep forgetting that there’s a market our there for the BEST, regardless of cost. In one of the advertisements for “The X Factor”, Simon Cowell is seen getting out of a Bugatti Veyron. Must be nice.
“…Simon Cowell is seen getting out of a Bugatti Veyron.”
That’s a VW Veyron, if you please. And I bet it is very nice.
On natural gas, its also pays to recognize the fact that these new methods of freeing up the deposits is far from uncontroversial. Fracking has all sorts of ugly consequences - for people who live in affected areas. It is, of course, wonderful for the ones who capture the profit streams.
Bugatti would disagree, JT. But I understand your point.
II don’t think Bugatti would disagree. Bentley, Lamborghini, Audi, and several other brands would readily agree that they are VWs. They all know where the home office is, and in many ways owe their continued existence to VW’s ownership. Actually it’s surprising (to me) how many brands are part of VW. You’ll agree that Cadillac thinks of itself as a GM brand, just as Lexus considers itself part of Toyota. Why should Bugatti be any different?
You make a good point, Jt. But I’m not sure Bugatti is ready to call itself a VW.
Yes indeed, the “fracking” drilling technique will have to be perfected before it’s given the green light…
N.G. cars can be re-fueled right in your own garage…All it takes is a natural gas line and a small wall-mounted compressor to pump up the vehicles tank…because of the small size (and cost) these units take about an hour to fill-up a car…If you are in a hurry, a commercial fueling station, using a much bigger compressor, can do it in a matter of minutes…The technology is there, it’s just establishing the will to do it…
N.G. cars can be re-fueled right in your own garage
Unfortunately I don’t have NG. In fact the closest NG pipe is about 10 miles away.
If I can refuel with NG at home, I’m all for it. I would need a refilling pump, but that can’t be too expensive. I am concerned about vehicle fuel taxes. As you may know, anyone that makes diesel fuel at home is supposed to keep track of the fuel they use and pay taxes on it just as if they bought it from a commercial pump.
Interesting point Caddyman. Perhaps it’s best to avoid CNG. There’d be some idiot blowing up a house every week while trying to refill his tank.
"Just as a sidebar, MASSIVE new deposits of natural gas have been found, much of it in the North-East! The wholesale price of N.G. has collapsed because of this…Many small natural gas exploration and production companies are facing bankruptcy because of this price collapse…Unfortunately, consumers have not benefited as the retail price for N.G. has not budged, creating windfall profits for the pipeline and supply companies… "
It’s not just the ‘small gas exploration and production companies’ that are cutting back - all the big players in the shale gas game are rethinking their plans. But your statement that only the pipeline and supply companies benefit from this is wrong. The shale gas boom is saving the ENTIRE country about $100 BILLION dollars a year. We use about 25 trillion cubic feet of gas a year, and before shale gas it sold for about 1/10 the price of oil, so at $80/bbl it would sell for 8/MCF. Now it’s way under $4/MCF, and oil’s at $100/bbl. So if it only saved $4/MCF, that $100 billion in saving per year.
As for the evils of fracking, the legitimate issues relate to fresh water use and improper handling of fluids that are produced from the wells. Full and complete application of existing regulations can address the latter. The use of fresh water is short term, and not a problem in most areas.
There is no legitimate concern over aquifer contamination from the actual fracturing process.
IIRC, fracking has been used for a long time, and in most cases has not resulted in ground water contamination. Certainly rules need to be set and enforced that make the risk extremely low, but I think it is time to start mining the NG reserves under the Appalachians.
BTW, did you ever wonder what government is good for? This is a good example. Government works(when it works) as a representative of the citizens and companies in coming up with rules that are practical, effective and fair. When this happens, we have more jobs, attractively priced assets, and a safe environment. Unfortunately, there are people both for and against absolutely everything under the Sun. It’s not easy, but that’s the goal.
Another issue that (rightfully) got a lot of press recently were the earthquakes in Ohio. Few reports made it clear that these were not from a well being fracked, rather they were at a disposal well. That well has been shut in and the other 100+ disposal wells in Ohio are working just fine, no earthquakes.
But that information all gets mixed together into the ‘fracking problems’ pot.
There’d be some idiot blowing up a house every week while trying to refill his tank.
I"m not so sure it’s all that dangerous.
http://arkansasnews.com/2009/10/26/fill-’er-up-at-home-cng-refueling-station-a-first/
Honda’s CNG Civic GX also used that ‘Phill’ device for homes. Pretty pricey, but I bet utilities would be interested in helping finance it for long-term use if the market got big enough.
Honda actually was part owner of the Phil device. They are no longer in existence. I’ll bet they’re pricy too. But if the cost is spread over 3-5 years it’s probably worth it. But you have to have NG to your house. Which we don’t have. And here in NH…it’s not as readily available here in NH as other states. My town it’s only available down the main road.
If it was available I’d have it at my house instead of Oil.
It ’ s time has come. With NO competition to petro for fueling cars, nat. gas and anything else that creates that competition is worth investing in.