Florida drivers can now buy bi-fuel CNG Ford Focus
Consumer availability of natural gas vehicles in the U.S. market tends to be very limited. The only regularly available factory CNG car on sale right now is the Honda Civic GX and that's only available in California and New York. Other than that it's pretty much third party conversions. Wise Gas is now teaming up with Altech-Eco to offer EPA-certified bi-fuel Ford Focuses to consumers in Florida. The Focus is powered by the standard 2.0-liter four cylinder and can be manually switched by the driver between CNG and gasoline. Wise Gas is also in the permitting process for the first public compressed natural gas filling station somewhere in south Florida. The company also wants to offer consumers home CNG filling systems like the Phill offered by Honda to Civic GX buyers. The bi-fuel Focus has a range of 218-318 miles on a tank of CNG plus whatever you can get out of the gasoline. Altech-Eco offers an 8 year-80,000 mile warranty and the Focus starts at $24,495.
Gallery: 2007 Honda Civic GX
[Source: Wise Gas]
Wise Gas, Inc. and Altech-Eco Join Forces to Offer Bi-Fuel Gasoline/Natural Gas Vehicle to Florida Consumers
Wise Gas, Inc. and Altech-Eco have signed an exclusive representation agreement to bring EPA-certified dedicated and bi-fuel (gasoline/compressed natural gas) retro-fitted Ford Focus vehicles to Florida consumers.
In the past 9 months, Wise Gas, Inc. has been aggressively working to make compressed natural gas a viable alternative fuel source in Florida. In February, Wise Gas, Inc. announced that they were in the permitting and planning process for the state's first public CNG fueling station in South Florida.
"Wise Gas, Inc. is committed to offering a complete solution to consumers," Communications Manager, Christine Slager said, "This means offering access to natural gas vehicles, fueling options ranging from small home refueling units to public and private CNG Fueling Stations of every size. We are excited about offering a bi-fuel vehicle like Altech-Eco's Ford Focus retrofit which will allow customers the ability to begin transitioning to compressed natural gas today."
CNG, or compressed natural gas, is widely considered to be a leader in the alternative fuel sector. It is clean burning, domestically produced and offers strong savings in comparison to the gasoline prices of today. The CNG Ford Focus has the ability to run on CNG or gasoline and comes with a manufacturer rated CNG cylinder of 9.1 GGE's (Gasoline Gallon Equivalents), with a driving range of 218 - 318 miles with an average 35 mpg on highway and 24 in the city (results may vary). The Ford Focus with CNG option is now available in Florida through Wise Gas, Inc. at approved aftermarket conversion facilities and should be available soon through participating Ford Dealerships. Ford Motor Credit has approved the financing for the incremental cost of CNG conversion.
"As we continue to build CNG Fueling stations throughout the state of Florida, the bi-fuel option of Altech-Eco's Ford Focus retrofit allows consumers the freedom to enjoy the benefits of driving on CNG without the fear of being stranded without fuel availability," Slager added, "We look forward to the near future when we believe people will be able to drive across the state with CNG widely and readily available."
About Wise Gas, Inc. – Wise Gas, Inc. is a Florida-based corporation dedicated to building and strengthening CNG as an alternative fuel source throughout the state. Wise Gas, Inc. offers assistance procuring NGVs (Natural Gas Vehicles), CNG fueling solutions ranging from private home use to fleet options and full-sized public fueling stations and equipment maintenance. For more information, please visit www.wisegasinc.com.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jharlan 11:08AM (3/24/2009)
Great idea, economically supportable in terms of fuel costs and carbon emmissions, but people are not likely to pay this premium. According to cars direct.com the base price of a Ford Focus is $15,520 and at $24,495, a nearly $9,000 premium for this car is ludicrous. People would like to support this technology, but it needs to not be economically prohibitive. No amount of use of this entry level car would ever allow the people who buy the Focus to recoup their investment. People would pay a premium, but Ford has misjudged if the think car buyers would cough up $9,000 extra dollars for a Focus.
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Scott Lebus 10:41PM (10/01/2009)
I could not agree more! I converted my car using cng outfitters (cngoutfitters.com) for about 6k. I have a 2006 Toyota Matrix! Overall it has been pretty good despite a few minor problems. Unfortunately it took the key feature away from this car with the cng tank (the large trunk and the ability to extend the trunk into the back seat seamlessly). There is a filling station on the way to work but it saves me about half of my fuel cost so it probably will never pay for itself. The original idea was to get a home fueling station but they are expensive and I hear they are loud and break down after a certain amount of use. Its frustrating that the technology is here, and despite Boone Pickens publicity, it is not getting the attention it deserves. For me it was less of an economic decision then a feel good purchase and it seems like most green decisions are economically unfavorable!
Jim 6:10PM (7/04/2009)
This isn't unreasonable. This technology is new, and hard to find. CNG is also very cheap, and the decrease in fuel cost can pay for the car completely in 5 years despite the higher price. Once people buy more of these cars, more fueling stations will carry CNG, more CNG cars will be produced, and economies of scale will reduce the price of production and servicing. A recent technological breakthrough, however, will keep natural gas supplies high and prices low.
gorr 11:34AM (3/24/2009)
This is just a half solution because with that they can put almost free hydrogen gas instead of natural gas. just a pump with a water electrolyser at home or at the grocery store can fill up this car with no pollution except the pollution at the electrical station that use nuclear, coal or natural gas.
But this is a good solution but it seem overpriced because it cost 1 000$ more in my opinion
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Jim 6:10PM (7/04/2009)
Um, who pays for the electricity to get the hydrogen from water? You mention this, but fail to realize electricity is not free? Hydrogen is far from free.
And overpriced? Have you seen how much hydrogen cars cost? About 40k.