Get A $3000 Gas Card With Your New Honda Civic CNG

Gas prices are high and seem to keep climbing every day. American Honda Motor Co has taken notice and is looking to take advantage of current high prices to tempt buyers to switch to alternative fuel vehicles like the compressed natural gas Honda Civic CNG by offering a $3000 fuel card. The Honda Civic is currently the only natural gas powered car being sold in the U.S to consumers.

Car buyers who take advantage of the promotion will be given a fuel card that is loaded with $3000 which can be used at compressed natural gas stations owned by Clean Energy Corp. The promotion should be welcome relief to drivers in California who are currently paying some of the highest gas prices ever recorded in the United States. According to the Daily Fuel Gauge Report the average price of regular gas in California is hitting $4.60 a gallon. These fuel spikes have been caused by disruptions at a number of refineries.

In comparison, the average price for an equivalent gallon of compressed natural gas is just $2.05 according to Honda. In California, the Honda Civic CNG is eligible for carpool lane access, which can be a big bonus for commuters spending hours a day on a congested Los Angeles freeway. The Civic CNG can go 200 miles on a full tank and can be refueled in minutes. The base price on a Civic CNG is roughly $27,000.

Proponents of natural gas believe all of these factors give compressed natural gas vehicles like the Civic CNG the leg up over pure electric vehicles as well as plug-in-hybrids. The low cost of natural gas and the longer driving range when compared to electric vehicles is a big advantage to consumers.

Despite all of these advantages Honda has struggled to convince consumers to make the leap to a natural gas Civic. While sales are up from last year, Honda has only sold 1,576 CNG Civics in the United States in the first nine months of 2012. That number reflects less than one percent of the Civics sold in the U.S. Honda has said that low sales are due to not only low production rates but also a lack of promotion when it comes to the Civic CNG. 

In comparison, Nissan sold 5,200 Leaf EV’s during the same sales period.

The offer from American Honda and Clean Energy Corp is available from now until Jan 2, 2013. The only limitation is the number of cars Honda has in inventory. Currently they have a stock of roughly 1500 units waiting to be sold.

The cost of the $3000 gas card will be split between American Honda, the dealer responsible for the sale and Clean Energy, each kicking in $1000. The Civic CNG is currently available in 36 states and at 199 dealerships.

American Honda is currently offering a $3000 gas card to buyers of its compressed natural gas powered Civic CNG.