U.S. Automakers Can't Afford to Overlook Natural Gas Opportunities

Thanks to billoinaire energy entrepreneur T. Boone Pickens, most Americans are now familiar with The Pickens Plan. He is spending a reported $60 million of his own money to educate us as to the benefits of utilizing renewable wind power to replace natural gas (NG) on our nation's electric grid, thereby freeing up this plentiful domestic energy resource to replace expensive foreign oil as a transportation fuel for cars and trucks on our highways.

Meanwhile, things aren't going so well for America's domestic automobile manufacturers. Sales of new cars and trucks dropped below the 1 million mark last month for the first time in 15 years. While some high mileage compacts are moving reasonably well, their profit margins are too slim to offset lost profits from languishing truck and SUV sales. All this has resulted in the need for a $25 billion loan from the federal government to help keep the doors open in Detroit.

Without downplaying the complexities and regulatory expense of modern automotive manufacturing, it would appear automakers have an economic opportunity here they cannot afford to overlook. Indeed, it is curious that American car companies haven't already decided to build NGV's (natural gas vehicles) in the U.S. once more, as they did in the recent past. After all, they sell them in numerous foreign countries with 19 different models available in Canada alone, and there are some 7 MILLION of them riding the roads throughout the world.

This, then, begs the question as to why we're not seeing "dual-fueled" (CNG + gasoline) trucks and SUVs on the floors in dealers showrooms already. They would be patriotic, draw traffic, increase consumer interest, and expand new vehicle sales, They would also be the source of new revenue for financially troubled dealerships, as existing vehicles can be converted to run on CNG (compressed natural gas), and they could even increase their service business by establishing much needed CNG refueling depots, thereby expanding additional servicing opportunities.

So while Detroit waits for additional bailouts from the federal government, no one is shopping for new cars and trucks as they await the next generation of vehicles with improved mileage, and dealers close their doors laying off thousands of employees due to a lack of interest from consumers in these troubled times, one answer is right in front of us. All we need to do is quit waiting on some "magic bullet" or miracle new energy policy from Washington, and start helping ourselves today using good old American common sense and ingenuity!

Comments

[PeteK:]

It just costs too much to make a car in the USA nowadays.
Quality is another factor, still need improvement. Dealership service also need improvement. Auto workers need to be more loyal to their employers, that's the key for staying in business, asking for more and more benefits won't do any good if the business is dead.

2008 Oct 08 05:04 AM

[jimxyz:]

There's a wee problem of infrastructure. Until there's a place to fuel your CNG car, manufacturers won't build them. Building CNG autos is not a technological or financial issue - it is one of having enough fueling stations so that you can take the car out for a drive. And unfortunately, someone other than auto manufacturers will have to take on the burden of building that infrastructure. If our Congress had any leaders, they would jump start that by funding initial phases of the infrastructure and thus begin to ween us off of imported energy - but they appear to lack the courage to go up against big oil. Instead it's the mantra of 'dig, dig, dig' - which, even if enacted won't help us for a decade - and then only minutely. Such a shame - since we do have a viable solution with CNG.

2008 Oct 08 06:36 AM

[drgoodwrench:]

We build and sell home refueling units for CNG, conversion kits for cars and trucks to be Bi-fuel, and make new natural gas heavy duty engines (diesel conversions). ALL our sales are overseas because CARB can't figure out how to effectively deal with certification of conversions, and EPA follows CARB's lead. In general, to sell a kit in the USA, it has to be certified by CARB at a cost of $200k-400k. However the certification is good ONLY for a specific model year of a vehicle in a specific trim. So to make kits available for 1993 Mazda Miatas, we are looking at 2 certifications. To cover 1990-1993, we are looking at 6 certifications, potentially 2.4 million dollars. We could never sell enough kits to cover our costs.
How much is a kit? EPA/CARB Certified conversions are $20k from BayCorp. Our conversions for the same applications overseas are $2k, including installation! CARB has effectively blocked any chance of a conversion market developing in the USA.

2008 Oct 08 07:57 AM

[notrichrepu...:]

A few weeks ago, I asked Ford if they were interested in cng. The response was crystal clear. We are not pursuing cng at this time. I sold all my stock the next day and told ford management why.
cng is a great idea. You can put a little fill up station in your garage. The market will add cng gas stations as demand warrants.
I have blamed the unions on the Detroit auto demise, but management stupidity is also to blame

2008 Oct 08 08:04 AM

[macsmart:]

It's very workable. Just take a look at how many NG buses are operating just fine in NYC.

I imagine however, that US automakers are simply unable to see it..just as they have missed dozens of other trends over the last 20 yrs.

2008 Oct 08 09:21 AM

[xander:]

drgoodwrench- who or what is carb?

2008 Oct 08 09:35 AM

[fran:]

XANDER--

TRY ngvamerica.org

2008 Oct 08 11:48 AM

[Red Raider:]

Obviously the technology is proven, NG vehicular fuel will be profitable, the bottom line (all in) economic choice is obvious.

Invest in our infrastructure, spend our money at home, reduce fuel cost, create jobs, reduce carbon emissions and pollution. Why not?

The feds will bail out the automakers for $25 billion. Why? Why not seed money for CNG?

We need some politicians who are interested in the USA. What in the Hell is the matter with us?

2008 Oct 08 11:57 AM

[Mister Jimmy:]

This author is mis-informed. The $25 billion loan from the federal government was not "to help keep the doors open in Detroit". It was specifically ear-marked to help ALL auto OEM's to meet stringent fuel economy standards, and was a commitment made by the Feds long before the current dire situation. As far as domestic manufacturers ignoring alternative fuels, you owe to yourself to check out this link:

www.gm.com/experience/.../

2008 Oct 08 04:56 PM

[poster987:]

CARB is California Air Resources Board

2008 Oct 08 09:54 PM

[Max Sampson:]

Natural gas conversions can be done right now. You can convert any car right now by having a certified installer put one on your vehicle. Granted, it's not CARB approved, but it's considered an after market performance add on, so it's technically legal. It's not as expensive as people think - can be done for around $7000 for a new install. Some people can have this paid off in 6 months depending where you live and how much you drive.

2008 Oct 10 03:43 PM

[http://www....:]

I cannot see GM going away with the money spent on the new volt. I would like to see a 3 headed monster ford/gm/chrysler as one company to revamp things. As companies merge it allows them to price fix and not beat each other down. This guarantees more money for the company without the stress of dealing with the competition.

2008 Oct 11 10:59 PM

[potsherd:]

The Honda Civic GX-CNG burns compressed natural gas. California can't get enough of them and presently has 150 CNG fueling station with 50 more in the works. My approach to the dilemma of fueling stations is use the umbilical cord approach.
An example would be to take a major metropolitan area like NY city and boroughs The cabs, cop cars,ALL buses, municipal vehicles would utilize CNG, Then build CNG fuel stations on I-95 from Maine to Florida to support truck traffic. Ultimately all major metro areas and interstate highways would have CNG
fueling stations. We have an estimated 65 year supply of natural gas. The downside the oil companies and the Middle East would express dislike: so be it.

potsherd

2008 Oct 31 09:34 AM