Now that natural gas is rising to the top as a low cost and clean burning fuel, it’s no wonder that General Motors is making the moves to put a bi-fuel car out on the road.
The company will build a Chevrolet Impala sedan that can operate on both gasoline AND compressed natural gas, and that’s not even the best part. The car will be able to travel up to 500 miles between fill-ups! That’s about an eight hour car drive form Pittsburgh to Virginia Beach without stopping for gas once; now that’s impressive.
Right now, there are only 650 CNG stations nationwide, which is a concern to consumers who are worried about being stranded if they run out of CNG; however, with the new Impala, the backup gasoline reservoir will alleviate those concerns. The car is engineered to seamlessly switch from CNG to gasoline, which will help to reassure those consumers that they won’t be stranded.
The Chevy Impala isn’t the first car to offer bi-fuel CNG abilities. Since 2011, Honda Motors have been selling a natural gas powered Civic, and while still modest, sales have been steadily rising within the last couple of years. With this new Impala, it will offer people an opportunity to upgrade to a new modern vehicle with all the bells and whistles that come along with it, such as navigation, Bluetooth and an advanced safety system.
The benefits of CNG could be considerable if it catches on. Natural gas vehicles reduce emissions by 80 percent, and it is also significantly cheaper. In 2013 the clean fuel averaged out at about $2.11 per gallon compared to the 2013 national average of $3.35 a gallon for regular unleaded gas.
The new Impala is set to go on sale next summer as a 2015 model. Will we see you driving one around?
