Natural Gas Family Cars? CNG Cheap But Many Potholes

The 76 station at the corner of Los Angeles' Olympic and La Cienega boulevards doesn't look much different from the myriad gas stations that dot the metropolis.
But next to the banks of traditional gas pumps is one dispensing a cheaper, cleaner-burning fuel to the occasional delivery van or Honda Civic equipped to use it.
The station is one of dozens in Southern California selling compressed natural gas. The region has one of the nation's densest concentrations of CNG fueling infrastructure.

That network is a key piece of the puzzle needed if motorists are ever going to convert en masse to the fuel, which currently goes for about $1.50 a gallon less than the equivalent amount of gasoline, thanks to decades' worth of new U.S. supply.
Dawn Of New Age?
Advocates have heralded the dawn of a transportation age, with the domestic fuel powering trips to the mall, soccer practice or work, displacing more expensive and dirty imported oil. The Obama administration's tightened fuel economy standards include incentives for automakers to offer natural gas vehicles.
And more than a dozen states have banded together to pledge to buy light-duty cars and trucks for their own fleets, and are waiting to see which manufacturers step up.
"It may not be at every corner, but there are enough stations around that if you've got a 220-mile range, you're going to be able to get to a station and fuel," said Richard Kolodziej, president of Natural Gas Vehicles for America, who's driven a natural-gas-powered car since the early 1990s.
But the consumer market is a tough nut to crack.

Read More At IBD: http://news.investors.com/business/092812-627463-cng-lng-fuel-growing-but-consumer-adoption-slow.htm#ixzz27wix3y6W