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a liquid fuel system that has the energy equivalent amount of gasoline. This <br />weight does affect acceleration and degrades fuel economy. Second, since <br />natural gas enters the engine as a gas (while gasoline enters part gas and part <br />liquid), a gasoline engine is able to ingest more air and provide higher power. In <br />recent years, however, CNG vehicles have been able to minimize this by <br />increasing compression and cylinder displacement, to the point where -- for <br />practical driving purposes -- the difference in these factors is negligible. For <br />example, the CNG Honda Civic now achieves 34 mpg (highway) andfeatures no <br />discernable loss of acceleration capability. However, due to lower energy content <br />and the size of the fuel tank, the range of CNG vehicles is less than that of <br />gasoline vehicles, and the fuel tanks displace some payload (trunk) capacity. <br />The cost of a gasoline - gallon equivalent of CNG compares favorably to gasoline, <br />and has generally been lower. The most recent newsletter of the "Alternative <br />Fuel Price Report" shows the following fuel cost comparison (which reflects <br />increases in natural gas prices that occurred during 2003 -04): <br />Comparison of Fuel Prices <br />Gasoline <br />. $1.67 <br />$1.92 <br />Diesel <br />$1.58 <br />Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)* <br />$1.48 <br />$1.49 <br />Biodiesel <br />$1.691 <br />$1.84 <br />Ethanol <br />$1.691 <br />$1.87 <br />Propane <br />$2.22 <br />1 $2.25 <br />vasuune-yauun cyurvdMlll ouwce. uicnunumuvc FUUI rncc ncymt, aww c..I <br />Recent studies appear to indicate that CNG vehicle life may be two to three <br />years longer than for gasoline or diesel vehicles. Additionally, oil changes and <br />routine maintenance is reported to be considerably less frequent than <br />gasoline /diesel vehicles. Some CNG manufacturers now recommend oil change <br />intervals of 12- 15,000 miles, as opposed to 3,500 -7,500 miles for gasoline <br />vehicles. <br />Comparison of CNG Vehicle Performance - Compared to Gasoline Vehicles <br />Performance Measure <br />0100-1010 <br />Rating Compared to Gasoline Vehicle <br />-Acceleration <br />Speed <br />-Cruising <br />MaintenarfGa Gists <br />:- <br />OVUI IU. V J tJGtIUI Y I1.1U VI Gi i.l l,Y, l Ui II I NUJ VGOINU YVYGtO V WlVG, „up. 1V.v <br />Maintenance on CNG vehicles utilizes a very similar skill set to maintenance <br />knowledge for gasoline vehicles, and training is offered on a regular basis in <br />West Virginia, and soon within N.C. Repairs to CNG infrastructure can be <br />