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6 <br />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 /> <br />Gasoline ?313 <br />, $1.67 M, <br />$1.92 <br />Diesel $1.58 $1.64 <br />Compressed Natural Gas CNG * $1.48 $1.49 <br />Biodiesel $1.69 $1.84 <br />Ethanol $1.69 $1.87 <br />Propane $2.22 $2.25 <br />aso me-oa on enuma en ource: a Alternative ue rice eo o .. une <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 />Horsepower Rating Compared <br />Similar <br />- <br />Acceleration Similar <br />Cruising Seed Similar <br />- <br />Maintenance Costs Better <br />Range Similar / Not As Good <br />Source: eoa men o nerav. c an ices Vehicle uvers Guide. December <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