Why doesn't the US require car makers to make cars that run on natural gas?

Question

By require I mean, tell the automakers this is what I want, let me know when you have it and I'll be back to buy it.

Answer 1

Natural gas does not have enough energy density for long range driving.  Short range vehicles, such as shuttle buses running from downtown to airport, are already using natural gas in many cases.

Answer 2

They are making 8,000 cars in India to run on compressed air.

Wish they would bring them here!

It would be better and cheaper than natural gas.

We would have more money in our pockets thats for sure!

See Article

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automoti...

Answer 3

There are already a number of cars and other vehicles that run on compressed natural gas.  Most of the city buses in Dallas run on CNG ans do many city and state vehicles in Texas.  Since we are a free market economy, the government should not be able to mandate what companies make.  As a consumer, of course, they can choose to only buy certain types of vehicles and then companies can decide if they want to make these or not.  This is already in place.

Answer 4

once again the public is asking/wanting the government to regulate what we citizens do not want -- hay u wanna natural gas car -- go buy one (they are available) -- me I don;'t want one--since the fuel is more expensive and I have to drive to do my job -- why are you asking me to do something that is more costly.... t h i n k for urself, keep the d**n government out of our lives

Answer 5

It's time to step up eldude and put your money where your mouth is ;-).

Honda offers the Civic GX. For a mere $24,590 one can be yours (first link below). If you do not want a Civic, converting a conventional car to CNG is very feasible. The second link is to a site that sells conversion kits.

When I was a kid my best friend's dad converted his pickup truck to run on LPG (liquified propane gas), which is very similar to CNG as a fuel. That truck ran like a champ and the engine lasted over 300,000 miles. If you go for the conversion you might want to consider LPG rather than CNG because LPG is quite a bit easier to find.

You will need to make special provisions for fueling to use CNG, but that is possible. If you don't have a local source of CNG you will have to have a liquefaction plant installed on your property, assuming local zoning laws would allow it. If you live in a large metro area chances are good you will be able to find a local CNG source.

Answer 6

Cars that run on natural gas are available.... one problem for mass producing millions of such cars is availability of the fuel... beyond the fact that distribution points (gas stations) aren't available in great numbers, the supply of the fuel itself is limited. The same problem as oil... in fact most Natural Gas comes from the same fields as oil and is itself a "fossil fuel" In addition there are some safety issues in storage in cars... Highly pressurized tanks could go off like a bomb in an accident....

Answer 7

Very simple.  Natural gas is more scarce than gasoline and more difficult to handle/transport.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

The problem is the tank is very large as natural does not compress very much before it is like compressing water.

Answer 10

The reason that the US does not require Auto makers to make cars that run a natural gas is because the oil industry will lose alot of money.  That is where we get most of our income for right now.  Plus, the oil industries are basically the ones who run the world.  Just think if all the gas producers stopped selling fuel to the US, we would be stopped dead in our tracks.  We would have no way to defend ourselves from invaders and no way to transport goods from one region to the other.  So they allow gas fueled cars to be continually sold but are also making an effort to produce Hybrid cars for the civilians.  Also, did you know that the US military uses more fuel in a year than the civilians do?

Answer 11

You can already buy cars that run on natural gas.  The problem is is that there are only a few places that can fill them up.

I recommend buying a car that runs on gasoline.  It (gasoline) is the cheapest most abundant fuel available.

Answer 12

No need to require it. They have been available for many years via a kit. Many city fleets use them now. Not enough people want them to mass produce and build the infrastructure needed to support them.  

Car makers will provide whatever we will buy, so they just keep producing gas guzzlers. What do you and your friends drive?

Answer 13

You can do that, but if you do, there will be a natural gas shortage. It is economics. Anybody can make one natural gas car, no problem. Or even 1,000. That is simple engineering. But making EVERY car that way is an ECONOMIC problem. There was a time in the 1970s when there were laws AGAINST building houses with natural gas heating systems because there was a natural gas shortage in the country. But the shortage caused prices to go way up, which made the gas companies spend the money needed to find new gas deposits and drill the wells. In a few years, the shortage eased and prices went down and the laws were changed. You cannot just suddenly start using billions of cubic feet of natural gas without causing a shortage. Massive new drilling of natural gas wells would be needed. Do you want more drilling? Most people don't.