2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas Keys Netted by NHL Star George Parros

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Honda presented the keys to a 2012 Civic Natural Gas to Anaheim Ducks NHL star George Parros at the American Honda campus yesterday in Torrance, Calif. Under an agreement with American Honda, Parros will drive the Civic Natural Gas to create awareness of the vehicle amongst his Ducks teammates and fans.


Awarded the 2012 Green Car of the Year®, the Civic Natural Gas is the only OEM-built, CNG-powered passenger car for sale in the U.S. Now available at 197 dealers in 36 states, the 2012 Civic Natural Gas is powered by the cleanest internal-combustion engine certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Tier-II, Bin-2 and ILEV certification as of August 2010). The Civic Natural Gas currently qualifies for a state-issued decal allowing single-occupant access to High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) "carpool" lanes in California and several other states.

"George is an ideal representative for the Honda Civic Natural Gas vehicle and embodies many of Honda's core attributes; he has a strong sense for environmental issues, is value driven, and is active in his community," explained Steve Center, vice president of the Environmental Business Development Office at American Honda. "To help George with his daily commute to the Honda Center, he will be replacing his previous generation natural gas powered Honda Civic with the all-new 2012 model, featuring enhanced exterior and interior styling, improved fuel economy and a refueling price typically 30 percent less than gasoline."

Parros, 32, is in his sixth season with the Anaheim Ducks (seventh in the NHL), having played on the Stanley Cup-winning 2007 team. The popular right wing (#16) and Princeton grad joined the NHL in 2005, and is well recognized by hockey fans thanks to his 6-foot 5-inch, 228-pound frame and unique mustache.

This is the second natural gas powered Civic Parros has received from Honda, having begun his first stint in October 2010. Parros is also the second Anaheim Duck player to drive one of Honda's alternative fuel vehicles. The first was former Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer, who became an FCX Clarity fuel-cell electric vehicle customer in January 2010

 

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it's about ~$1.50-$1.80/gallon at the stations around the area.

 

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Honda, the only automaker selling compressed natural gas-powered cars to U.S. drivers, wants some of its dealers to also install pumps to sell the fuel as its seeks to double sales of CNG vehicles.

Boosting sales of Indiana-built Civic Natural Gas sedans requires more fuel stations, Steve Center, U.S. vice president for environmental business development, said in an interview. Honda is negotiating with regulators in California, the biggest U.S. market for CNG vehicles, seeking to have pumps placed at two or more Honda dealerships this year, he said Tuesday.

"If the dealer had a fueling station, it would really reduce some of that concern for the customer," Center said at Honda's U.S. headquarters in Torrance, Calif. "It's not our place to create infrastructure, but it's a chicken-and-egg situation and we're going to have to nurse that egg along."

Honda's strategy of marketing autos powered by natural gas, a domestically sourced fuel that's cheaper than gasoline and emits less tailpipe exhaust, comes as U.S.-based competitors plan their own CNG models. General Motors and Chrysler this week said they're readying pickups that will run on the fuel.