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New GM pickup will have natural gas option

sawyerloggingon

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It appears as GM dumps the volt they are moving toward natural gas and I applaud them for doing both. America is the Saudi Arabia of natural gas and this is a step in the right direction. Infrastructure to distribute natural gas is a problem but GM is doing this right by making their new vehicle run on gasoline too. This could really pave the way to get us off foreign oil. Another great thig is this vehicle will have twice the driving range as a regular gas car, GM may be back.


"At a time when gas prices continue to rise, alternative fuel sources for vehicles is a topic on just about every driver's mind. General Motors recently announced that they will debut two new pickup trucks next year that will run on both regular gasoline and compressed natural gas."

The new cars will use a system similar to how the Chevrolet Volt handles electricity and gas. When the Volt runs out of electric power, it switches to gasoline. A similar transition happens on the new versions of the Silverado and Sierra, with the truck using its natural gas reserves first before automatically switching to gasoline. Starting with two full tanks, the automaker says that drivers will be able to travel 650 miles before needing to fill up.

New GM pickups will have natural gas option - Car news - Zimbio
 
How common are natural gas stations?
 
It appears as GM dumps the volt they are moving toward natural gas and I applaud them for doing both. America is the Saudi Arabia of natural gas and this is a step in the right direction. Infrastructure to distribute natural gas is a problem but GM is doing this right by making their new vehicle run on gasoline too. This could really pave the way to get us off foreign oil. Another great thig is this vehicle will have twice the driving range as a regular gas car, GM may be back.

I agree with you on this one. Natural gas is a "natural" (sorry) for American energy needs. We need to build up the infrastructure, however, the gas stations are already there. It's just getting CNG into them. Tax credit???
 
How common are natural gas stations?

That is the problem, but you're trying to put the cart before the horse. Before cars were common, there weren't gas stations all over the place either. The gas stations came after the cars.
 
Natural gas is a high octane fuel, meaning it needs higher compression than gasoline to extract the most energy out of it. Engines that burn both can't burn NG well, thus they are poor compromises to dedicated NG engines. Plus, having to design a vehicle with room for both natural gas canisters and fuel tank space requires eating up lots of cargo area and adding significant weight to the vehicle, not to mention cost.
 
How common are natural gas stations?

That's the beauty of GM idea to use gasoline and natural gas. A transition vehicle like this is needed to bridge the gap between natural gas stations. As more people get these vehicles more natural gas stations will spring up which will eventually allow a complete switch over. I would agree with Rocket on this one too, my tax payer dollars would be well spent by giving incentives and tax breaks to get this infrastructure going. I have been waiting for some new technology before trading in my old pickup, this just may be it.
 
That's the beauty of GM idea to use gasoline and natural gas. A transition vehicle like this is needed to bridge the gap between natural gas stations. As more people get these vehicles more natural gas stations will spring up which will eventually allow a complete switch over. I would agree with Rocket on this one too, my tax payer dollars would be well spent by giving incentives and tax breaks to get this infrastructure going. I have been waiting for some new technology before trading in my old pickup, this just may be it.

How about biodiesel?
 
It appears as GM dumps the volt they are moving toward natural gas and I applaud them for doing both. America is the Saudi Arabia of natural gas and this is a step in the right direction. Infrastructure to distribute natural gas is a problem but GM is doing this right by making their new vehicle run on gasoline too. This could really pave the way to get us off foreign oil. Another great thig is this vehicle will have twice the driving range as a regular gas car, GM may be back.


"At a time when gas prices continue to rise, alternative fuel sources for vehicles is a topic on just about every driver's mind. General Motors recently announced that they will debut two new pickup trucks next year that will run on both regular gasoline and compressed natural gas."

The new cars will use a system similar to how the Chevrolet Volt handles electricity and gas. When the Volt runs out of electric power, it switches to gasoline. A similar transition happens on the new versions of the Silverado and Sierra, with the truck using its natural gas reserves first before automatically switching to gasoline. Starting with two full tanks, the automaker says that drivers will be able to travel 650 miles before needing to fill up.

New GM pickups will have natural gas option - Car news - Zimbio

I truly apreciate allthe effort being put into new techknowledgy, but from a practical perspective, where am I going to fuel up on natural gas?
 
That is the problem, but you're trying to put the cart before the horse. Before cars were common, there weren't gas stations all over the place either. The gas stations came after the cars.

Only the rich had the horsless carrage, but it seem GM is trying to sell this truck to the avarage Joe.

Hey, Jay Lenno doesn't need my permission to own exotic tech. More power to him.
 
It appears as GM dumps the volt they are moving toward natural gas and I applaud them for doing both. America is the Saudi Arabia of natural gas and this is a step in the right direction. Infrastructure to distribute natural gas is a problem but GM is doing this right by making their new vehicle run on gasoline too. This could really pave the way to get us off foreign oil. Another great thig is this vehicle will have twice the driving range as a regular gas car, GM may be back.

"At a time when gas prices continue to rise, alternative fuel sources for vehicles is a topic on just about every driver's mind. General Motors recently announced that they will debut two new pickup trucks next year that will run on both regular gasoline and compressed natural gas."

The new cars will use a system similar to how the Chevrolet Volt handles electricity and gas. When the Volt runs out of electric power, it switches to gasoline. A similar transition happens on the new versions of the Silverado and Sierra, with the truck using its natural gas reserves first before automatically switching to gasoline. Starting with two full tanks, the automaker says that drivers will be able to travel 650 miles before needing to fill up.

New GM pickups will have natural gas option - Car news - Zimbio

Well, until the government puts its money where its mouth is, I have no confidence in these alternative fuel source vehicles. Instead of handing over money to auto companies to make this technology move forward, why aren't they buying them?

The Federal government owns or leases over 600,000 vehicles. How many of them are Volts? Or other hybrids?

Oh, wait. They're too expensive.
 
Aww not even 1 in my state.

That sucks. One thing's for sure, though. There are helluva lot more CNG stations across the country than there are battery charging stations for electric cars.
 
Natural gas does seem more a sensible alternative than short-range battery.


That sucks. One thing's for sure, though. There are helluva lot more CNG stations across the country than there are battery charging stations for electric cars.

Lol, there was this news recently about Colorado Springs government adding a battery charging station to a shopping plaza so you could "shop while you charge" or "watch a movie." When I heard about, I couldn't help but think about having to "fuel up" before going somewhere and waiting in line behind someone else for 4 hours while their car charges. The thing can service, what, 5 and a half cars a day?
 
Although I would not buy a GM for personal reasons, I applaud this effort. I was wondering when they would switch to this technology, being we have a huge surplus of NG. I have concerns though. How high will this drive up heating cost at home since the demand for NG will go up? In my area NG cost make up the biggest portion of our Energy bill during the winter months.

I like the idea of having the ability to use both NG and Gasoline. In a truck it shouldn't be hard to make room for both since some trucks already have two fuel tanks. The safety issue might be a hurdle due to pressurized tanks being outside the frame. The gas tanks now are made out of plastic and have a smaller chance of fire. The tanks for NG would need to be made of metal to be able to pressurized. Unless it is constructed of Aluminum how will they keep the safety measures in place?
 
Only the rich had the horsless carrage, but it seem GM is trying to sell this truck to the avarage Joe.

Hey, Jay Lenno doesn't need my permission to own exotic tech. More power to him.

The inherent problem is this -- nobody wants to build a bunch of CNG filling stations if there aren't CNG vehicles. No demand = no supply. It seems that (understandably), nobody wants to buy a CNG vehicle if there are no CNG stations. I don't know how to get around that stalemate.

At least this vehicle will run on both. If we can get more vehicles that can do that, maybe the filling stations will start to follow. Another idea would be a big tax credit for gas stations that install a CNG pump to try to stimulate greater availability.
 
The inherent problem is this -- nobody wants to build a bunch of CNG filling stations if there aren't CNG vehicles. No demand = no supply. It seems that (understandably), nobody wants to buy a CNG vehicle if there are no CNG stations. I don't know how to get around that stalemate.

At least this vehicle will run on both. If we can get more vehicles that can do that, maybe the filling stations will start to follow. Another idea would be a big tax credit for gas stations that install a CNG pump to try to stimulate greater availability.

That's why the U.S. government, state and local governments need to make a commitment to buy these cars. Then the fuel stations will be there.
 
That's why the U.S. government, state and local governments need to make a commitment to buy these cars. Then the fuel stations will be there.


I don't know. When I was a younger person, the school district buses were CNG. The only CNG pump in the area was at the bus garage. I'd suspect that if government bought these vehicles, they'd have their own pump to ensure a supply of fuel, and you'd end up with a similar situation.
 
How common are natural gas stations?

They aren't common at all, but a couple of weeks ago, I stopped at a local gas station to fill up, and noticed they are building a Propane filling station on-site. Really surprised me, but it's a large chain, and I figure they must be expecting NG to pick up in demand if they are going to the expense of installing a station.
 
I doubt this vehicle is being marketed to the average consumer, there is nothing in the OP article that says it is, in fact is specifically says the bifuel vehicle is being developed for fleet users with concerns about going solely with CNG.

Pickups Powered By Natural Gas And Gasoline - Albuquerque News Story - KOAT Albuquerque

^this link indicates that the vehicle will be sold to the general public but sales are expected to be driven primarily by fleet sales. The cost differential would make these vehicles unattractive for average joes, unless you buy one for your own home business and drive the hell out of the thing every day.
 
They aren't common at all, but a couple of weeks ago, I stopped at a local gas station to fill up, and noticed they are building a Propane filling station on-site. Really surprised me, but it's a large chain, and I figure they must be expecting NG to pick up in demand if they are going to the expense of installing a station.

Propane and NG aren't the same thing. Likely a big propane tank is filled by a truck at the site, and then end users can fill their smaller propane tanks that they bring in. I don't know of any propane piping infrastructure on a wide scale.
 
Propane and NG aren't the same thing. Likely a big propane tank is filled by a truck at the site, and then end users can fill their smaller propane tanks that they bring in. I don't know of any propane piping infrastructure on a wide scale.

propane is much more dangerous, as well.
 
Oddly though it is more popular as an automotive fuel than natural gas, probably because it can be stored in liquid form much more easily than NG.
 
propane is much more dangerous, as well.
It has a simple enough fix. Put a polyurethane coating on the inside of the tank, our troops have been doing that to fuel trucks in theater and it minimizes damage to the shell of the tank and spark interacting with the fuel. It's not perfect but the margin of error goes up significantly.

Edit- CNG isn't the same thing and I misread. But CNG has a similar volatilaty problem solved by the same fix.:doh
 
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Propane and NG aren't the same thing. Likely a big propane tank is filled by a truck at the site, and then end users can fill their smaller propane tanks that they bring in. I don't know of any propane piping infrastructure on a wide scale.

Yeah, I realize they aren't the same thing, but I thought it was pretty cool to see that they are interested in a market other than gasoline, and apparently expect that there will be demand.

edit to add:
I'm an old Mother Earth News subscriber from way back. Found this on their website for anyone interested:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Transportation/1972-05-01/Propane-Conversion.aspx
 
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