Green Cars Available Now

Tag : Babies' Sweaters
2008 Honda Civic GX
Buying the slowest available Civic with the least amount of cargo room and the steepest price mightnot initially smack of genius, but the $25,000 Civic GX has itsupsides. First, according to the EPA, it is the greenest car forpurchase in showrooms today (as long as those showrooms are in NewYork or California, the only states where the GX is sold). Second,it burns compressed natural gas, which is about two-thirds the costof gasoline if you buy it at a pump (if you can find one -- do youknow where your nearest CNG pump is?). Buy the in-home refuelingdevice, the price of which is mostly offset through federal taxcredit, and the cost drops further. Even using pump pricing, theEPA estimates it will cost you $1.47 to drive 25 miles in a CivicGX versus $1.91 in the gold-standard Prius .

Natural gas has lower energy density per unit than gasoline, butthe Civic GX still manages an admirable 36 mpg on the highway,although acceleration suffers. Horsepower for the 1.8-liter enginefalls from 140 to 113, and torque barely breaks into three digitswith 109 pound-feet. The natural gas sits in a trunk-mounted tankthat cuts available space in half; it and the associated hardwareadd more than 200 pounds to the Civic's curb weight.

Yes, the Civic GX gives up some functionality and grunt, but forabout the same price as a Prius, you can buy something thatpollutes less, will get you in the carpool lane in California -- anhonor no longer conferred on newly purchased hybrids -- and doesn'tcome with the stigma of the Prius. Yes, Prius drivers, weappreciate that you're hoping to get your city mileage into the 60sby scarcely grazing the accelerator and keeping it under 40 mph;appreciate that your green fun makes people hate you.