News from the roadway: Past 'Clean Car' Scorecards

Our 'clean car' road tester, Alan Richardson, decided to purchase and drive a Honda Civic GX fueled by natural gas to lessen his impact on the environment. These scorecards track the running total of the economic and environmental consequences of his decision.

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• Spring 2012
• Fall 2008
• Summer 2008
• Spring 2008
• Winter 2007-8
• Autumn 2006
• Autumn 2005
• Summer 2005
• Winter 2004-2005
• April 2004
• February 2004
• November 2003
• June 2003

Spring 2012

By Alan Richardson
Period covered: 18 October 2000 (purchase date) to 6 March 2012

The environmental impact:
Estimated exhaust emissions of different passenger vehicles driven 147,655 miles (in pounds)

Winter 2009

By Alan Richardson
Period covered: Purchase date (18 October 2000) to 15 July 2010

The environmental impact:
Estimated exhaust emissions of different passenger vehicles driven 127,307 miles (in pounds)

Fall 2008

By Alan Richardson
Period covered: Purchase date (18 October 2000) to 2 October 2008

The environmental impact:
Estimated exhaust emissions of different passenger vehicles driven 91,029 miles (in pounds)

** This estimate is based on the standards for a 'Low Emission Vehicle' passenger car required by California starting in 2001

Summer 2008

By Alan Richardson
Period covered: Purchase date (18 October 2000) to 18 June 2008

* Payback of $4500 purchase premium for natural gas fuel option reduced by $2000 Clean Cities rebate and $2000 federal income deduction at 28% marginal tax rate.

The environmental impact:
Estimated exhaust emissions of different passenger vehicles driven 91,029 miles (in pounds)

** This estimate is based on the standards for a 'Low Emission Vehicle' passenger car required by California starting in 2001.

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Spring 2008

By Alan Richardson
Period covered: Purchase date (18 October 2000) to 1 April 2008

* Payback of $4500 purchase premium for natural gas fuel option reduced by $2000 Clean Cities rebate and $2000 federal income deduction at 28% marginal tax rate.


The environmental impact:
Estimated exhaust emissions of different passenger vehicles driven 91,029 miles (in pounds)

** This estimate is based on the standards for a 'Low Emission Vehicle' passenger car required by California starting in 2001.

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Winter 2007-8

By Alan Richardson
Period covered: Purchase date (18 October 2000) to 5 December 2007

* Payback of $4500 purchase premium for natural gas fuel option reduced by $2000 Clean Cities rebate and $2000 federal income deduction at 28% marginal tax rate.

The environmental impact:
Estimated exhaust emissions of different passenger vehicles driven 91,029 miles (in pounds)

** This estimate is based on the standards for a 'Low Emission Vehicle' passenger car required by California starting in 2001.

In short, the Civic GX emits 5,877 fewer pounds of gunk into the air than the average car driven the same distance. This is 99% less pollution than the average car on the street ø it's even 95% less than California's requirements for a "Low Emission Vehicle"!

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Autumn 2006

By Alan Richardson Period covered: Purchase date (18 October 2000) to 12 September 2006

* Payback of $4500 purchase premium for natural gas fuel option reduced by $2000 Clean Cities rebate and $2000 federal income deduction at 28% marginal tax rate.

The environmental impact:
Estimated exhaust emissions of different passenger vehicles driven 91,029 miles (in pounds)

** This estimate is based on the standards for a 'Low Emission Vehicle' passenger car required by California starting in 2001.

In short, the Civic GX emits 5,030 fewer pounds of gunk into the air than the average car driven the same distance. This is 99% less pollution than the average car on the street ø it's even 95% less than California's requirements for a "Low Emission Vehicle"!

A common question I am asked is the price for natural gas vehicle fuel. At the moment, I pay $1.95 per GGE. (One GGE is that amount of natural gas with the same energy content as a gallon of gasoline.) Over the past year, DTE Energy has changed the price of natural gas at the pump every few months, presumably in response to market conditions for natural gas. The lowest price was $1.23 per GGE last autumn, and the highest was $2.38 per GGE during the winter months. My average cost over the last year was $1.97 per GGE. The average price for gasoline over the same period was $2.58.

The IRS has finally announced the tax credit for purchasers of Civic natural gas cars. If you buy a 2005 or 2006 Honda Civic GX, you can apply a $4000 tax credit on your next income tax return. Not too shabby, particularly since that is more than the tax credit allowed for any hybrid. To see all the credits announced so far, visit the IRS press room at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/index.html, select the 'News releases' button. One more good thing about the natural gas vehicle tax credit is that it does not phase out, as does the hybrid credit. The credits for hybrids automatically phase out for each manufacturer after 60,000 vehicles of its vehicles are sold. So if you want the full $3150 credit for buying a Toyota Prius, you need to buy it before the end of September 2006, because Toyota has sold over 60,000 units and the tax credit is cut in half according to the provisions of the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005.

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Autumn 2005

By Alan Richardson
Period covered: Purchase date (18 October 2000) to 13 September 2005

* Payback of $4500 purchase premium for natural gas fuel option reduced by $2000 Clean Cities rebate and $2000 federal income deduction at 28% marginal tax rate.

The environmental impact:
Estimated exhaust emissions of different passenger vehicles driven 74,442 miles (in pounds)

** This estimate is based on the standards for a 'Low Emission Vehicle' passenger car required by California starting in 2001

In short, the Civic GX emits 4,084 fewer pounds of gunk into the air than the average car driven the same distance. This is 99% less pollution than the average car on the street ø it's even 95% less than California's requirements for a "Low Emission Vehicle"!

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Summer 2005

Originally published in the Summer 2005 "Lookout"

Period covered: Purchase date (18 October 2000) to 31 May 2005

* Payback of $4500 purchase premium for natural gas fuel option reduced by $2000 Clean Cities rebate and $2000 federal income deduction at 28% marginal tax rate.

The environmental impact:
Estimated exhaust emissions of different passenger vehicles driven 74,442 miles (in pounds)

** This estimate is based on the standards for a 'Low Emission Vehicle' passenger car required by California starting in 2001.

So what does it all mean? The Civic GX emits thousands fewer pounds of gunk into the air than the average car driven the same distance. This is 99% less pollution than the average car on the street ø it's even 95% less than California's requirements for a "Low Emission Vehicle"!

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Winter 2005

Originally published in the Winter 2005 "Lookout"

Period covered: Purchase date (18 October 2000) to 10 December 2004

* Payback of $4500 purchase premium for natural gas fuel option reduced by $2000 Clean Cities rebate and $2000 federal income deduction at 28% marginal tax rate.

The environmental impact:
Estimated exhaust emissions of different passenger vehicles driven 62,233 miles

** This estimate is based on the standards for a 'Low Emission Vehicle' passenger car required by California starting in 2001

In short, the Civic GX emits 3,633 fewer pounds of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and oxides of nitrogen than an average car driven the same distance. This is 99% less pollution than the average car on the street ø it's even 95% less than the California's requirements for a "Low Emission Vehicle"!

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April 2004

Originally published in the April 2004 "Lookout"

I added a new measure of operating cost for a vehicle: Cost economy. You can find this number for your vehicle by dividing total miles driven by total cost of fuel used. Another way to get the same answer is to divide your fuel economy (miles per gallon) by your fuel cost (dollars per gallon). I get over 36 miles per dollar. What do you get?

Period covered: Purchase date (18 October 2000) to 25 March 2004

* Payback of $4500 purchase premium for natural gas fuel option reduced by $2000 Clean Cities rebate and $2000 federal income deduction at 28% marginal tax rate.

The environmental impact:
Estimated exhaust emissions of different passenger vehicles driven 52,758 miles (in pounds)

** Standard for 'Low Emission Vehicle' passenger car required by California starting in 2001

The Civic GX pollutes 100 times less than the average car on the street... and 20 times less even than the California's "Low Emission Vehicle" requirements!

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February 2004

Originally published in the February 2004 "Lookout"

Period covered: Purchase date (18 October 2000) to 16 January 2004

* Payback of $4500 purchase premium for natural gas fuel option reduced by $2000 Clean Cities rebate and $2000 federal income deduction at 28% marginal tax rate.

The environmental impact:
Estimated exhaust emissions of different passenger vehicles driven 46,308 miles (in pounds)

** Standard for 'Low Emission Vehicle' passenger car required by California starting in 2001

The Civic GX pollutes 100 times less than the average car on the street... and 20 times less even than the California's "Low Emission Vehicle" requirements!

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November 2003

Originally published in the November 2003 "Lookout"

Period covered: Purchase date (18 October 2000) to 15 October 2003

Payback of $4500 purchase premium for natural gas fuel option reduced by $2000 Clean Cities rebate and $2000 federal income deduction at 28% marginal tax rate.

*The environmental impact:
Estimated exhaust emissions of different passenger vehicles driven 46,308 miles (in pounds)

** Standard for 'Low Emission Vehicle' passenger car required by California starting in 2001

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June 2003

Originally published in the July 2003 "Lookout" Period covered: Purchase Date (18 October 2000) to 11 June 2003

* Payback of $4500 purchase premium for natural gas fuel option reduced by $2000 Clean Cities rebate and $2000 federal income deduction at 28% marginal tax rate.

The environmental impact:
Estimated exhaust emissions of different passenger vehicles driven 37,986 miles (in pounds)

** Standard for 'Low Emission Vehicle' passenger car required by California starting in 2001

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