Tuesday, July 14, 2009

NGV





Here it is! The "cleanest internal combustion vehicle in the world"! I felt the urge to be "alternative" and try out a Natural Gas Vehicle. No! I am NOT a tree hugger environmentalist socialist bicycle commuting nervoso who thinks the world will end if I didn't buy this car! I do my share of exploitation of the Earth's resources and succumb to the nihilistic realization that human nature will prevent meaningful action to change the course we are on. Enough of the editorializing. There are many reasons I did buy the GX and if you sit down with me for a beer I'll tell you. In the end, it came down to the GX or a Porche. It was all about the image.
So the first thing I had to try was to fuel the darn thing. I had to read the brochure showing where the 20 in-state Natural Gas fuel stations were to find the nearest one. Then the fuel station was self serve and deserted without anyone there for asistance. In a way I was glad no one was around considering how stupid I felt not knowing how to fuel my car. Luckily there were step by step pictures showing how to do it which was pretty annoying since I don't like reading directions. But what the pictures did not show was how to pay for the darn stuff. ON the pump would have been too intuitive. It ended up being on the other side of the lot. So after about 10 minutes I got the thing going. It was pretty nerve racking with all kinds of gurgling, pinging and hissing noises coming from the pump and hose. Finally the reward came!




$3.81 for more than half a tank! Now that's what I'm talking about!

Now I just got to figure out how to get the Arantix on that thing. Any suggestions on best roof racks?

4 comments:

Blackdog said...

As a 40 something guy. I am a bit disappointed. The Porsche would have been a very nice mid life crisis. Then again I drive a Subaru.

KanyonKris said...

Don't let him fool you, Green cars are the new Porches.

Carson said...

Can we fit four, gear and bikes for the drive to Temecula? Nice car!

ER Dad said...

BlackDog- Biking IS my midlife crisis. I spend enough time and money on it.
Kris- I agree, at least in the circles I hang out in, Porshes and Hummers just aren't impressive.
Carson- We'd never make it across the Mojave with the limited tank capacity even IF I get enough racks on it. We'll have to be non-green on that one.