The all-new 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas – the only factory-built, CNG-powered car produced in America – was named 2012 Green Car of the Year® at the Los Angeles Auto Show today. The award was presented to Honda by the editors of Green Car Journal representing a diverse panel of environmental experts and automotive enthusiasts who annually select a single vehicle for its outstanding environmental performance.
Honda in Indiana
“The Civic Natural Gas is not only a great vehicle, it also demonstrates Honda’s commitment to provide a variety of alternatives to gasoline,” said Michael Accavitti, vice president of marketing at American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “The Civic Natural Gas and the all-new Fit EV that we introduced yesterday at the Los Angeles Auto Show are the latest additions to a rapidly expanding family of alternative energy Honda vehicles aimed at cutting petroleum use and reducing our carbon footprint.”
To support growing consumer interest in alternative-fuel vehicles, Honda is expanding its retail network of Civic Natural Gas retail outlets to 200 dealers in 36 states. Previously, retail sales of the natural gas-powered Civic had been limited to four states – California, New York, Utah and Oklahoma. The 2012 Civic Natural Gas went on sale on October 18 with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) starting at $26,155.
With multiple benefits including lower fuel costs and extremely low smog-forming emissions, the 2012 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.
The Civic Natural Gas engine produces almost zero smog-forming emissions and is the cleanest internal-combustion vehicle certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Tier-II, Bin-2 and ILEV certification as of August 2010).
Featuring new styling, enhanced feature content and increased fuel economy, the redesigned 2012 Civic Natural Gas can now be equipped with the Honda Satellite-Linked Navigation System featuring an exclusive database of publicly accessible Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) refueling stations across the United States.
All Civic Natural Gas models are produced by Indiana Auto Plant (IAP) using domestic and globally sourced parts. IAP is the recipient of a 2011 Platinum Award for quality from J.D. Power and Associates. In addition to being named 2012 Green Car of the Year, previous versions of the CNG-powered Civic have topped the “greenest vehicle” rankings of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) for eight straight years.