Thursday, August 24, 2006

LPG is on the rise for Ford of Australia, could it work here?

Linked in the title is an article about Ford Australia's increased sales of LPG powered Falcons. And it got me thinking, why can't LPG work here in the US? I'm sure that it's got to do with customer resistance and the American addiction to litigation.
But I recall in New York City, pilot projects with LPG Taxis.

And fleets of utility trucks and busses being powered by LPG.

With most alternative fuels there are issues of infrastructure and availability, but LPG is Propane and I can guy that for my outdoor grill at my local gas station. So why can't it be an option for my vehicle?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree. there are taxis in our town that run LPG. The home hardware were youget your BBQ tanks refilled have a pump for filling cars. I don't recall the price but I think it was about 70-80 cents a liter. I think they just price it the same so nobody buys it. Same with diesel here in town, it's the same price as petrol, at the moment. When I mention things like this to people they always think of older cars or tractor and think the smell of diesel is terrible. They hate to pump it and think it smells when burned. I think LPG smells, I alway think of forklifts. People need to be taught about things like this. start showing commercals and news cast saying great this good that for something other than,"my mustang gets 400hp on pump fuel" but only 12-16MPG. I only need a car that will do 80kph max to drive around town/work/grocery store. I don't need the BTUs of petrol to just drive away from a red light when the next one could be 100 feet away.

DRyanC

Anonymous said...

Hi Joe, Ben from Australia here.

Taxi's in Oz have been LPG for years.