Honda Has Its Phill of the Future
Yesterday Mr. Leikanger wrote about his frustrating experiences with KitchenAid’s Espresso Pro. The compressed natural-gas powered (CNG) Honda Civic GX also has the option of quenching its thirst with a home appliance. The Phill is an electrically powered, mechanically complex, high pressure (up to 3600psi) pump. The Phill can be a pain to get serviced when it breaks down, and refurbished units are available for purchase. Oops, make that, were available. Honda of America, Fuelmaker’s sole owner, declared Fuelmaker’s bankruptcy last week and fired all of its employees. HoMoCo is liquidating the company’s assets. Huh? The maker of “America’s Greenest Car of 2008,” shooting itself in the foot?
Honda hasn’t commented so far on the apparent demise of Fuelmaker, which also made CNG fueling pumps. There’s no official press release on Honda’s site, nor have changes been made so far to Fuelmaker, Phill, or Civic GX web pages.
Honda bought into Fuelmaker some years back and was in talks to sell it to T. Boone Pickens’ Clean Energy Fuels but was called off. Conventional wisdom with the current economic climate would suggest that Fuelmaker is going the way of Honda’s Formula 1 team and the stillborn 2nd generation NSX. Edwin Black, who previously claimed that Honda is out to box the Civic GX while milking its good publicity, claims it’s a conspiracy.
The Phill ended up costing $4000, twice as much originally planned. Mandatory installation by a certified dealer added at least another $1000, on top of the Civic GX’s MSRP of $25K. Most CNG drivers fuel up in minutes at high-pressure pumps, either at public or corporate stations, rather than wait overnight with Phill.
In the meantime, consumer interest in the GX dropped with gas prices last fall, never mind the benefit of being able to use HOV lanes. Previously flying out the showrooms at thousands above MSRP, they’re now waiting for absent buyers.
More by Richard Chen
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Wow, LPG is almost as much as gas there? You guys have it bad. Our LPG is still pegged at about half-the-price of gasoline. There was a point where it got to about 60-70%, due to an artificial shortage brought about by hoarding (when gas prices went down), but now it's back down to an acceptable level.
Except for CNG retailers like Clean Energy, Pinnacle, etc. that charge a healthy margin, CNG has continued to be cheap. In many places it is half the price or even less at public stations. I personally have a Phill in my garage. In Austin, the economics make good sense. In addition to the $2,000 federal tax credit, out local gas utility provides an additional $1,500 rebate. With my fuel cost at about $1 a gallon equivalent, it won't take long to pay for the Phill. BTW, FuelMaker (the maker of Phill) has been acquired by Fuel Systems Solutions and they are back in business without Honda.