At the beginning of 2008 the average price of gas was about $3 a gallon, and we all saw how the prices skyrocketed from there nearing $5 a gallon nation-wide. If you were like most people, looking for an alternative fuel to gasoline was sounding like a good idea. But I was fine, and it was because I had already invested in a CNG car and was getting on average $0.75 a gallon equivalent.

We took advantage of the great gas prices we could get while most everyone else was conserving or paying loads of money on their gas. During the summer of 2008 my husband and I took trips to Las Vegas, Nevada, Arches National Park, Utah, Los Angeles, California, Boise, Idaho and many others. Gas prices weren’t an issue because we were paying 3-4 times less for natural gas than regular gas. Plus, almost everywhere we went there were natural gas stations where we could fill up our CNG car. A good example of this is in the summer time we took a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. From Provo, Utah to Las Vegas it is about 380 miles. With gas prices being around $3.75, this trip would have cost us $120.00. Instead of paying that price, we took our natural gas car with the natural gas price being $0.87 gallon equivalent, and the trip cost us $30.00. We could spend money in Vegas and have some fun instead of spending money on gas to get there.

As the fall of 2008 approached, gas prices were still enormously high. Funds were looking slim as my husband and I started our semester of college. With my husband starting his own businesses, and me doing my student teaching and not working, neither one of us would be making much income for the upcoming semester. On top of everything else, gas prices were at their record high, and I would be driving 30 miles to and from my school for student teaching. Our saving grace at this time ” our CNG car. It’s not a Ferrari or Mercedes, but it became our star commuter car. While other classmates carpooled to their schools, having to wait for each other and coordinate schedules, I enjoyed driving myself and going where I wanted, whenever I wanted.

While we would normally be paying over $200 a month for fuel, our CNG car was costing us about $40 a month. Having an extra $160 a month during that time was a real blessing to us. Even though our income has really improved since then, having those extra savings every time I fill up my car is great. Especially when I know that I am doing my part in polluting less.

After using a CNG car for the last couple of years, I can’t see why I would ever go back to gasoline cars. This is probably why I’ve seen so many more cng cars out on the road, you know, the cars with the light blue diamond that says CNG in the middle. The real question is, “why don’t more people use CNG Cars?” Especially in this economy when you can drastically reduce one more expense.

I’ve owned CNG cars for a couple years now, my husband’s family has owned them for much longer. There are many different ways to go about purchasing CNG cars. There are used and new cars, you can also get your current car converted (costs around $6K). Also, coming the alternative fuel market soon is the CNG Roadster, it get 70 mpg and runs on CNG. Reserve it soon though.