Honda Civic GX, FCX Clarity, HOV Privileges Until 2015

If you want to be one of those people who use the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) highway lane without a sweat, you can go on and purchase a Honda Civic GX or FCX Clarity. The Japanese manufacturer which produces them announced today the two models will have this privilege until January 2015.

This has been made possible after the California Assembly Bill 1500, which extends HOV lane access to Inherently Low Emission Vehicles (ILEV), has been passed. This means that CNG powered vehicles, which up until now had HOV access until January 1, 2011, will be able to use the lane for four more years.

As the single OEM in the US currently selling CNG-powered vehicle designed and manufactured for retail sale, Honda is perhaps one of the biggest beneficiaries of the bill.

The 2010 Civic GX, priced at $25,340 (without $750 destination and handling charge), achieves city/highway fuel economy of 24/36 mpg, making it the only vehicle certified by the EPA to meet both Federal Tier 2-Bin 2 and ILEV emission certification standard.

According to Honda, California is currently packed with refueling stations for GX owners. If refueling from a public station is too much for you, than the home system offered by BRC FuelMaker, which taps into the house's natural gas pipe, might be the right choice.

The FCX Clarity fuel cell electric vehicle on the other hand, currently only available for lease, runs thanks to an electric motor that operates on electricity generated in an on-board hydrogen fuel cell. As you might have figured, this means it has zero harmful emissions, the only by-product being water.