First time visitors to India’s capital are often impressed with the ubiquity of natural gas as a fuel for transportation. All taxis, local buses, even all three-wheeler “scooters” (aka tuktuks in SE Asia) are required to run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).  Kits to convert “petrol” (gasoline) vehicles to natural gas are common and its become part of the mainstream culture and economy. India imports most of its oil so natural gas is good not only for the environment but also for the self-reliance.

Here in the United States, finding a natural gas vehicle for personal use is a lot harder. Some time ago, my friend Ann Palmer, of American Honda in Torrance, CA told me about the Honda NGV. I was quite excited by the prospect of independence from “Arab oil”. But finding filling stations for natural gas is still a challenge, the nearest one to me is ~8 miles away. Then I heard about “Phil” the device where you can install a filling station at home.

To cut a long story short, I am now the proud owner of a brand new natural gas vehicle as of 10 pm last night.  My company, Amritt, has alway had “green” on its logo.  Now  I have green in my own gas tank.

PS: The experience of talking to American Honda customer service (answered by an American call center in Torrance) and dealing with DCH Gardena Honda was immensely professional and satisfying (Ask for Vince).  Detroit could learn from that, even my friends at Lexus could learn from that.