A mechanical whirr is beneath the hood of a car powered by compressed natural gas.

03:10 PM EDT on Wednesday, May 24, 2006

BY DANIEL BARBARASI
Journal Staff Writer

WARWICK -- It doesn't sound like a muscle car.

It looks it, sure -- I'm driving a manly, cop-style Ford Crown Victoria. But I'm cruising down Route 95 at a speed that would get the attention of any real officer of the law, and there's no satisfying roar of the engine, no throaty growl as we shoot along.

Just a mechanical whirr that reminds me that this isn't your father's Crown Vic.

This car is powered by compressed natural gas. And aside from the lack of noise, that's about all that seems different from a regular car.

I've always had a perception that cars powered by alternative fuels are weaker, smaller, less powerful -- for girlie men, to paraphrase the governor of California, the most progressive state when it comes to alternative-fueled vehicles.

But yesterday, the Rhode Island Airport Corporation let me commandeer one of its CNG-powered cars, and I can tell you this: outside of the growling sound of gasoline burning, these cars have all the pickup, strength, and masculine je ne sais quoi of their gas-guzzling counterparts.

"In my experience, I haven't observed any difference between this and a regular Crown Vic," said Jay Brolin, manager of environmental programs for the airport corporation who drives this car on the days I'm not stealing it.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach

Providence Journal reporter Daniel Barbarisi takes a Crown Victoria powered by compressed natural gas for a test drive. Barbarisi says that minus the growl of a gasoline-powered engine, the car has the strength and pickup of its gas-guzzling counterpart.

Unlike the gasoline versions, however, this car is clean. Its emission levels for most harmful gases are fractions of those in a gasoline-burning version. And in a half-hour test drive, it seemed to have roughly the same driving ability as a gas-powered car.

"Can I accelerate? Yes, sure I can. And I don't get the rattles, shakes, I don't get the hesitation I'd think I'd get," Brolin said.

On the highway, the CNG versions are more fuel efficient, and they are reported to require less engine maintenance over the longterm.

There are limitations, however. The CNG tank is much larger than a gasoline tank, taking up a significant amount of space in the trunk.

A CNG car can also cost from $3,000 to $7,000 more than a similar gasoline version. The car also doesn't have the range of a gasoline model, with most able to travel around 200 miles without refueling. Many gasoline-powered cars can travel 300 miles or more on a full tank of gas. There are bi-fuel versions that burn either gasoline or CNG depending on the situation, which increases the range dramatically.

And there could be safety concerns. Methane is flammable under certain conditions, but the tanks in CNG cars are pressurized and made to withstand heavy impacts and high temperatures. The pumps at CNG gas stations are built to immediately seal if they detect a leak.

That said, good luck finding a CNG station -- the first public-use pumps in the state opened at T.F. Green on Monday. Despite its advantages, the technology is years away from catching on, because the CNG infrastructure required to support it is nonexistent.

Hopefully by the time it's widespread, they'll have figured out a way to make a clean-burning 2010 Honda Civic growl like a 1967 Shelby Mustang. Saving the earth is important, sure, but car manufacturers, take it from a 26-year-old male -- it's all about sounding cool.

dbarbari@projo.com / (401) 277-8062