With the Civic GX on the eve of being Car of the Week, I did some digging to see what the price of Phill units were. I checked our original blog post on the subject, but wondered if a year on the market had lowered their price. Turns out that FuelMaker, the company that produced the Phill home refueling station, went belly up in April. It was purchased by Fuel Systems Solutions Inc., a major manufacturer of systems for converting gasoline vehicles to natural gas. About 14,000 Phill units were sold by FuelMaker, including our own, and those will continue to be insured under warranty by the new company owner.
Yet, should you be a new Civic GX owner in search of a Phill unit, good luck. Honda told Edmunds Green Car Advisor that it no longer has any relation with Phill and doesn't know if it will continue to be sold by Fuel Systems Solutions. Indeed, google "Phill" and the top search item is this FuelMaker page, which essentially says the company has been sold. The Honda Civic GX refueling page isn't any more helpful.
There does appear to be one Web site selling the Phill for $5,165, minus the $1,000 tax credit. But unlike our Phill purchased directly from FuelMaker (for $3,000 including the credit and installation), PlumbersStock.com directs you to a local technician who will install the thing for god knows how much.
This is a major development because the Phill is such an intrinsic part of the GX's desirability. Without it, you're left driving a car that takes forever to refuel at a scarce number of natural gas stations. But more on that tomorrow.
James Riswick, Automotive Editor @ 32,665 miles
carguy622 says:
06:26 AM, 07/ 1/09
This is not a good turn of events. If Honda is serious about natural gas vehicles they should step in and sell Phill as an option when you purchase the car.
jaguar36 says:
06:42 AM, 07/ 1/09
With Phill I've always thought a natural gas powered cars made alot of sense, but without one it seems a bit silly.
fuhteng says:
09:08 AM, 07/ 1/09
Aside from the awful name, I think it is a great idea. carguy622 is right. If Honda wants to promote the GX, this has got to be an option. A MANDATORY option.
kingkhalas says:
10:50 AM, 07/ 1/09
sounds bad.
ctpax says:
11:03 AM, 07/ 1/09
man you gotta do something about that hair...
billt9 says:
03:27 PM, 07/ 1/09
CNG is BS. The Volt is the future.
I haven't had a chance to watch Transformers yet, but the Volt won, right? It's a Chevy. It's gotta have defeated the Decepticons.
stephen987 says:
06:10 PM, 07/ 1/09
Yet another reason the Civic GX makes about as much sense as a three-pedaled bicycle.