03.06.08

My new green car

Posted in technology, travel at 5:54 pm

So our life changed pretty dramatically this month. After almost three years of living without a car, we finally saved up enough Euro pennies for a 2001 Fiat Multipla Bipower.

It’s called Bipower because it runs off two different kinds of fuel: plain old unleaded, and methane. One of Italy’s natural resources is methane, so many cars are sold that use both fuels. Many people even add a methane tank after the fact, if the car they like isn’t available with methane. When first starting the car, it uses gasoline. As soon as the engine is running, it switches to methane, usually in about 5 or 10 seconds.

Here’s some math: Gas is currently €1.40 per liter, or $8.19 per gallon. Methane is €0.85 per kg. Meaning it costs about $80.86 to fill the gas tank and $34.24 to fill the methane tank. However, I bought the car with about 1/4 tank of gas, and it still has about 1/4 of a tank. I’ve only had to buy methane.

But all of the figures are meaningless unless we also look at mileage (though in Italy mileage is measured in liters of fuel per 100 km – so smaller numbers are better here!). Using gas, it should get about 27 mpg. Using methane, it should get 36 mpg. Meaning that methane is both cheaper, and gets better mileage.

But it doesn’t end there. Burning methane produces less CO₂ than burning gas, so it’s easier on the environment. I like to say that butterflies and rain forests come out of the tailpipe.

There are a couple of drawbacks: 1) it’s a little more difficult to find a methane station for refueling. Most cities won’t allow giant tanks of explosive gases downtown, so we have to plan when and where we refuel more carefully. 2) There’s a little less get-up-and-go when using methane.

And you wouldn’t believe how many of these things are on the road. Hopefully, our 181,000 km old Multipla will stay on the road at least for a little while!

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