Toyota will display a compressed natural gas (CNG) Camry Hybrid concept vehicle at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. Honda is currently the only automaker with an OEM natural gas passenger vehicle—the Civic GX—on the US retail market.

In 1999 Toyota marketed a CNG-powered four-cylinder Camry to fleet customers in California. However, in an era of cheap gasoline, customers were not attracted to a vehicle that required special refueling techniques and a limited refueling infrastructure, according to Toyota, which discontinued the program a year later.

With the combination of plentiful long-term supplies in North America, improved and more efficient recovery methods, favorable pricing and clean-burn/low emissions characteristics, CNG has become a prime energy-source for the future. With this concept, we are confirming our interest in pursuing CNG within our broad and comprehensive R&D scope. Natural gas and an expanded retail-friendly CNG infrastructure could be seen as a model for future hydrogen infrastructure.
—Irv Miller, group vice president, TMS Corporate Communications

A new station offering CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) has opened along the A2 Autobahn in Germany. Normally, this isn't huge news, but this particular station is the 800th CNG fueling spot in the country, compared to more than 15,000 gas stations. More figures about CNG stations in Germany: 350 of these 800 stations are easilly accessible from highways, 95 percent are accessible to the general public and 60 are open 24 hours a day. What's also interesting is that nine percent of these 800 stations also offer biogas (in proportions that range from 10 to 100 percent), obtained from from organic waste such as manure or sewage sludge. Another interesting note, LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas) can be found in 4,100 stations across the country. If you're driving around Germany in a car able to run with natural gas, you might find this site helpful. It's a station locator with all kind of parameters: distance, price, biogas avalilability, and more.

Meet Phill®,* the first home refueling appliance available to owners of natural-gas vehicles.

Phill® is a compact unit (30" x 14" x 14"), manufactured by FuelMaker, that's easily installed to your home gas line, inside or outside your garage. This is the very same gas line you use to fuel appliances such as your gas stove. Phill® is as safe and quiet as a clothes dryer. It's equipped with several built-in features like a methane detector, which can monitor for unlikely leaks and automatically shut down the system if necessary.

Refueling the GX may take up to 16 hours if the tank is near empty. (A consumer who drives approximately 100 miles a day can refuel overnight.) This process might actually be more convenient than going to a gas station if you fill up each night when you come home. Phill® is designed not to need any service or maintenance, but should you experience any problems, Phill® Technical Support is standing by to help.