I have been interviewing with a company that builds Autogas (LPG, propane) vehicles and question why there isn’t more of a market for this. Half the pollutants, half the cost, not pie-in-the-sky wind/solar/electric stuff or unable to propel large vehicles. Some parts of the world have this as the dominant automobile fuel.
I suspect the main reason you don’t see much of it in the States (besides the politics of the automobile industry) is that there just aren’t many refueling stations in the U.S. You’d have to know where to go look for them but I’d much rather pay $1.62/gal for fuel than $3.60/gal.
Maybe not as profitable? Not much difference from a safety standpoint. A load of gas or a load of LPG still has the potential for explosive results. LOL! Think I’ll stick with my wind powered car. LOL!
There is a market, but propane on an $/energy isn't that much cheaper, not compared to natural gas at least. without adequate suppliers, not many want too spend money converting vehicles. Without adequate vehicles, not too many suppliers want to invest in building fueling stations.
Propane contains 92,500 BTUs per gallon.
Gasoline contains 125,000 BTUs per gallon.
So Propane at $2.59 per gallon delivers energy at the same price as gasoline at $3.50 per gallon.
Without a significant cost savings, you won’t get people spending money to convert or build.