[aruanan]

The number of cars in the United States (300,000,000 minus 792,787 non-gasoline cars= 299,207,213) times the number of dollars per car to retrofit it to natural gas ($6500 for a basic system to $12,000 for a top-of-the-line installation with a high-capacity, composite fuel tank) = $1,944,846,884,500 to $3,590,486,555,992.52 to retrofit cars alone, not counting the cost for the rest of the vehicular fleet, the costs of retooling the auto industry to produce all natural gas autos, the cost of lost pre-natural gas automotive industries, the costs of increased exploration, production, storage, and delivery of natural gas, the costs of lost gasoline fueling enterprises, and about a thousand etcs.

A. Are there other uses for natural gas than transportation? Yes.
B. Are there other uses for gasoline than transportation? No.

C. Is it worthwhile spending many multiple trillions of dollars "in short order" and destroying multiple trillions of dollars of existing industries to switch from one type of fuel to another to do exactly the same thing? No.

[count-your-change]

Exactly so. We have the infrastructure well developed for gasoline and either it is scrapped or duplicated with NG, neither makes much sense.

[muawiyah]

Trucks ~ in particular ~ are easily converted to the use of natural gas.

I didn't say anything about cars.

BTW, rail transport is also easily converted.

I believe work continues on creating US31/I65 into a bio-diesel route ~ that one can be rapidly converted to a natural gas corridor.

The tank is the big cost ~ for the person wanting to add natural gas to his car, but the actual conversion equipment is not terribly expensive for anyone adept at any level of automobile mechanics.

Just takes time. Converting home oil heating systems to natural gas takes about an hour as I recall.

Fur shur, the guys in Naptown, Daytona, etc. have more than their fair share of people around who've been less employed of late who'd be happy to turn your car into a fueler fit for a dragstrip FOR LESS THAN $6,500.

[Teacher317]

Some major issues with your over-simplified post.

1. Nobody said every vehicle in the US should be converted. How about allowing individuals to make the choice for themselves. You know, that weird Freedom crap?
2. $6500 per conversion drop quickly once it starts becoming commonplace. Further, when carmakers start manufacturing a significant percentage of new cars that take NG instead of gas, there is ZERO conversion cost within a few short years.
3. As NG use increases and gasoline use decreases, prices fluctuate for both, until they achieve a relative equilibrium. (This is how free market capitalism works, and is far, far, far better way to let business thrive than any other system. We once knew this reflexively as a nation.)

[Teacher317]

And another very crucial point... not only is it wise to have TWO resources working simultaneously (increases national security), it is also a HUGE benefit to have the influence of the Middle East cut in half (if not more), when the US and Russia continue to dominate the global natural gas market. I’d MUCH rather have to deal with Putin’s heirs than Admenijad’s in the long run.