"Our pilot money is really quite small. It wouldn't take much to overrun us," Macdonald said. Utah's tax credit will pay up to half of what it costs to convert a vehicle, up to $2,500, or half of what a factory CNG vehicle's incremental cost over a gasoline vehicle costs, up to $3,000.

Converted vehicles

Gas-engine cars also can be converted to run on natural gas. The process is highly regulated by the EPA and can cost $10,000 or more per vehicle.

Rick Oliver is president of SNO-Motion Solutions, which is currently the only business in Utah performing EPA-regulated conversions. He mostly converts commercial vehicles and says that market remains strong. He is moving his business from adapted space downtown to much larger facilities in West Valley City soon, anticipating his business will continue to grow.

"Business is up 300 percent in the last couple of months," said Oliver, who also expects to be doing more vehicle repairs as the surge of CNG vehicles continues in Utah.

"I think it's going to be a very steady climb. Natural gas is a steppingstone for the eventual use of hydrogen, and hydrogen will need a fuel-delivery infrastructure just like the one we have for natural gas."

A deal for dealership

Interest in CNG vehicles caught the attention of Phoenix banker Veerachart Murphy, who now runs CNG Motors, a used-car dealership that sells nothing but propane and CNG vehicles. He brings cars to his Phoenix dealership from as far away as Florida and sells about half of them, sight unseen, to Internet buyers. The home page of CNGMotors.com lists shipping prices to Utah and California.

Three-quarters of his business comes from people who research the advantages of owning a CNG car online and then buy from him, also online. Murphy said the other quarter of his business comes from referrals. "Ninety-five percent of my business comes from outside Arizona. Most are from California and Utah," he said.

Not for the Big Gulp crowd

The financial advantages have boosted the interest in CNG cars. But finding, buying, fueling and maintaining a CNG car is unique enough that the surge is taking place only among the more adventurous motorists who are willing to take on significant changes to the mainstream culture of car ownership. And rumor has it that claiming the tax credit is a good way to attract a tax audit.

Next to California, Utah has the best infrastructure of fueling stations in the nation, but there are still only 23 in the state. Some of those are located at traditional filling stations, while others are unstaffed self-service-only pumps without gas-station amenities like restrooms, snacks and soft drinks.

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E-mail: sfidel@desnews.com