There is no chicken or egg problem in Italy. The Italians are flocking to CNG vehicles, with 114,226 sold in just August, a monthly amount that is about equal to all the CNG vehicles on US roads.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2012/09/18/gasoline-sticker-shock-fuels-fiat-natural-gas-auto-sales/.
Why were nearly 1 out of 8 vehicles bought in Italy last month a CNG vehicle? High gasoline prices are one reason.
But just as important are the 900 public CNG fueling stations dotting Italy, an area about 70% the size of California. Italian motorists know that they can refuel with CNG and pay much less when doing so. The result is a booming CNG vehicle market that Fiat serves with a growing variety of models.
By contrast, the US has a total of 519 public CNG stations in our vast nation. The result of effectively no reasonable CNG fueling infrastructure being available to motorists is scant consumer interest in natural gas vehicles, even though natural gas saves around $2 per gallon and pollutes less.
In America, the failure to crack the chicken and egg problem continues. A pathetic and dangerous condition that continues.
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