[R-G] Venezuela goes to natural gas cars

[Anthony Fenton]

Venezuela goes to natural gas cars

Compiled from Herald News Services

Saturday, October 11, 2008

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/calgarybusiness/story.html?id=8bdd0f75-e5ad-4b64-8515-a4188a4a0c4c

Venezuela, the biggest oil exporter in the Americas, will trade gas- 
guzzlers for new vehicles that run on natural gas and provide drivers  
with natural gas for their cars for a year in a bid to boost gasoline  
exports.

The old cars will be recycled and the country will profit from  
increased fuel exports, President Hugo Chavez said Friday.

"We're going to exchange these mobile squanderers with a beautiful  
modern family vehicle that uses gas that doesn't cost anything,"  
Chavez said. "The gasoline we save we're going to export. We won't be  
giving away anything, it's a national savings and environmental plan."

Venezuelan drivers often use old cars with poor fuel economy because  
new cars are costly and fuel is cheap. The country has the world's  
second-cheapest fuel after Turkmenistan, according to German aid  
agency GTZ.
© The Calgary Herald 2008