In the midst of the California gas hullabaloo (really, gas prices are a nationwide worry), Honda is dangling quite an attractive carrot in front of drivers: Anyone who buys a natural-natural gas powered Civic by Jan. 2 will get a $3,000 debit card good for purchasing natural gas at any of the Clean Energy chain of stations. Mmm, free gas.

That $3,000 is quite an attractive offer, notes USA Today, as it drops the price of the Civic Natural Gas a bit closer to the going rate for a gasoline-powered Civic. The CNG starts at $26,305 while the conventional Civic EX is about $20,655. And especially in states like California where regular gas is hitting $5 a gallon, paying something like the $2.19 per gallon for natural gas in Anaheim, Calif.  (according to Honda) sweetens the deal even more.

From USA Today:

“With gas prices spiking in California, Civic Natural Gas vehicles sales at an all time high, and the public gaining greater awareness of the benefits of using natural gas, we believe this a great time to launch our fuel card promotion with our partner Clean Energy.” said Steve Center, vice president of the American Honda Environmental Business Development Office, in a statement.

Honda is currently the only carmaker with natural-gas powered sedans in the U.S., which could prompt other car companies to get in on the game if regular gasoline keeps going up in price.

Honda offers $3,000 discounts on natural-gas Civic [USA Today]

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