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Aspen police going hybrid green

By Charles Agar, The Aspen Times

Published May 30, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Aspen Police Chief Richard Pryor touts his department's new hybrid patrol cars Thursday morning.

Photo by Paul Conrad / The Aspen Times

Aspen Police Chief Richard Pryor touts his department's new hybrid patrol cars Thursday morning.

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In an effort to set a green example in Colorado, Aspen cops are going hybrid.

After a two-month test of a Toyota Highlander hybrid as a police cruiser in Aspen, Police Chief Richard Pryor on Thursday announced plans to replace the department's Volvo cruisers with 10 of the new hybrid vehicles.

The new fleet, costing $35,000 each with an additional $4,000 to $6,000 for police outfitting, will arrive in Aspen over the next five months, Pryor said at a new conference on the lawn behind the Pitkin County Courthouse.

Converting to hybrids, Pryor said, is the next "radical yet logical step" in the face of concerns over global warming and skyrocketing gas prices.

The move will not only spare the environment an estimated 20 tons of carbon emissions, Pryor said, but the new vehicles save 2,000 gallons of gas (or about $7,000 in fuel) annually.

Aspen borrowed the idea for the new hybrids from police in Lindsay, Calif., and city council approved the pilot program in March.

"We're at the leading edge in trying to do this," said Mayor Mick Ireland during Thursday's news conference.

Ireland said Aspen has lost skier days in recent years because of rising temperatures, and that local rivers, though gushing this year thanks to big winter snows, are dangerously low.

The mayor added that new police hybrids are only one piece in a larger effort to reduce the city's carbon footprint.

City initiatives include new hydroelectric plants and a possible conversion to geothermal energy to make Aspen a regional leader in green initiatives.

2006 VOLVO XC-90

* Price: $31,157

* Engine: 2.5-liter, turbocharged inline 5-cylinder, 208 horsepower @5,000 rpm

* 0-60 mph: 6.98 seconds

* EPA fuel economy: 17 mpg city, 23 mpg highway

2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID

* Price: $35,392

* Engine: 3.3 liter V-6, electric motors assist, combined 270 hp @ 5,600 rpm

* 0-60 mph: 7.5 seconds

* EPA fuel economy: 27 city, 25 highway

Comments

  • May 30, 2008

    8:19 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    The_Punnisher writes:

    Another " feel good " story out of ASSPEN....

    Why not use a REAL hybrid that doesn't have to carry a big chunk of IRON around?...

    Or better yet, the TESLA that would fit the image of $$$ that ASSPEN likes...

  • May 30, 2008

    8:54 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    FCZ writes:

    Mayor Ireland is wrong.

    " lost skier days because of rising temperatures..."

    Independence, Cottonwood , and other mountain passes are still closed because of too much snow.

  • May 30, 2008

    9:27 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Bagel writes:

    Steel, that's assuming they don't need to replace their vehicles at all (which may be a good assumption?).

  • May 30, 2008

    9:53 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Jim writes:

    Unemployed car builders in Detroit just got globalized again. I own 2 Fords (Escape, Focus) and 3 HDs and have no regrets. I hope my purchase decisions have helped some Americans keep their jobs.

  • May 30, 2008

    10:08 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Bagel writes:

    I used to work in the auto industry, and was laid off because our company was going bankrupt. But I don't think people buying foreign cars was the problem. The auto industry did this to themselves through years of bad decisions.

  • May 30, 2008

    10:44 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Bagel writes:

    I'd be surprised if a police department keeps their vehicles for 10 years, but even if they keep them for 5 years and break even I'd say it's worth it.

  • May 30, 2008

    11:46 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Wildjavelina writes:

    I had a hybrid Highlander and the in-town mpg was no where near 27..it was more like 19...not much better than the Volvo that it is replacing.

  • May 30, 2008

    1 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Darwin writes:

    Milehighguy, in addition to your mileage comments (Ford Escape Hybrid gets 34 city/30 hwy), the cost per vehicle would be $8,000 - $10,000 per vehicle less. Yes Aspen, continue to stick it to the American companies.

  • May 30, 2008

    5:53 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    The_Punnisher writes:

    The ugly secret no one wants to talk about concerning these " feel good " hybrids:

    http://clubs.ccsu.edu/recorder/editor...

    Prius Outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage

    Google Map Sudbury, Ontario, Canada...and see the type of damage a PIOUS creates....