Hybrid police cars

[jkash]

NIU police give hybrids glowing reviews
Toyota Prius squad cars save 4,500 gallons of fuel for 2005 fiscal year

Hybrid squad cars saved 4,500 gallons of fuel in 2005.

DeKALB | Once considered an innovation of the not-too-distant future, working with and operating hybrid vehicles has become a part of the daily routine for the NIU police force.

The Toyota Prius, the first hybrid vehicle to be mass produced and marketed to a worldwide base of consumers since its 1997 unveiling in Japan, has grown to comprise eighty percent of the police department's fleet since the university began testing the hybrid waters in 2004.

Two years later, regrets for making the switch are hard to come by.

'Perfect car for the job'

"It's done everything that it's been asked to do," said officer Marc Roccaforte, a staunch supporter of the Ford Crown Victoria, previously the department's vehicle of choice.

Not only was Roccaforte a fan of the Crown Victoria in the field of work, but it has also been his personal vehicle of choice for years. Nevertheless, it did not take him long to warm to the Prius.

"I would have to say that it's the perfect car for the job. It performs to the level that we need, and has done everything that we have expected," he said.

Read more.

[brandon]

Related:

http://www.niu.edu/PubAffairs/RELEASES/200...hybrids06.shtml

http://www.niu.edu/northerntoday/200...4/gascar.shtml

[TonyPSchaefer]

Now there's some glowing reviews. After all, if you can't trust the police ([cough] Schmika [cough]) who can you?

The only problem is that they got this tid-bit of information from the Classic Prius.

[SomervillePrius]

Cool, it makes sense for a university police to drive priuses. Not sure the Prius is a replacement for all Police Cars but hey, it's a start!

[glenhead]

I can hardly wait 'till they start auctioning off the pursuit/interceptor version of the Prius - cool...

[brandon]

Yeah, when I took delivery of my Driftwood Pearl, I stopped by the campus police department to get my campus parking permit transferred. A crowd of campus cops seemed interested, and I mentioned that the NIU police used the Prius hybrid on their campus, but alas, the State of Kansas purchasing contracts mandated they replace their vehicles with the police cruiser edition of the Dodge Charger... government in action.

[LowCO2]

I bet the air quality on campus is a bit cleaner without all those idling Crown Vics, too.

First one to post a pic of 2 police Prii parked at an off campus Dunkin Donuts should win something, don't you think?

[Tideland Prius]

My campus security is still using Crown Vics but we do have several NEVs for plant operations and smarts for parking services. A few "foot patrol" security officers use Segways (not sure why, but okay). They seem to be anti-hybrid lol. I've seen several hybrids (mostly Priuses of both generations and one Camry Hybrid) but they're almost always student/faculty member owned and not used as a university vehicle.

[donee]

Hi All,

This thread makes me want to drive out to Dekalb, and speed around the NIU campus in my 2006 Prius, until I get pulled over by a Prius Police car, then take a picture! HA!

[Alnilam]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jkash @ Sep 14 2006, 06:21 AM) [snapback]319429[/snapback]</div>

NIU police give hybrids glowing reviews

"It's done everything that it's been asked to do," said officer Marc Roccaforte,
[/b]

with a cheesy grin. "We edam up on traffic chases. It's as gouda car as you can get. A real muenster!"