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U.S. Government Prius

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by Arroyo, Jul 17, 2009.

  1. Arroyo

    Arroyo Member

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    [​IMG]


    U.S. GOVERNMENT PRIUS

    The Feds at Tule Lake

    If you look closely at the photograph above, you'll notice something you don't see everyday: A United States Government vehicle that's not manufactured by Ford, General Motors or Chrysler. This one happens to be a Toyota Prius - and it belongs to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.


    [​IMG]
    Background: Tule Lake stockade and Castle Rock


    The U.S. Government Prius was spotted at Tule Lake, California, over the Fourth of July weekend. The occasion was the dedication of the Tule Lake Segregation Center National Monument - one of nine new World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monuments designated via executive order by George W. Bush just before he left office. Joining in on the dedication were the National Park Service, representatives from the Lava Beds National Monument, the Manzanar Historic Site, the Fremont-Winema National Forest, the Shaw Historical Library, the Modoc National Forest, Cal Trans District 2, the Klamath Basin Refuge Association, the Klamath County Museum, the Tulelake Chamber of Commerce, and over 400 pilgrims - including approximately 50 former inmates - attending the 17th Tule Lake pilgrimage.

    Tule Lake was one of 10 War Relocation Authority (WRA) camps during World War II built to incarcerate Americans of Japanese ancestry. In 1943, it was converted into the Tule Lake Segregation Center, to hold those who protested their incarceration. Tule Lake was the most controversial of the ten War Relocation Authority WRA camps. It was the largest of the camps, holding 18,000 Japanese Americans, and the only one turned into a high-security segregation center, ruled under martial law and occupied by the Army. Tule Lake was the last of the WRA camps to close, in March of 1946.

    For more information about Tule Lake, click here


    LA Car.com - The Cars and Culture of Southern California Magazine & Directory - BACK SEAT DRIVING - JULY 2009
     
    #1 Arroyo, Jul 17, 2009
  2. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Although I don't have a count, there are Prius operated by the Park service, which makes sense. They don't make a lot of noise and minimize fuel costs. There are also a smattering of Ford Escapes.

    One of GW's lost opportunities was failure to mandate fuel efficiency standards on the US Postal service that would have made postal delivery vehicles into hybrid electrics. To the best of my knowledge, only a handful of private, individual, rural delivery vehicles are hybrids, Ford Escapes and perhaps a few 'mild' hybrids.

    Between the US Postal service and DoD utility vehicle fleets, his administration could have ensured sufficient volumes to bootstrap Ford and GM into the hybrid electric business. But never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity seems to have been their mantra.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #2 bwilson4web, Jul 17, 2009
  3. drees

    drees Senior Member

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    I think the Prius is probably one of the most common non-US government fleet cars there is because of it's fuel efficiency. I know that a good number of cities bought them for their fleets.
     
    #3 drees, Jul 17, 2009
  4. wfolta

    wfolta Active Member

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    Arlington County, VA, uses the Prius.
     
    #4 wfolta, Jul 17, 2009
  5. Froley1

    Froley1 New Member

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    Many departments in the Feds are under orders from the new adminstration to switch to hybrids or with limited exemptions--- alt. fuel, including SUVs for any new vehicles purchased...the plan is to, as aged vehicles are required to be replaced, that these are the only vehicles that can be purchased.
    regards
    Froley
     
    #5 Froley1, Jul 17, 2009
  6. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Every so often, your tax dollars don't get wasted:

    [​IMG]

    Our local transit authority has had these around for what ... maybe 4 or more years now. The pic is from an old thread where we covered the topic.

    You can guess where I'll be finding MY spare white body parts

    ;)
     
    #6 hill, Jul 20, 2009
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