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Hybrid Cop Cars for Aspen

Ski capital grows ever greener

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

October 5, 2007

The Aspen police cruisers have always been a little above the rest of the country. The 11 Volvo XC-90s replaced Saab sedans on the force in 2005.

While the sure-footed Swedish imports helped Aspen nurture its reputation as a self-indulgent -- if sometimes slippery -- corner of privilege and wealth, the city fathers and mothers hope the Toyota hybrids will be a symbol of the mountain town's environmental efforts.

Aspen is not at the head of the line here though. The police department in Lindsay, California, a town of 11,000, converted its 22-car fleet of police cruisers to hybrids last year.

On the other hand, Aspen, Vail and other ski towns have long led the way in regulating the use of fireplaces and other sources of pollution largely ignored elsewhere.

Radar interference?

But the switch to hybrids is causing some concern.

Andrew Travers reports in the Aspen Daily News that there are some worries in town about using hybrid technology in an emergency vehicle like a police cruiser. In fact, the generators in some of Lindsay, California's hybrid cop cars have created an electro-magnetic field that interferes with police radar and radio reception.

The new police cars are tagged as part of the city council's environmental initiative in Aspen's proposed budget.

The department will sell its current patrol cars back to Volvo as part of the town's contract with the automaker.

The all-wheel drive Highlanders, for which the Aspen cops expect to pay between $30,000 and $35,000 each, are roughly the same size as the department's current patrol vehicles. The police department estimates the hybrids will use little or no gasoline while cruising at 25 mph through streets and neighborhoods of the trendy ski resort town.

"This is a chance for us to reduce greenhouse gases and be a good contributor to the city's Canary Initiative," said Aspen Police Officer Brian Nicholls. "And it's a chance for us to lead by example."

High life

Aspen's come a long way from the days when its tiny force of underpaid police officers -- unable to afford sky-high rental housing -- bunked down in the city jail during the peak of winter ski season.

"This could occasionally be problematic, as it was in 1976 when French actress and chanteuse Claudine Longet shot and killed her boyfriend, skiing sensation Spider Sabich," recalled a grizzled reporter whose beat once included the Rocky Mountains.

"The cops felt bad about arresting Claudine, who was obviously shattered. But they felt even worse when they realized they'd have to move out of the jail until Claudine made bail."

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