Yesterday New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg showed the Big Apple is fully on board with the many benefits of hybrid and electric vehicles, as he announced the city’s acquisition of 50 Chevrolet Volts.
The new Volts were part of a total 70 new battery-petrol-powered vehicles to join the city’s fleet which now totals 430 advanced-tech cars and trucks.
Along with the Chevrolets, the city’s order includes 10 battery-powered Ford Transit Connect cargo vans and 10 Navistar eStar electric utility trucks. The Navistar vehicles are being leased for two years at $1 per year, the mayor said.
New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announces the addition of 50 new Chevrolet Volt electric vehicles to the city’s fleet.
In addition to the gift/lease from Navistar, Bloomberg noted funding for the new vehicles came from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the New York Power Authority.
As for the Volts, they will be used in a number of functions, including as the first electric police cars, according to Chevrolet. The city also uses electric scooters and golf carts where practical.
“This is the latest and largest-ever addition of electric vehicles to the city’s fleet, which is already the largest municipal clean-air vehicle fleet in the nation,” Bloomberg said in a press statement. “We will continue to lead by example, but we also must provide New Yorkers with tools to make environmentally friendly choices in their own lives.
The mayor’s announcement was made at the EV charger-equipped sanitation department repair facility in Maspeth, Queens.
He said there are a host of reasons why New Yorkers – and, by extension, Americans – should embrace EVs and hybrids.
“I can quickly run out of fingers counting the benefits of electric vehicles,” Bloomberg said. Among reasons cited were an effort to reduce greenhouse gases and global warming and the mayor said New York’s goal is to reduce its overall carbon footprint by 30 percent by 2017.
Carlos Francica, a New York Department of Sanitation worker, cleans the front windshield of an electric vehicle before the start of the press conference.
A reduction in tailpipe emissions also improves basic air standards, Bloomberg said, which will stand to ameliorate present rates of respiratory illness and heart disease.
Bloomberg noted each Volt will also save about 4,000 gallons of gasoline the city estimates will equal about $15,000 in the life of each car.
Calling the Volts “hybrid” vehicles, Bloomberg said the intent was nonetheless to operate them as EVs by limiting them to under 35 miles per day in all-electric mode. By using them at this easygoing daily rate, the mayor said he expects them to last 10 years, a rather long time for a fleet vehicle.
Another big reason for endorsing EVs, the mayor said, is to reduce dependence on petroleum. He noted the U.S. now imports about 50 percent of its oil, and this puts the country in a vulnerable position – an obvious statement to readers of this site, but one some would agree cannot be stated often enough, particularly from those in positions of influence.
Speaking of which, the mayor’s announcement was staged at the same time New Yorkers were planning to see a free screening of “Revenge of the Electric Car” in Central Park later yesterday evening.
In what was a major thrust for EVs yesterday, the mayor also announced a New York-based Web site to inform people about their choices. Bloomberg encouraged New Yorkers to check into battery-electrics and hybrids, saying research shows 20 percent would consider one if fully informed on their benefits vs. cost.
“When provided with the facts, people become far more likely to choose an electric vehicle. Our job is to ensure the public has the facts, ensure they can make their own decisions and ensure that if they want to drive an electric vehicle, we are providing the infrastructure needed. It’s all part of our PlaNYC agenda to create a greener, greater New York City.”
Mayor Bloomberg holds a power cord used to recharge the battery of a Chevrolet Volt during the press conference. For a full video (we were not able to embed) you can go to New York’s Web site to see it in low res or high res.
The city said the new vehicles will be used by city agencies, including the departments of sanitation, corrections, parks, environmental protection, transportation, police and fire. New York taxi companies also operate a growing fleet of over 4,980 hybrid taxis.
To help charge the city’s fleet, the New York Times reported New York now has 70 EV charging stations, installed with assistance from the Energy Department.
Overall, Bloomberg said New York intends to remain a leader in the acceptance and proliferation of hybrid and electric vehicles.
GM, Wheels Blog, New York City Web site
This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 13th, 2011 at 5:55 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
+11
Jul 13th, 2011 (6:08 am)NOW NO ONE CAN DENY, HOWEVER YOU SEE IT, THAT NEW YORK CITY IS ELECTRIFYING!
/Forgive the pun, but I find it very gratifying that our major city is adopting fleets of EVs and PHEVs!
//Kudos for a timely & excellent article, Jeff!
+10
Jul 13th, 2011 (6:43 am)I am a former New Yorker, and I am happy that my birth city has begun to update the Police with modern vehicles that use less fuel, especially when idling, and can patrol streets and local areas in silence so they don’t wake up the city dwellers and can creep up on suspects, preventing crime as they should. The NYPD will be a testing ground for the daily endurance of the Volt, and GM can acquire real life experiences from the type of beating that a patrol vehicle will have. Obviously the Volt cannot pursuit other vehicles at high speeds, and for that they need the special edition Impalas. But for the most need type of patrols, the Volt will fit in and make my city safer for those who still live there.
Thanks, GM!
-1
Jul 13th, 2011 (7:19 am)While cleaner vehicles in highly concentrated population areas are great, and, the quietness of Voltec might often add to the advantage of stealthy patrols, one also has to keep in mind that additional safeguards for officers ought to be considered.
While the Supreme Court is weighing the issue of all vehicles transmitting their locations, and, as regards privacy, these telemetries could possibly place officers in the opposite situation from stealth patrolling, if it is the right of the public to receive any radio signal.
Now that this issue is before the Supreme Court, certainly it also ought to be considered that deeper issues also are in the mix regarding hacking.
We have seen in the past few days the story about Rupert Murdoch and his phone hacking operations in the UK. “Hacking” is far far too insufficient a word for what Murdoch did, he and his illegal operatives viscously wire tapped in a wireless world, because he is a viscous man. The laws of the UK are different than here in the US, as we know. The penalty for Rupert isn’t likely jail time, but a wag of the finger by a judge that he has been naughty… (as likely Rupert will thoughtlessly and conceitedly laugh at all of them, with just an outward grin of continued contempt.)
These hacking issues are not being properly and responsibly addressed nor penalized. Programmers have enough responsibility in just making software work well. Programmers also ought to push legislators for stricter hacking statutes with mandatory jail time for not just illegal violations like Murdoch’s, but deliberate improper ones too, which cost losses of any kind. Judges do not yet fully realize the full gravity of these issues, and how they will become more likely. Murdoch and his illegal operatives ought to be extradited to the US for prosecution where US citizens have had their privacy violated. All phone connections are simply a matter of electronic records kept in very many places, and are very easily accessed by enforcement agencies.
For anyone who believes that there has been interference in their cell phone calls, any party ought to have the right to be granted conditional access to those electronic records. That way, the public can help law enforcement enforce the privacy statutes of all countries.
+4
Jul 13th, 2011 (9:00 am)This is the only Volt I would NOT want to see driving behind me
I wonder how decked out they are inside w/police computers. Will the NYPD use Onstar’s services?
Are all 70 charging stations in NYC open to the public? Is there a fee?
+5
Jul 13th, 2011 (9:14 am)You “obviously” have not floored a Volt in sports mode.
NPNS!
Volt#671
+1
Jul 13th, 2011 (9:56 am)Radios are more effective than speed. And a bear in the air is faster than any land vehicle.
However, there are many, many production vehicles that can easily outrun a Volt. My current 6-year-old Dodge being one of them. (130mph@redline, 0-60 in 6.1 sec.) That said, my last two speeding tickets were 1. an airplane cop and 2. a motorcycle cop. No way I could outrun either of these guys and I wouldn’t try.
While a Volt may feel fast, it’s just not. With 101mph governed top speed and 0-60 @ more than 8 seconds, the specs just aren’t there (yet).
Jul 13th, 2011 (9:58 am)================================
A state policeman once told me:
“You might be able to outrun my car, but you can NEVER outrun my radio….”
One question: How did NYC get 50 Volts from the small run of the 2011 model year?????
Edit: Loboc beat me by two minutes!!!!
+1
Jul 13th, 2011 (9:58 am)I seem to recall some post from a few years ago that implied Volt could be a good bit faster, but is “tuned down” using its software to make it a bit more like an everyday car. This also might make it more efficient.
Being an electric car with all that addition torque, I wonder if there could be a “Police Edition” that is faster than a stock Volt. And if so, I assume that re-tuning would alter its battery mileage.
Anybody remember this discussion from a long time back?
+6
Jul 13th, 2011 (10:38 am)When’s the last time anyone drove over 101mph in NYC? (and if someone pulled it off, did they go more than 1 block?)
Jul 13th, 2011 (10:40 am)We could use some of these where I am. My office is near a police station and about an hour before the shift change the patrol cars show up in the parking garage, where they hide out. I hate it because they just run the engines, throwing all sorts of pollution all over the place creating a health hazard and wasting gas. Volts would solve this problem completely!
That still leaves open the question of whether an hour “break” before quitting is reasonable. I was thinking more like 20 minutes but that’s a topic for another day.
Jul 13th, 2011 (10:43 am)Although the Volt may not be able to outrun many production vehicles on the open highway, I truly doubt this would be very much of an issue in dense urban streets like those NYC. How many high speed chases happen in heavy and sometimes gridlock traffic? I think the volt patrol vehicle is perfectly suited for this type of environment, perhaps not as much for other cities.
+1
Jul 13th, 2011 (10:43 am)That was so funny. Good one.
Yeah that’s very true. But given the lack of back seat legroom my question would be: Do they only plan on arresting short people?
Jul 13th, 2011 (10:44 am)OK, Loboc, you need some throttling…
You have previously stated that it is important to you to be able to speed away from traffic signals at max acceleration. You have stated that you know this is wasteful, but it is still important to you. Now you fess up to the ‘LAST TWO’ speeding tickets. Who knows how many you have had. [I have never had ANY speeding tickets]. Shame on you. You are a menace to yourself and others. SLOW DOWN!!!!!! Save yourself gas…and money on your insurance premiums. And consider that the large vehicle you have professed to driving, when driving in the manner you have admitted to, will take the lives of others in smaller vehicles when your dangerous driving luck runs out.
+1
Jul 13th, 2011 (10:50 am)NY has plenty of expressways and the streets aren’t gridlocked 24/7. On the other hand, there also could be software modifications that allowed much higher speeds in the Volt.
Realistically the bigger deal will be the lower maintenance and operating costs and the longer life. If in fact the Volts hold up for ten years that will be amazing and deliver amazing savings.
My personal hope is that the zen like experience of driving a Volt has a calming effect on the officers. That would be a great benefit to them and to the public.
+4
Jul 13th, 2011 (10:53 am)Not to worry. When he gets his Volt and experiences its zen driving experience the heavy metal music will be replaced with spa music and his bad boy driving habits will be a thing of the past. LOL
+1
Jul 13th, 2011 (11:41 am)“distillate stockpiles rose a whopping 4.8 million barrels, the API said.”
Just in time for the Passat “outstanding” TDI engine and diesel Cruze (can’t wait to see a 8 gear DSG with e-assist option) to be produced TODAY. Every day waiting is a day of lost sales. If you can’t get electric drive, turbo diesel is the next best thing. Both is best, of course.
The base is now a turbo 4 cyl six (soon, eight or CVT) speed. Anything with more cylinders or fewer gears (except 1 for electric) is frankly “quaint”. Number of gears have now replaced number of cylinders in measuring how fun something is to drive, with 8 or 1 (electric) currently the most fun numbers.
+2
Jul 13th, 2011 (11:55 am)#13
He’s not alone, LOL. Given the number of die hard gearheads here, I bet we could come up with a really impressive number of speeding tickets!
That’s another big advantage of the Volt. The game of extending the AER becomes so compelling that I, for one, have slowed down a lot. A friend of me remarked the other day, “What happened to you?” “You used to travel 75+ mph in the fast lane on the freeway all the time and now you drive 62 in the #3 lane.” Maybe gas isn’t the only thing Volt drivers will save on. How about speeding tickets, hahaha?
+1
Jul 13th, 2011 (11:57 am)#15
You just beat me to it, LOL. +1
+1
Jul 13th, 2011 (11:58 am)Years ago I saw NYC police using electric golf cart type vehicles… and I do notice a lot of Ford Hybrid Escapes as Taxi cabs… these vehicle do a lot of city miles… saving a lot of fuel.
+2
Jul 13th, 2011 (12:03 pm)NYC has a lot of influential people–great to see the Volt make headlines there.
Jul 13th, 2011 (12:23 pm)Calling the Volts “hybrid” vehicles, Bloomberg said the intent was nonetheless to operate them as EVs by limiting them to under 35 miles per day in all-electric
mode.
I’m sorry but I’m not convinced that the Volt is the right vehicle for the job at this point. Why pay more for EREV if you are going to limit daily mileage and therefore the use of a vehicle? Many people have stated on this site that the Volt doesn’t necessarily make economic sense at this point. For patrol vehicles; I would think vehicles equipped with e-assist would work out better; as far as being more practical for the job IMO. If you are going to limit the Volt to AER, then why not wait for the Ford Focus EV and get more range for the same or less money? Or buy 1&1/2 SULEV vehicles for the same cost. Hey, I want to be greener and less dependent on foreign oil too but I also want tax dollars spent wisely, not for image sake alone.
Jul 13th, 2011 (12:32 pm)Well, then, hurray for GM! They have killed a couple dozen birds with the same stone. If our streets are quieter, clearer (from no emissions) and safer, I am very pleased.
+4
Jul 13th, 2011 (12:39 pm)Because they generally don’t know when they might get have to exceed their expected range. By definition, they get a lot of emergency calls. And the last thing we need is to have stranded police cars on the road. Or fires that aren’t put out as fast because the closest firemen ran out of battery power.
+1
Jul 13th, 2011 (12:46 pm)Sorry, I have to disagree. While NYC’s 50 Volts will no doubt only seldom need to use their generator mode, it seems likely to me that occasionally some drunk idiot driving 80-90 mph on Riverside Drive or the Long Island Expressway would have to be chased down. And if the officer’s Volt (or EV) was near its end of charge, the Volt could continue pursuit —but woe be unto officers in an EV. Also, remember that most late-model GM cars can be located (stolen or not) through OnStar (highly effective & more widely used than LoJack). So either stolen or recklessly-driven recent GM cars could be tracked down by their own built-in OnStar systems at long distances. But any EV could face the risk of being stranded (except a Volt or perhaps a Tesla).
/LauraM, you said it well (and sooner)!
Jul 13th, 2011 (1:07 pm)I believe at least some of them are at commercial parking lots, so they would be available to the public, but there’s probably a fee.
New York city is not just mid and downtown Manhattan. There are many many places where one could conceivably drive over 101 mph. For a stretch. Especially at off times like weekend mornings. It’s not something people do on a regular basis. But I’m sure it’s happened.
And police cars where people have to get out of the way? Definitely.
+2
Jul 13th, 2011 (1:21 pm)============================
OK, if we are doing the Dr. Phil confessions here, I will say that in the 10 years I owned my 1991 Dodge Stealth, I was pulled over 17 times! I only got three tickets, but still……… I was stopped once by a state policeman and the reason was that he really liked the car and wanted to know if he could just sit in it!!!
I actually called the Dodge customer support line to tell them that the name of the car in no way matched it’s life in the real world. I mentioned that the name should have been “Dodge Get Pulled Over By The Police All The Time”!
Jul 13th, 2011 (1:23 pm)#23 Laur M
Because they generally don’t know when they might get have to exceed their expected range. By definition, they get a lot of emergency calls. And the last thing we need is to have stranded police cars on the road. Or fires that aren’t put out as fast because the closest Firemen ran out of battery power.
So, if he wants to limit the AER to 35 miles; but not really? I certainly would not use current BEVs for emergency response at this time. That is why I think e-assist equipped vehicles would be more practical and probably more economical for patrol vehicles at this time. BEVs could exceed the 35 mile range for less money for non-emergency applications for lower cost. Laura M I generally agree with 99% of what you say, however, I just don’t think spending a lot of money for EREV and not use it or even if you did use it; there are less expensive yet SULEV and 0 emission alternatives. Bottom-line the Volt is too expensive and not practical for government use at this time IMHO.
+1
Jul 13th, 2011 (1:34 pm)To Nasaman #24, As I said; I would use e-assist for emergency vehicles; not EVs and e-assist vehicles can have OnStar as well.
-11
Jul 13th, 2011 (1:56 pm)(click to show comment)
+1
Jul 13th, 2011 (2:01 pm)But they don’t necessarily know ahead of time when they’re going to get emergency calls. Most of the time, they won’t use the range extender. But there will be times when something happens unexpectedly, and they will need it.
Nasaman probably said it better than I did.
+1
Jul 13th, 2011 (2:15 pm)Here’s your answer.
Enjoy!
http://www.flicky.com/driver-sets-record-racing-around-manhattan/
+1
Jul 13th, 2011 (2:18 pm)They finish their paper work for the day and try to get to the station without incident. An incident on the way to the station would require more paperwork after regular work hours. Your taxes would be used for the unnecessary over time, and some unhappy police officers would be going home late. I suspect your building is one of the most incident free (crime free?) around, if that’s any consolation.
I also suspect that with the communications and computing equipment in the cars, idling would be necessary. A big battery and a car with stop start idling capabilities would be helpful in that situation, wouldn’t it?
+2
Jul 13th, 2011 (2:24 pm)In these cases, I was merely running with traffic on the open highway. It seems my ride is a high probability stop as I am singled out of the herd a lot. (83mph in a 70 and 77mph in a 60.)
I have not had a chargeable accident in my adult life (Although other people have no problem aiming at and hitting me!). My driving is very safe, just faster than most. And my preferred music is ’70s rock. My insurance rate reflects my safe driving as it is very reasonable. (Less than 1k/year with two full-coverage cars and two drivers.)
Did you know that the Interstate Highway System was originally designed for sustained 80mph speed?
“If everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough.” – Mario Andretti
Gumball!!
Jul 13th, 2011 (2:35 pm)The parking enforcement officers in my town use electric golf-cart-like things.
+5
Jul 13th, 2011 (2:38 pm)It “has” to? Is that a law or something?
Jul 13th, 2011 (2:47 pm)flmark,
It’s not hard to get a ticket. I got pulled over in Mexico for going 1Kmh over. Speedometers aren’t even that accurate. After a 400-peso bribe I was on my way, but the point is, if they want to give you a ticket they will find a way. That’s how they create $.
Jul 13th, 2011 (2:57 pm)Excellent!
-1
Jul 13th, 2011 (3:18 pm)#30 Laura M But they don’t necessarily know ahead of time when they’re going to get emergency calls. Most of the time, they won’t use the range extender. But there will be times when something happens unexpectedly, and they will need it.
Nasaman probably said it better than I did.
(Quote
I think we agree that BEVs are not a good choice for emergency vehicles. We disagree that the Volt is a good choice for Emergency vehicles. I also think there are less expensive,, more practical yet relatively clean options for the taxpayers money for non-emergency use. Sorry if I didn’t explain my point better at #21.
Jul 13th, 2011 (3:51 pm)Just imagine when the police use these on there fellow citizens when there either speeding through the city or causing a crime. Because the Volt will be like a quick but deadly and stealth ninja that citizen won’t even notice till the police use there sirens just imagine that and the city will be safer than ever then before. Also I know this is not related to Electric Cars or plug-in hybrids. But everybody I have some bright and exciting news that you may want to know about. You know that the last time congress failed to pass a bill to get rid of more fuel efficient cars and electric cars well guess what! They have failed again to get rid of energy efficient light bulbs as CFL’S and LED bulbs and here’s the article if you want to give it a look enjoy everybody. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110713/NEWS08/307130110/GOP-fails-turn-off-light-bulb-standards?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|News%20Nation%20&%20World|p
+1
Jul 13th, 2011 (3:51 pm)Quote from the article:
“The city said the new vehicles will be used by city agencies, including the departments of sanitation, corrections, parks, environmental protection, transportation, police and fire.”
“Calling the Volts “hybrid” vehicles, Bloomberg said the intent was nonetheless to operate them as EVs by limiting them to under 35 miles per day in all-electric mode.”
They must not have the intention of using the Volt in many police cruisers if they are only going to run less than 35 miles/day.
I agree w/ blind Guy that for NON police cruiser apps the Volt is the wrong vehicle. It’s like giving a sanitation worker or a building inspector a BMW to do his work in…..a total overkill and waste of money.
For limited mile usage a less expensive pure EV makes a lot more sense for these types of workers.
The Volt MIGHT make sense as a patrol car. I totally agree w/Don C about the constant idling that the police do. Here in AZ they leave the A/C and engine on all the time.
However, this doesn’t work all that well either as the police will burn thru AER way before the shift is done then they will be on RE.
Maybe they need a 300 mile range Tesla S!!!
Jul 13th, 2011 (4:07 pm)But my point is that all police vehicles are potential emergency vehicles. If a cop is out giving parking tickets, he could still be called upon because he happens to be the closest to a time sensitive crime scene.
You may be right that regular hybrids are a better choice for all police vehicles. I don’t know the breakdown of police driving patterns.
Jul 13th, 2011 (4:07 pm)Pascal,
I agree that using electricity inappropriately is wrong. For example I read somewhere that a minimum of 39 billion kWh will be used in American refineries to produce gasoline for the domestic market. Long before any pollutants are created by burning it on the roads. All to be trucked to gas stations to be used by ICE’s, that have about 22% efficiency.
Don’t know about anyone else but that convoluted route seems like a poor way to try to improve any air quality degradation caused by electric cars. Cars running at over 92% efficiencies, on electricity from thermal plants running at better than 50% efficiency. Let alone creating a gasoline powered path to displacing EV’s on power from hydro, wind, solar or even NG.
+1
Jul 13th, 2011 (4:08 pm)Lol. Quoting “The Tennessean” for DC news?
BTW, I’m not the grammar police or anything, but, the their/there/they’re thing really bugs me.
+6
Jul 13th, 2011 (4:50 pm)Bravo to NYC for making the Volt a shining star in their city. I hope to see some of those Volts leading the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this November.
+2
Jul 13th, 2011 (4:58 pm)Only one small victory for the planet, but nothing is at all safe. http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/05/gop_presidential_hopefuls_flee.html
The article Sean mentions seems to give the GOP credit for saying ‘too much government interference’. In reality, it is near sighted greed and reactionary politics that rules the day in the GOP. Not only do they show their true colors by ignoring the data, they can’t even be trusted to standby previously held beliefs. I WAS a Republican, but I don’t trust this party anymore. I am looking for a new party to form as more moderates flee from a field of candidates that wants to dismantle every environmental protection currently in place http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/23/2012-republicans-take-aim-at-epa_n_883182.html
I am reminded of this commercial http://www.popisms.com/TelevisionCommercial/36754/The-Car-Show-Commercial-2011.aspx where the host bathes in oil and eats spark plugs. Drill, baby, drill. Swim in it. Eat it. Oil runs though our veins…and greases the GOP coffers (and all our coffINS)!
+1
Jul 13th, 2011 (4:58 pm)Um let’s not forget NYC had the first arrest of a man doing 101 in a volt.
http://gm-volt.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-7610.html
Direct link http://www.silive.com/westshore/index.ssf/2011/04/travis_man_accused_of_driving.html?mobRedir=false
Jul 13th, 2011 (5:03 pm)I can see the Police Performance Module for the Volt…. I think the electric motor has the capability of 1000 lb torque…. wouldn’t want to try to outrun a Volt which was set up to override all the governors.
+1
Jul 13th, 2011 (5:11 pm)“Another big reason for endorsing EVs, the mayor said, is to reduce dependence on petroleum. He noted the U.S. now imports about 50 percent of its oil, and this puts the country in a vulnerable position ..”
I think there are a lot more things that we are importing that make us vulnerable…..
I recently found out that now we import ALL brake rotors… because of China dumping brake rotors at below cost to mfr… we are now forced to buy their rotors because all of forges in the US have closed… I wonder where the brake rotors for the Volt are made?…
My Chinese poor quality rotors that I was forced to buy only lasted 18K miles .. for the last 40 years I was used to replacing my American made rotors no sooner than 70K miles… EBC brakes are supposed to be made in UK but a new disclaimer on their site states that they are also buying rotors from China.
I sure hope GM has it’s own brake rotor mfr. facility somewhere that I can buy brakes from.
What about all our military vehicles… are we dependent on China to buy brake rotors for them?
Jul 13th, 2011 (5:44 pm)I wonder how many volts are being purchased by taxi companies in NYC or anywhere else?
+2
Jul 13th, 2011 (5:47 pm)That’s a new one. You took a weight dependent torque and divided by distance to arrive at a measure of rotational force that doesn’t move because your object has no length (the pointless center of an axis is your object)? Weird.
How fast a Volt cop goes depends most on the method of transportation used by the person pursued. You want to match methods as much as possible to minimize locational discontinuities based on method differences (see bicycles jumping over Jeremy Clarkson’s car sideways from a staircase on the way to beating him in a race). An electric supermoto motorcycle would probably win for overall flexibility, stealth and pursuit abilities in a limited area jurisdiction (indoors and out), not that I’m biased.
Jul 13th, 2011 (6:02 pm)Twenty minutes I get. An hour seems excessive. Obviously they know it’s not right. Otherwise why would they hide out in our parking garage?
Jul 13th, 2011 (6:03 pm)BLIND GUY,
Volt for the NYPD as a fit for the job? Well, we could look at it another way.
If for anything, it would be for the best endurance testing!!! What better legal way to endurance test those Volts than at the NYPD. That’s the genius of it.
+1
Jul 13th, 2011 (6:04 pm)My guess would be none. There just isn’t any legroom in the backseat.
Jul 13th, 2011 (6:11 pm)You’re quite wrong. Electricity can be produced with very little pollution. It’s the difference between a point source and a non point source.
Electricity can also be produced without producing many emissions. The only issue is CO2. But even there, where I live an EV like the Volt produces less than half the CO2 as a gas sipping Prius. We won’t even talk about a gas gulping Range Rover.
Jul 13th, 2011 (6:35 pm)#21
Do we know how many miles the existing vehicles do? If they were squad cars on Manhattan, maybe that’s all they do. It’s not that big of an island.
Jul 13th, 2011 (6:35 pm)And this pointless center you use weighs 1000 lbs? Sorry to bust your bubble, but the Volt does not have a black hole powered drivetrain. Yet… Maybe in the future Police Interceptor version?
+3
Jul 13th, 2011 (6:44 pm)#38
There are less expensive, more practical yet relatively clean options for my money as well, but I drive a Volt anyway. The revolution has to start somewhere. All Credit to Mayor Bloomberg and the good citizens of NYC for being brave “early adopters”.
“If not us, who, and if not now when?”
Jul 13th, 2011 (6:49 pm)I can guess that the NYPD impounded the Volt, took some “test rides” in it before returning it after the owner paid his fines, and documented the quality of the Volt as a police patrol unit, maybe even as a normal cruiser to replaced the huge Ford land yachts they had. Then word reach Mayor Bloomberg, and we read the results yesterday.
Nice story, huh?
Raymond
Jul 13th, 2011 (6:53 pm)Noel Park,
+1 and thank you for that nice comment about my fellow New Yorkers!
Raymond
Jul 13th, 2011 (6:54 pm)#53
Is there more legroom in the back of a Prius? Prius taxis are taking over in L.A. nowadays.
+1
Jul 13th, 2011 (6:59 pm)#59
Any time brother. +1 back at ya.
I have spent almost my entire life in SoCal. As you no doubt know, we are not raised to be great lovers of NYC, or anything else “right coast” come to that, LOL. Even so, every time I visit NYC I am forced to realize what a great city it actually is. When I walk those streets, I just can’t help feeling the energy.
Jul 13th, 2011 (7:14 pm)Dan Petit: endurance testing? Good question, I think if the EREV configuration was in avehicle more suited for Police/Fire needs; like space for secure storage of Police equipment and higher clearance and alittle more space from arrested citizens you might be able to justify the cost; if the TCO is acceptable IMO.
Don C: Backseat leg-room. Reasonable accommodation is appreciated by regular customers and total daily mileage and TCO would be a huge consideration when running a business for profit.
Noel Park: Daily mileage of NYC police, well, I just don’t think the Volt “model” is the best choice for any Police or Fire needs. For the size needed for those folks and their equipment, I think the cost of E-assist makes more sense.
I do like the Volt and what it stands for; but it is not the best choice for all purposes especially when using tax payer money IMHO.
Jul 13th, 2011 (7:47 pm)One more question..
If the voicemail of the parents of a very sick child was deleted, which it was, why would not such an evil group of people also not delete voicemmails of their competitors.
These things need to be examined regarding all huge corporations, because absolute power corrupts absolutely.
(Come on, Scotland Yard, do your jobs to keep your credibility.)
US agencies also need to get going on this, because if it is happening here, it is the mid sized and small companies that hire, not the huge corporations. If I had the resources, I could train at least three hundred very desperately needed good techs in six months, but America does not sufficiently respect anything but the mega corps. Big mistake ladies and gentlemen. VERY big mistake. It is not party controllable a situation. It is about wisely directing very modest funding with strict benchmarks of student achievement.
You want jobs?? They are already there. It is all about training, training, training, not anyone’s control of politics. People eagerly want to learn, but no one is getting it.
Jul 13th, 2011 (7:57 pm)Thanks for the edit help on this last post Jeff!
Jul 13th, 2011 (9:24 pm)Thanks nasaman!
Jul 14th, 2011 (12:15 am)This statement was posted in NYC using traffic enforcement Volts:Raymond I am glad that my home city are using them as police vehicles. Too bad that the comments on that post don’t realize the benefits that the NYPD are getting with their new Volts. As always, only police-haters and Volt-haters are positing negative comments.
Raymond, if you are refering to me; you are sadly misstaken and rude IMHO. Your comment is way out of line. I try to express myself with respect to others and don’t deserve your hateful statement. I enjoy different viewpoints and opinions and usually learn from them. If someone posts a “negative” statement about the Volt; it certainly does not mean that they hate the Police or the Volt. Shame on you.
Jul 14th, 2011 (12:56 am)Raymond, I tried to delete my post at #66 but the edit clock beat me by a few seconds apparently. I now realize that you were referring to posters on a totally different site, and not about me or other regulars on this site. Please accept my sincere apology. Blind Guy
Jul 14th, 2011 (3:58 am)I have yet to see my first Volt on the road. I’ve been looking forward to honking and waving when I see one. I hope it is not an NYPD Volt. Doubt I’ll do much honking or waving at a police officer if I’m driving.
I like the comment someone else made way above about how LEOs idle their cars a lot and the Volt will eliminate that type of pollution/waste. sounds great.
+1
Jul 14th, 2011 (8:14 am)There are many approaches to solving many problems. The perspective of the direction from which you wish to solve any given problem often requires an origination point that brings forward skeptics of all kinds. This is my writing style, because that is how you have to bring technicians forward from their years of frustration. This works very well, but it is not the communications approach for an audience, for example, of sales people, who must always be the conduit for the signature on the bottom line of the sales contract.
That is not my line of work. Nasaman would be great for that, but my writing style ought not be pegged to the vote count of nasaman if there is a formula that is not based on just enthusiasm for Volt only. Many people need additional substance in a “pro and con” sense.
Entirely different writing styles are required to continually advance Voltec. While of course positive statements garner positive votes, I am sure that there is valid appreciation for working to get unrealistic skepticism off line, which is what has been needed. From this perspective, it may seem to some that the vote count formula conveys a bit of insincerity and artificiality for sales enthusiasm only.
Jul 15th, 2011 (4:18 pm)Not to mention EVs can generate zero additional CO2 emissions by charging at night when the energy would have been wasted anyway. So many nay-sayers are complaining about EVs polluting the atmosphere almost as much as ICEs, well guess what, EVs are “already polluting” the atmosphere, even the inexistent ones! So EVs are effectively carbon-neutral in a sense, at least for the time being. And this is especially when electricity comes from coal, which is probably the most wasteful at night. So charging at night (which most will likely do) would likely not add a single CO2 molecule to the atmosphere beyond what’s already being added, and the capacity for charging at night is huge, it’ll probably take many millions of EVs charging at night before more fossil fuels would need to be burned.