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Wichita, Kansas Unveils Hybrid Vehicle Fleet
30 August 2008
City of Wichita (Kansas) officials unveiled a fleet of 12 Honda Civic hybrid vehicles, saying the 2008 model vehicles will be placed in service in September.
Eight of the hybrid vehicles will be part of the 10 vehicles used by City employees for travel to meetings, training, presentations and events. The other four hybrid vehicles will be placed into service in several City departments. They will help City departments evaluate hybrids in different work environments and under unique operating conditions. Employee feedback, along with other variables, will help provide information regarding additional hybrid vehicle purchases.
The hybrids cost $22,782 each—about $7,000 more than the sedans the City has been purchasing. With the fuel savings, if the price per gallon of gas is $3.50, the cost difference is expected to be paid back in a little more than 5 years.
August 30, 2008 in Brief | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
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Comments
Fine, buy foreign cars with public funds.
Is the short payback partially due to buydown using funds that are earmarked for "promoting energy alternatives"?
What's to evaluate?
What "unique operating conditions."?
What "other variables "?
Gee, do hybrids use less gas, even when driven by city employees?
How about when operated during the middle of the day? Are savings also possible if the employees take them home at nights and weekends? Such invaluable data. BS.
What sort of "information regarding additional hybrid vehicle purchases" do they envision?
Do they have any idea?
I am sure Barak would embrace this.
Hurry up Sarah, we need you to show us how to stop all this before all our money is gone and we're left with nothing but change.
Posted by: ToppaTom | Aug 30, 2008 9:35:56 AM
All hybrids bought by governments should be both Plug-In-Hybrids and equipped to run on both gasoline and compressed natural gas.
Or it might be cheaper to equip reliable efficient used cars to run on CNG. ..HG..
Posted by: Henry Gibson | Aug 30, 2008 12:26:45 PM
Fine, buy foreign cars with public funds.Are you saying that the taxpayer should buy a "domestic" [1] vehicle, even if
- It costs the taxpayer more overall, and
- It leaves the taxpayers and the nation more at risk from oil shortages and price increases?
[1] There's a lot of imported content in "domestic" brands, and many "imports" are assembled in the USA.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | Aug 30, 2008 7:54:07 PM
Fine. Buy the hybrids if it makes sense.
But spare us the blarney about evaluation "in different work environments and under unique operating conditions."
That information is available. When decoded the evaluation nonsense means they intend to have a couple of unneeded clerks make a graph or two per month. Cost roughly $150K per year with benefits. Job welfare for city employees.
And in a year or so they will pay a favored consultant $50K+ to write a format report from the clerks data. That will take perhaps 20 hours. Good work if you can get it.
The Civic Hybrids have been on the market for five years or more. So has the Prius. They haven't changed a lot. Companies and government agencies at every level engaged in almost every task have evaluated how hybrids perform and the costs. So it is sheer bureaucratic BeeS for another city to pretend another costly evaluation is needed.
Posted by: K | Aug 31, 2008 12:00:27 AM
Just for a data point, the Ford Escape hybrid in 2008 lists for a starting price of $26,500, but you can not find one on a lot right now in Riverside County California for under $33,500 and many are over $35,000.
If Honda comes out with their lower cost hybrids next year, Ford better get with the program or they will lose market share before they ever gain it. The auto makers are talking about government loans. I would make them no loans until they outline a plan to produce the right cars at the right prices.
Posted by: sjc | Aug 31, 2008 12:58:30 PM
Yes the people who spend the American taxpayer's dollars should buy a "domestic" [1] vehicle, particularly if
1. It costs the taxpayer less overall, (as virtually ALL payback studies show) and
2. It has no measurable effect on the taxpayers'/nation's risk of more oil shortages and price increases.
[1] The fact that there is some imported content in "domestic" brands, and many "imports" are assembled in the USA makes no more sense than to say the Civic hybrid uses gas just like a Tahoe and some SUVs use less gas than before, just like a hybrid.
If the Honda dealers are having trouble moving the hybrids too bad.
If they are selling like hot cakes let the people buy them without driving prices up. But no more "study" BS at the taxpayers expense. Write the KC newspapers.
Posted by: ToppaTom | Aug 31, 2008 3:03:51 PM
