Will the City of Harrisburg go green with vehicle purchases?

Mayor Reed has said that the city will go ahead with $8 million in vehicle and equipment purchases with almost all city departments getting a new vehicle. I want to know if the city will purchase fuel efficient vehicles, including hybrid models.

We'll all seen what gas hogs the current city fleet is. They look like they're all V-8's. Purchasing green, hybrid, fuel efficient vehicles could save the city tens of thousands of dollars annually.

The Chevy Aveo would be great for a lot of city officials to drive around in. It gets 22 city/33 highway.

The parking cops could drive around in the new Smart Fortwo, a small car from Mercedes, and very economical in purchase price and fuel usage. This little car gets 36 city/45 highway and is perfectly suited for driving around the city giving parking tickets to illegally parked vehicles. It would sure beat the huge V-8 Chevy boats that they currently drive around in.

The Honda Fit is another excellent vehicle for city officials. 26 city/34 highway. Toyota's Yaris is a zippy little car that gets 28 city/35 highway.

What about the city police? They need something with a lot of horse-power for chases and emergency responses and such. I've seen some of the local township police forces with the Dodge Charger. The Charger can do 0 - 60 mph in 5.0 - 7.6 seconds. Fuel economy is 12-18 city/18-25 highway. Not too bad, although I'm sure that is better gas mileage than they are getting now. Chevrolet has a nice Impala that does 0-60 in 5.7 - 7.5 seconds. Gas mileage is slightly better, but not by much.

Let's talk to the Mayor and ask him to seriously consider more fuel efficient vehicles for the city. You can email him at: mayor@cityofhbg.com.