AltCar Expo Rolls Into Santa Monica With Natural Gas Police Pursuit Vehicle
SANTA MONICA (CBSLA.com) — The South Coast Air Quality Management District is promoting the latest approved police pursuit vehicle - a Ford Crown Victoria running exclusively on natural gas.
The Ford model is on display at the AltCar Expo in Santa Monica, along with hydrogen fuel cell and electric cars.
The AQMD's Sam Atwood says the vehicle can help to reduce costs to the city while protecting the environment and maintaining performance.
"It goes really fast, over 100 mph. It runs on clean-burning natural gas. That means the pollutants are greatly reduced," he told KNX1070's Megan Goldsby.
AltCar Expo Rolls Into Santa Monica
Will Guhtilla, with A1-Alternative Fuel Systems, says similar cars are already being used in some areas like Monterey Park.
"I spoke to one of the officers here who has one of the CNG [compressed natural gas] police cars and he hasn't seen a downgrade in performance," Guhtilla said.
The AQMD approved a demonstration of the model in May of last year, making it the first in a program to introduce new natural gas police pursuit vehicles to fleets across Southland cities.
Police pursuit vehicles can accrue 50,000 to 60,000 miles per year, according to the air pollution control agency.
With hundreds of police pursuit vehicles operating in the four-county area, converting high-mileage police vehicles to natural gas could represent significant emission reductions for the Southland, a spokesperson said at the time.
The eighth annual AltCar Fleet Conference and Expo, open to the public Friday and Saturday, is recognized as the leading forum for presentations and demonstrations of the latest advancements in alternative technology vehicles and transportation, urban planning, energy efficiency and carbon footprint reduction education in the country.
Attendees can see and drive the largest collection of electric, hydrogen, propane, natural gas, bio-diesel and hybrid vehicles on the West Coast.
For more information about the AltCar Expo, along with a complete list of speakers and vehicles, visit the AltCar Expo website.
