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Politics : Rat's Nest - Chronicles of Collapse -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (4751)	9/18/2006 2:03:57 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24206

Hybrids join city's fleet By Zack Sampsel The Daily Journal Following more than two years of success with Nissan and its electric-hypertest-mini program, Ukiah's public-service vehicles have changed. Instead of the surprisingly small electric cars commonly seen around town, residents will now see white Toyota Prius cars being used by the city. Ukiah utilized the electric cars for many of its general purpose uses, including electric and water meter reading and sewer checks. In May, Nissan recalled the electric cars from Ukiah and some of the other cities involved with the program. Ukiah fought to keep the successful electric cars and even released Nissan of all service responsibilities, but Nissan didn't agree, and Ukiah's Electrical Distribution Engineer Liz Kirkley was forced to find a replacement. Kirkley, who also leads Ukiah's Solar Rebate Program, immediately began researching comparable vehicles in terms of size, gas efficiency, safety and cost. Her research led her to Toyota, which offered more hybrid models than other manufacturers. Beyond Toyota's expanded selection, Kirkley found that the Toyota Prius featured a long-lasting warranty and excellent safety features, like driver-side, passenger and side-curtain airbags as well as competitive pricing. Following her research, Kirkley and the City Council agreed on the purchase of four hybrid cars: three Toyota Prius models and one Toyota Camry. "This is the first of many hybrids we're going to purchase," said Sage Sangiacomo, Community Service director. "We will continue to see if we can do all of the city's work with a more fuel efficient vehicle." While many consumers wait sometimes more than six months for the hot-selling Prius, Toyota provided Ukiah its first hybrid -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Advertisement ...Ukiah spelled backwards is Haiku. It is our county seat. The Doobie Brothers have a song called Ukiah. These cars probably came from Thurston Chevrolet/Toyota thurstonautoplaza.com Nobody paid for this ad. They won't even give me a discount. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- car within a few short weeks. Nearly two months since receiving the car, Kirkley said it had been used for visits to Ukiah's hydro facility, out-of-town conferences and city meetings successfully. "They're much quieter and nicer than our older city cars," Kirkley said. "I really like it being so small. It's easy to park in tighter spots." Inside the Prius, there is room to comfortably seat four passengers, which helps when city workers or officials are driving together to meetings. Beyond excellent leg room and a beautiful interior, the Prius has a large rear storage area, which Kirkley said the city had found to be useful. But Kirkley and Sangiacomo have goals for the Prius beyond helping with city work. "We are hoping to be setting an example for the general public," Sangiacomo said. "We consider it somewhat of a demonstration vehicle, and we want it to lead by example." Once the other three hybrid cars are available, their effects will be immediately felt. Sangiacomo said the Camry and one of the Priuses will replace three of the outdated general-use vehicles. He said the process of replacing some of the older and less gas-efficient vehicles won't be limited to just general-use vehicles. "The availability of larger hybrid vehicles is limited," Sangiacomo said. "But we are going to continue looking at other energy ideas, as well." ukiahdailyjournal.com