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~; <br />^"'~ AlW7 <br />i ~~~~.~~ ~r~~~ ~, <br />Cool CITIES ~ <br />!0 <br /> <br />In April ?OGS, bill Whit., the mayor of the nation's nth largest city, <br />announced plans to convert a substantial portion of the city of <br />Houston s fleet of cars, pickup trucks, and sport utility,vehicles to <br />hybrids !~y the year 2010. Thecity estimate; that 80 percent of all'. <br />n~~~~r ~!ehicle pur h Ises and over 5ij percent of the city's fiPPt cniild <br />be f-~ybrid vE~hicl~-~s by the year 2010. <br />Considering th"iz~,cf,thu city;s 1ig11tduty fl~~t (rncre *11an ~,~OL~), <br />Houston's investmentin hybrids will pay big dividends down he <br />road. O~n~r its prc,jected fi~ _~-year life- cy~ le, theToyotaPrius hybrid <br />should provide net savincis of almost$1 9(~Q,in Comparison to a <br />cr~m~ention~l gasoline-only full ~ F~rl `s~d,,n, accardfng to a city of <br />} I; ~u ;ton study. <br />~ 1 <br />., 7 -~. ~ ,. r , -~~ - .-. <br />6c cause hybrids are so fuel efficient,they release a fraction ofthe'global warming'poliutroh <br />emitted by conventional vehicles. Over the lifetime of the vehicle, a hybridToyota'Pritls~~di11` <br />r~ I~•ase ~~~ fcwei tc)ns of alobal'warming pollution compared #o an average sedan. <br />" this makes eccnr ror nic ser roc, ii makes envirwnner rtalseme and it i7 yoir7y tuset err example; <br />said Mayor White We're going to save nn fr rel co~t~ and wP`rP r?oin~J to help save nor air quality:`.'. <br />LEARN MORE <br />(details on the city of Houston`s yreenflrr~ts i,rogram arc wailablc at: <br />houstont;<.go~~mayor;'pressl20a50408.htrnl <br />When ^rrrlotte's fleet rn~nagers found that}lyhrici aas ~Ir~ctri~ '~~ehiclr~~, arc Ie ~ exp~;nsi~~re <br />to operate tf-~an conventional c~lr,, fviayor Pat McCroryand Council members'Susan Burgess <br />and John Tabor- took action. INorkirg vJith city taff and withthe cooperatioh'of Mecklen- <br />burg County, the City Coundlsupported a plan to bring the total number of'hybrids in the <br />flr~et t0 Ovr'r tW0 dC7~en hy' thr~ ~`'rld of ~i1('F more illan `riplinci till CItV~COilni'y'; Crlrrini <br />nun~lber of hybrids. <br />e 111tiwuyh they tyNicarly cusi )Jluie iniiially than ~tan~iard <br />~ ~ a „,, _ gasoline fueled cars, gas-sipping hybrids save on gasolir,c, <br />.,~_:~ ~~ ` ~~'"`~ h~:ve Jower maintenance costs, and retain a higher resale <br />-' ~- ~~ value at the end ~f their useful life, a~curding to Charlotte's <br />'r - F!net En~, ironrnental Analyst David Friday. <br />Ater. Frldav cstirn~;tes tlnt s~a~itchinq from a gas.-onlyFord Taurus to a hybrid Toyota Prius or <br />f iouda Civic would save city taxpayers approx~imately$800-$1200annually per vc~hiclc, <br />including over S4D0 in annual fuel costs. <br />''Tfus results in a payback of the extra purchase cost ~.vithin 2.5 to 5.5ye~rs dcpending,on <br />th~~ model chos=n and miles driven,"said Friday. LSource:"FordTaurus to Honda Civic Hybrid <br />and TO'•,~Gta ~~rIUS ~Dmparaii:rL ;"1-131ysis;'Da~'Id Fridu'~J, Eharlott~ Flc^t ~nVirOflm~nial "n ,1'+'st; <br />~Jiay 2005] <br />LEARN MORE <br />Charlottr~'s FIeE~t Environmental l~nalyst David Frir-lay can be re rched at <br />dfriday_2~ci.charlottencus. <br />Gentlemen, Start Your <br />Hybrid Engines-Houston <br />Mayor Bill White announces <br />the greening of his city's fleet. <br />