We've been tell you about APD's E85/bio-diesel debacle for a few weeks now. APD decided to abandon the corn-fed fuel because it was wrecking engines and fuel pumps in their Ford Crown Victorias. While business was good down at the motor pool, it wasn't good for a city in a budget crisis. Not to mention the fact that using E85 exclusively voided the vehicles warranty.
Our Eyes tell us that E85 is on its way back. No... Nothing has changed - the fuel still wrecks fuel pumps and destroys engines. However, last week the Almighty Alcalde was besieged by greens. So, in a move reeking of political expedience and utterly devoid of common sense, Marty has reinstituted his E85 edict- with one difference.
Officers now get to put 30 gallons a month of good old unleaded - probably in an attempt to keep a whole bunch of fuel pumps out of the landfill. According to our Eyes the program will be "closely monitored."
None of this makes a whole lot of sense. The vehicles were not designed to use E85 exclusively. Adding 30 gallons of unleaded - about two days of fuel for an APD vehicle - won't have an appreciable impact when the manufacturer recommends running a full tank of gasoline every third tank. It also doesn't change the fact that they've already voided the warrantees of every vehicle purchased before January.
Apparently, it doesn't matter to the mayor or the environmentalists that he's trying to appease that the fuel destroys engines, voids warrantees and makes maintenance costs skyrocket as long as Big Corn gets to fuel the vehicles. Damn the fuel pumps! We're gonna be green despite the waste, despite budget crisis, and despite common sense. After all, it's not their money anyway.
15 comments:
Incidentally, they replaced a bunch of crown vics that get bad gas mileage with tahoes that get even worse mileage (on unleaded). So not only did we fail to improve the environmental situation, we made it worse.
Sort of like the global warming scare causeing people to buy "carbon offsets"-- it is a marketing scam.
Veryone needs to deal with reality. Marty has done more for the City then any Mayor. I dont even like him but what his administration has done is where I base my vote. Of course APD needs a new chief. The current one does not seem to be well liked at all. With him it comes down to crime, its worse then ever and suposedly the city has more officers. The police need to be the best paid and best trained to keep our city safe. Not the fire division or the garbage drivers or bus drivers. Get rid of the chief and keep the Mayor.
Cadigan, Omalley, and Romero. Your kidding right.
If Alan Weh hadn't destroyed the NM GOP, burning the village in order to save it, there might be a repub candidate out there to make the race.
Any decent repub ought to give Weh a good hard kick in the ass for what he's done as chairman. Good f---in riddance. Go join Dendahl in Colorado.
Since most Americans are finding ways to cut back, the police dept should try something new but old. Whats wrong with bringing back old fashion walking beats. I've seen a few cops that look that they could use some walking exercise. Besides, it would help with their public relations.
Albuquerque has become a POLICE STATE ... Think what you will ... pray that things will change back to what the founding fathers had in mind!
Yes and no to the above. I was at an intersection last night. Squad car to my right and one of those expensive Sgt. SUVs at the light heading in a different direction.
Car enters the intersection as the light turns red and speeds on through. It ran a red light.
Did either one of ABQ's finest do anything?
Not at all. Just sat there in their city vehicles and pretended it didn't happen.
THAT's why so many of us who aren't fans of the red light cameras are willing to accept the downside. Unlike APD at least they pose some sort of deterent.
Just for the record, all of those Tahoes are E85 also. In fact, they were the first E85 vehicles in the police fleet. I am here to tell you though, they are NOT doing much better than the Crown Vics. Plain and simple, E85 is not a good alternative fuel. We all might as well buy carbon off-sets. At least that scam doesn't break the cars.
For the previous poster about the red light, maybe the reason the police didn't pursue the red light scoff-law was because their fuel pumps had gone out and they were waiting for a tow truck. It happened recently here in our beloved APD that a violent offender could not be chased down because 3 fuel pumps went out on officers who were enroute the the call. I think other officers had to respond when all three of the others were broken down on the roadside. (TRUE STORY).
Or they had girlfriends or mistresses to catch up with.
Wait. You have to be an Area Commander or Deputy Chief to get those kind of "P"-privileges.
Maybe the officers watching the red light runner did have faulty vehicles.
For the reader that recommended 'good old fashioned walking beats': During the Clinton administration the Feds offered up millions of tax dollars to police departments around the country in an effort to get more cops on the streets. It's called Community Oriented Policing and it's a great idea. For it to be effective in Albuquerque, however, we would need to at least DOUBLE our manning levels. APD curently, even with our imaginary 1100 officers, is still forced to be RE-active rather than PRO-active. We are behind the 8 ball hour after hour, day after day. Recent news reports claimed that thanks to the 5-8s work schedules officers' response times are down to all time lows, which is true. What the report didn't mention is that, again thanks to the 5-8's, calls are holding longer than ever. Sure, once the calls are actually dispatched an officer arrives in record time - it's getting the calls to the officers in the first place that's suffering. But I digress. Walking beats simply are not a practical form of police work, especially with current understaffing.
If you are at the corner of Montano and Coors with a bad guy trying to run you over in the parking lot of the Walgreens, and your "walking beat" officer was starting at a full run from their post at Unser and Montano, would you be satisfied with that response time and once they got there, would they be able to footchase the car that was trying to run you over?
-Just food for thought-
The fuel pumps cant be the fault of the Mayor or any one else at APD. The city needs to stop buy American made vehicles. Buy a Toyota if you want fewer breakdowns. Let the big three go under before they take everyone else with them.
Do they have a cop on day shift that can do a full run from Unser to Coors? Maybe on swing shift!
THANK GOD THE DEALERSHIP IS FIXING OUR CARS UNDER WARRANTY. I HAD MY VIC AT 6TH STREET FOR A PM, SIX HOURS LATER I WAS TOLD BY THE FOREMAN HE FORGOT TOMAKE A WORK ORDER. THE CITY GARAGE SUCKS!
Funny, I have had nothing but excellent service from the guys at 6th street--thank you boys!
Post a Comment