16 minute read
INDUSTRY NEWS
Biden Tours GM Plant in Detroit
Fresh from signing a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that provides substantial funds for a nationwide electric vehicle charging network, President Joe Biden was in Detroit recently to visit Factory Zero, the centerpiece of General Motors’ shift to all-electric vehicles. e assembly plant, which underwent a $2 billion conversion, will produce a variety of battery-electric vehicles, starting with the 2022 GMC Hummer EV. All told, GM plans to roll out at least 30 battery-electric vehicles by mid-decade and has laid out a plan in which it would shift entirely to battery power for its retail product line by 2035. But it is by no means alone. A newly released study forecasts that the global auto industry will invest at least $500 billion in its push to electrify by the end of the decade. e transition is accelerating rapidly. Whereas the 2021 model year ended with just over a dozen long-range battery-electric vehicles available for U.S. motorists, industry analysts expect that to grow to more than 50 by the end of next year. e rollout of new products is critical, industry observers say. While early battery-electric vehicles were largely concentrated in the small sedan and hatchback segment, new offerings are falling more in line with trends in the broader industry, with products like the Ford Mustang Mach-E and GM’s new Hummer. In addition, several vehicles—including the Tesla Model S and the new Lucid Air—can get 400 to 520 miles per charge, according to estimates from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Finally Some Relief…Natural Gas and Gasoline Prices Are Going Down
Americans grappling with historic levels of in ation are nally getting some relief where they need it most…previously booming energy prices. After a relentless rise, prices at the pump are heading south. e national average price for a gallon of regular gas fell to a seven-week low of $3.35 a gallon this week, according to AAA. e outlook for home heating costs this winter is also improving signi cantly. Natural gas futures have been nearly cut in half over the past two months. Natural gas plunged by more than 11 percent on Monday, its worst day in nearly three years. Energy sticker shock has been one of the biggest drivers behind the 31-year high in in ation. Cooling energy prices, if they last, could take signi cant in ationary pressure o the U.S. economy and inspire con dence among bummed-out consumers.
City Council Approves Purchase of 20 New Patrol Cars for Greensboro, NC Police
In November, the Greensboro, NC City Council approved the purchase of 20 new police cars as a part of the department’s e ort to recruit and retain o cers. e 20 new patrol cars will take anywhere from six to seven months to come in with an initial purchase price of $1,160,300 for the vehicles and up ts (light bars and other electronics and cameras). e goal is to have enough vehicles in the eet that of cers can take them home. Chief Brian James said the department is losing o cers to other departments that already o er this option. e money is coming from the city’s budget and it is part of a ve-phase plan to add 100 new cars to the eet. “ is is just a piece of the puzzle, the position I’m in as chief is there are all these agencies around me that have something we don’t have,” Chief Brian James said. James is trying to increase the eet of patrol cars…so every patrol o cer can take a vehicle home. He says his department is losing o cers to other neighboring departments that already o er that perk. A take-home vehicle also reduces call response time and helps o cers get more police work done. Right now, an o cer comes to the station, searches for a car, then loads all their equipment and gear from their personal vehicle to the patrol car, which can take 45 minutes to an hour. e Greensboro Police Department is currently trying to ll 90 positions. “If an o cer leaves today, it will take me a minimum of a year to replace that o cer,” James said.
California Municipality to Purchase Three Teslas for Police Department
e City of Menlo Park, CA Council has agreed to purchase three Tesla Model Ys for police use. e vehicles will be part of a police patrol decarbonization pilot program, in which the city plans to transition to an all-electric patrol eet by 2023. Each Model Y is expected to cost the city approximately $115,000, including police modi cations. According to a sta report regarding the purchase, the city could expect delays for vehicle deliveries, with timelines close to August 2022. As a result, this may impact “the feasibility of collecting evidence necessary to inform the conversion of patrol vehicles to all electric, or result in project cost overruns,” the report stated.
Petersburg Becomes First Virginia City to Run Entire Police Vehicle Fleet on Renewable Propane
Petersburg, VA recently unveiled its eet of no-gasoline government vehicles and in doing so became the rst city in Virginia to run its municipal cars on a form of propane. Forty-nine Petersburg Police vehicles have been converted from gas to renewable propane autogas, which o cials say burns cleaner and has far fewer emissions than traditional petrol. Representatives of Virginia Clean Cities, Alliance AutoGas, Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) joined city leaders in unveiling the updated eet. e cost of converting the cars to renewable propane is around $6,000 per vehicle, or $294,000 for
the entire eet. e city can apply for a grant through the state’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program that will match a portion of the cost to change the cars. Vehicle eets around the nation have been signi cantly lowering their emissions by running on conventional propane autogas for decades. Now, renewable propane is growing in popularity as an even more sustainable and carbon-neutral energy source. Propane autogas vehicles operating with renewable propane have a lower lifetime carbon footprint than electric vehicles charged using the electric grid in Virginia. Plus, they are able to provide these low-emissions bene ts at a fraction of the cost of electric vehicles.
COVID-19 Leading Cause of Job-Related Deaths Among U.S. Police Professionals… Unions Challenging Requirements
e Coronavirus killed more police o cers, nationwide, last year than all other causes combined, according to data from the National Law Enforcement O cers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF). Coronavirus also was the most common cause of duty-related deaths in 2020 and 2021, according to the O cer Down Memorial Page (ODMP is a non-pro t dedicated to honoring the nation’s fallen law enforcement o cers). Despite those statistics, unions from California to New York (representing law enforcement) are ghting requirements that members get immunized against the virus, which has killed more than 500 o cers since the pandemic began. Unions and others speaking for police o cers are taking umbrage as some U.S. cities and counties enact vaccine mandates for government employees. e ongoing battles are playing out as the death toll from COVID-19 continues to rise on a nearly daily basis. At least 21 o cers died in the month of October after contracting the virus on the job (according to ODMP).
In Chicago, the police union scored a victory in its ght against a policy requiring its o cers to be vaccinated by the end of the year, with a Cook County judge suspending the city’s mandate on November 1. Chicago o cers, however, are still required to report their vaccination status and get tested twice a week if unvaccinated. Los Angeles County Sheri Alex Villanueva blasted a vaccine mandate as a public safety threat, saying it would spur an exodus of deputies from his department. While acknowledging that 15 members of his own department have died of COVID-19, Villanueva said he would not force his deputies to get inoculated, saying the decision should be left to individuals. Michel Moore, Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is taking a decidedly di erent approach to the mandate and has agreed to enforce the rules. e di ering stances of the two are re ected in the vaccination gures from their respective departments: 53 percent of Los Angeles County Sheri ’s Department (LASD) workers have had at least one vaccination shot, versus 74 percent of employees at the LAPD.
TE Connectivity (TE), a world leader in connectivity and sensors, recently announced a de nitive agreement to acquire the antennas business from Laird Connectivity. e acquisition of the Laird antennas business complements TE’s broad connectivity product portfolio, particularly in antenna and wireless solutions for Internet of ings (IoT) devices and Edge Access. e acquisition also expands TE’s engineering and manufacturing footprint and strengthens TE’s presence in several attractive market segments. “I am excited to welcome the Laird antennas team to TE,” said Sudhakar Sabada, senior vice president and general manager of TE’s Data and Devices business. “Combining TE’s high-speed data and wireless connectivity portfolio breadth, manufacturing scale, and distribution with precision-engineered and market-leading antenna solutions, we can signi cantly enhance the value we bring to our customers. is acquisition, with the resulting expansion of our antenna product family and advanced engineering capabilities, is a critical milestone in our strategic vision to expand in the high-growth Edge Access and IoT markets.”
Jay Leno Honors 40th Anniversary of California Highway Patrol Vehicles
Comedian and talk show host Jay Leno recently unveiled a pair of Ford Special Service Package (SSP) Mustangs, also known as Project 11-99, in honor of the 40th anniversary of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) vehicle program. e pair of vehicles, a matching 1982 and a currentgeneration Ford SSP Mustang, were showcased during the 2021 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas on November 2. Leno said the Project 11-99 vehicles “honor the hard-working men and women of the California Highway Patrol, along with all law enforcement professionals across the country, who protect and serve.” He also said the pair of matching vehicles showcases “the incredible advancements in law enforcement vehicles over the past 40 years.”
In the early 1980s, the CHP partnered with Ford Motor Company to develop the Mustang SSP because patrol vehicles of that era could not keep up with modern high-performance sports cars. e two parties worked together to develop and test a car that could be purchased by the CHP. e result was a package based on a GL model Ford Mustang, costing $6,868 each. One of the 406 ordered by the CHP for the 1982 model year, the Project 11-99 car on display was assigned to the Hanford CHP o ce and retired from service in 1985. Vehicle specialist Eric Gaona fully restored the 1982 Ford Mustang using all original CHP equipment to return the car to as-delivered condition, equipped with period-correct headlight ashers, lighting, and Motorola radio equipment. e second vehicle on display is a one-o 40th anniversary SSP Mustang based on the current Ford Mustang GT. e vehicle’s paint scheme was penned by the Ford Design to celebrate the rst series of CHP Mustangs. e car also features a 5L Coyote V-8 mated to a six-speed manual transmission, a reworked interior with base seats and trim, and a certi ed
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police speedometer. is build was done by Galpin Auto Sports, with assistance from Gaona. e license plate on the vehicle carries the number 11-99 as a nod to the CHP 11-99 Foundation, which serves the o cers and supports the CHP community. 11-99 is the radio code for “o cer needs assistance.”
Municipalities Approve Plans to Lease Patrol Vehicles from Enterprise Fleet Management
Two municipalities in New York and Washington state recently entered into police vehicle leasing agreements with Enterprise Fleet Management. e Elmira, NY, City Council unanimously approved the lease of ve new patrol cars for the Elmira Police Department. e lease agreement includes two 2021 Ford Escape vehicles and three 2022 Ford Police Interceptor Utility vehicles. e vehicles will reportedly cost the city approximately $68,000 from April through December 2022. Meanwhile, in Washington state, Marysville City Council approved the lease of three police vehicles from Enterprise. e vehicles for the Marysville Police Department include a Chevrolet Tahoe Police Pursuit vehicle and one administrative vehicle, likely a four-by-four crew cab pickup. e lease deal could reportedly save Marysville PD up to $15,000 annually. e cost of leasing a 2021 pursuit-grade Tahoe, which has a purchase price of around $38,000, is $705 per month. Marysville PD currently keeps its patrol cars for four years. Due to supply chain issues, it could take up to a year for the department to receive its new lease vehicles.
Local Police Employment Remained Steady During Pandemic According to Bureau of Labor Statistics
From 2019 to 2020, the number of people working at local police departments and sheri ’s o ces decreased by less than 1 percent, according to monthly data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. e overall U.S. economy shed 6 percent of workers, while local police departments lost just under 1 percent of employees after a decade of steady expansion. at’s about 4,000 people out of nearly half a million employees in municipal police departments and sheri ’s o ces nationwide. State and federal law enforcement departments actually saw a slight increase in the number of employees. e decrease was much slower than the overall employment, or industries such as restaurants, education, and healthcare. Even as many industries started to bounce back, local police hiring hasn’t picked up because it takes months, or even years, to train to become a police of cer. Over the past several months, however, there are numerous reports that law enforcement agencies across the country are having a hard time recruiting new o cers and they are seeing a larger-than-expected increase in retirements.
Madison, WI Unveils State-of-the-Art Fleet Facility
City o cials in Madison, WI recently applauded sta at a new eet facility grand opening after completing construction on a high-tech, hybrid, and electric-friendly maintenance garage. e event was attended by Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, several alders, architect James Whitney, representatives from the Madison Fire Department and Police Department, City Engineering sta , and Metro Transit. “A lot has happened since we broke ground on this giant vacant lot with shovels and hardhats back in 2019,” Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said. “We’ve been through a global pandemic, and despite that, this incredibly impressive building has risen on schedule.” e new Nakoosa Trail facility, which will now serve as headquarters for the city’s Fleet Services division, was a $33 million dollar construction project completed with the work of over 1,000 people, in the span of nine years. Mahanth Joishy, the Fleet Superintendent, took the opportunity to highlight the project’s community and government partners. “Now it’s time not only for a ribbon-cutting for this division, but a big celebration of all Madison city government to coincide with the pandemic retreating from Dane County,” he stated. e new location will maintain about 1,400 municipal vehicles. is includes the 63 electric vehicles, 102 gas-electric hybrid vehicles, six antiidling ambulances, and an electric re truck the city has added to its eet since 2018. Many services will be centralized from the city’s three outdated sites. e building is the rst eet facility the city has built since 1954, and it’s expected to be operational until 2095. e ribbon-cutting ceremony was followed by live music, local food trucks, and the opportunity for attendees to test drive a Tesla or Ford Mustang Mach-E. Tours of the facility were also given, where guides showed o the building’s many functions. e facility houses a parts department, where tires and parts for all of the city’s vehicles can be accessed with electric forklifts, heavyduty and light-duty repair areas, wash bay, body shop, and welding bay.
Speakers and sta noted that the facility is also the most sustainable eet facility Madison has ever had. e facility boasts ve di erent types of solar energy: rooftop solar, hot-water solar, an entire solar wall for building heat, and solar electric vehicle charging stations. e upgrades don’t stop there. e eet facility has high-e ciency, LED lighting systems throughout. “Kaleidoscopic sun-catchers” were installed in the interior of the building to amplify natural sunlight, therefore reducing the need for electric lights during the day. Hot water pipes were placed under the concrete oors to radiate heat, and high-e ciency insulation in the outer walls will reduce both heating and air-conditioning costs. All of these features contribute to the eet facility attaining Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold certi cation. Looking to the future, the city’s goal is to run 100 percent of its eet on electric vehicles or 100 percent biodiesel by 2030. e new eet facility is the next step in Madison’s plan to meet all municipal operations electricity needs with renewable energy.
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