To SUV or Not To SUV

The local ABC affiliate station in Chicago is reporting that starting this fall, the Chicago Police Department will replace 150 to 160 of their existing Ford Crown Victoria police cruisers with new Chevrolet Tahoe SUVs. The Department cites such advantages as the SUVs handle better in bad weather and allow the officers to sit 13 inches higher, presumably to see over the rest of traffic better. On the one hand, speaking as someone who lives in the community where Chevy Tahoe units are built, this sounds like a good thing for Michigan. The problem is, when you consider issues like fuel and repair costs, I’m not so sure it’s a good thing for Chicago…

A quick check of the relative stats on “Fuel Economy.gov” shows that a Crown Victoria averages 18 miles per gallon (mpg), while a Tahoe manages just 16 mpg. It’s a difference of about 70 cents for each 25 miles driven, or about $410 per year at 15,000, although one suspects that police cars are driven harder than that. Still, that’s a difference of at least $60,000 per year extra to fuel the SUVs, which isn’t that bad, but those projections assume that gasoline stays under $4 a gallon, that the SUVs are kept in optimal driving condition, that they aren’t left idling, and so on. In theory, the differential could go much higher, and that doesn’t include the fact that SUV tires and parts are more expensive, or that the maintenance takes much longer…

Now, I’m sure you’re wondering what difference a small change like this is going to make on the budget of an agency the size of the Chicago Police Department, or on a city the size of Chicago, for that matter. Even allowing for the increase in carbon footprint or how much more room an SUV take up in traffic, why should anyone care if the city is buying new gas hogs? Well, I don’t suppose 150 SUVs are going to make much difference, but consider if the CPD were to purchase the Chevy Equinox instead. It’s a crossover, not a true SUV, but the police are not likely to use their SUVs for towing or construction duties, so that shouldn’t matter. More to the point, the Equinox has an average mpg of 21, 31% better than the Tahoe and almost 20% higher than the Crown Victoria…

Now the City of Chicago is saving $600 per vehicle per year over the Crown Victoria, and $1,000 per vehicle per year over the Tahoe, just in fuel costs. It’s a much more attractive idea, and one that won’t get you second-guessed on the evening news, mocked on the Internet or flamed on Fark.com. It also lowers the city’s carbon footprint and dependence on oil, which could only help. And the Equinox is also made in the Lansing area, so I’m still in favor of it from an economic standpoint. But what if the Chicago PD went with Ford Escape units instead? The Escape has an average mpg of 26, and the hybrid version manages 32, twice as high as the Tahoe and nearly twice as high as the Crown Victoria. That gives us a savings of nearly $3,000 per unit per year, $450,000 total, and a really great press release…

Why does he tell us this? I hear some of you asking. Unless you actually work for General Motors in the Lansing area, these choices are unlikely to have much effect on your life, and unless you spend a lot of time in Chicago it’s unlikely you’ll ever notice the difference. I call this to your attention because while the City of Chicago can afford to blow off a $450,000 per year savings if they really want to, your business probably can’t. A Chevy Tahoe is an extremely capable vehicle, and if you actually need any of the SUV’s functionality during the course of your business then by all means go and get one. Heck, get 160 of them if you like. But if not, you might consider something more efficient – or at least cheaper to operate…