Police Hybrid?
 

I was just thinking something. One of the few places that a hybrid truly is the best option overall.

Police work. Police have to idle the car at nearly all times, because they need to be able to punch the accelerator at a moment's notice and GO!

So, what if they made one of the full size sedan police cruisers with a mild form of hybrid?

You wouldn't need even a full hybrid drivetrain. Just essentially make the starter motor stronger, and capable of getting the car moving while starting the engine. That way, they could rest on the side of the road, with the engine off. They get a call to go, and they hit the accelerator. The "hybrid" starter motor has enough kick to get the car going for that second or two it takes to start the engine, and then the engine takes over.

There wouldn't even need to be a big battery pack, just a bigger battery than the one they have. Could still probably fit under the hood.

Wouldn't be too difficult to design into the new police cruisers, and it would save on the massive amount of fuel wasted by police idling.

Actually, a system with more batteries would be good for all their electric usage, and the zero-rpm torque of a decent sized electric motor would really give them a kick they'd like.

Altogether a great idea.

I think lots of precincts are feeling the pinch and are requiring officers to double up in cars and are being told to turn off the engines when they park or sit someplace. They are being required to get out and walk their beats more, like the old days. There is an article on cleanmpg.com about this.

Although it's potentially a problem that they need to have a lot of electrical equipment running at all times rather than the motor per-se. I'd imagine they'd really like the stealth mode creep capability though.

this has been a real sore spot for me. imagine the waist of every law enforcement vehicle nation wide. US tax dollars are being burning up at an astronomical rate. great idea!

while we're on the subject, let's hypermile ALL gov't buldings...

turn off a/c and lights overnight/weekends. how about motion lights if vandalism is a concern. doubtful taxes would be reduced, but perhaps national and local budgets would be improved. just a wild guess, but i bet the savings would be in the millions per year and billions over several years(or @ least a decade).