The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office converted 10 Ford Crown Victorias to run on autogas with funding through the Southeast Propane Autogas Development Program, which administered by Virginia Clean Cities. The new clean vehicles will not only displace 20 tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year, they will also save the county more than $13,000 annually on fuel costs. Each year, the sheriff’s cruisers travel an average of almost 25,000 miles and will use around 17,000 gallons of propane autogas.

From the article:

“We were looking at two main things when it came to switching to alternative fuel vehicles,” said Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan. “We wanted to boost our bottom line in terms of fuel cost savings and also have cleaner-burning cars on the road.”

Propane autogas was the practical fuel choice, he added, because it supports these goals and utilizes an American-made fuel. Plus, there isn’t a noticeable difference in vehicle performance other than the “motor runs a little quieter” on autogas.

Alliance AutoGas provides vehicle conversions and fueling for fleets in the Southeast Propane Autogas Development Program. Sheriff Duncan is particularly pleased with the bi-fuel Prins VSI (Vapor Sequential Injection) autogas conversion systems, distributed by Alliance in the U.S.

“The ability to switch back to gasoline is a tremendous option for law enforcement fleets,” said Sheriff Duncan. “It’s just one button on the center of the dash and you’re back to running on gasoline.”

The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office will be recognized with a Clean Air Excellence Award from the Western North Carolina Regional Air Quality Agency May 14 in Asheville, N.C.

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Below are links to articles about some of the most recent projects going on across the U.S.

• In Georgia, Muscogee County Sheriff John Darr (it’s German in case you were wondering) is converting 20 of his cruisers to run on autogas. Read more.
• Buncombe County, NC’s public transportation system, Mountain Mobility (…because who wants to walk up a mountain), has converted a quarter of its vehicles to run on autogas.  Read more.
• Thyssenkrupp Elevator -the leader in elevated travel- has begun its own autogas program, unveiling one of their vehicles at the 2010 Green Fleet Conference. With autogas, the sky’s the limit (or at least the top floor). Read more.
• In Frederick County, VA more police vehicles are being converted. The article states that the department will be getting friendlier to the environment- not criminals- by using AutoGas (total ripoff). But how else could they be friendlier, I wonder? Tasers charged by renewable sources. Non-Toxic mace. Biodegradable bullet casings. Make it happen! Read more.
• Recently, a father-daughter team completed a cross-country road trip powered solely by AutoGas, proving that AutoGas can provide an ill-advised, close quarters trip that starts of well and ends with regretful remarks about one another and a trash filled car just like gasoline or diesel. Read more.
• Greenville County, SC is converting 100 of its vehicles to run on autogas. The company converting the vehicles is called Light ‘N’ Up, which is coincidentally the feeling you get when you use autogas. Read more.
• Appropriately named Peninsula Propane of Florida along with Cobb (Salad) and (Lewis) Carroll counties of Georgia  are converting their vehicles to autogas. Read more.
• Portland, Ore. schools are converting their buses to propane because….think of the children! Read more.