The Carmel-by-the-Sea City Council is interested in replacing old police cars with hybrids, but city cops prefer to stick with the tried-and-true.

The advantages of hybrid police cars are obvious, Sgt. Paul Tomasi told the City Council on Nov. 4. They emit fewer greenhouse gases, save up to $800 per year on fuel, are quieter and earn bonus points with the public.

But the drawbacks, he said, are prohibitive. Hybrids are lighter and more likely to tip over. They’re expensive to buy and equip. The California Highway Patrol doesn’t think the tech is up to patrol standards yet, and even the agencies that have hybrids won’t use them for emergency purposes.

“Even though we’re only 1 square mile, and on our streets you don’t really get up to excessive speed, we also can assist other agencies, and we do go on the highway,” explains Sgt. Mike Calhoun.

For now, the department wants to keep buying Ford Crown Victorias. The cars are E85 “flex fuel” vehicles, meaning they can run on an alcohol fuel mix of up to 85 percent ethanol – or standard gasoline. But until there are ethanol fueling stations in Monterey County, the Carmel cops will continue powering their cars the old-fashioned way.

The council only sort of bought it.

“Officer Tomasi’s convinced me that we need to keep the Crown [Victorias] even if they’re a pain, just for safety reasons and for maneuvering purposes,” Councilman Gerard Rose said. “But I’d say any vehicle that’s not gonna be used primarily as a prowler ought to be at least a hybrid. I think the technology is such that even hardcore folks like myself, that have always liked their engines big, have gone the other way now, and I’d like to see the city set an example.”

The police department currently replaces its seven Fords (five of them patrol cars) at a rotation of roughly one per year. When the department requested money for a new vehicle in the 2009 budget, the council – at a resident’s request – asked for policy direction regarding hybrids.

Mayor Sue McCloud doesn’t interpret the police stance as resistance to the council’s green goals. “What you would need in a patrol car is different from what you need to run around town,” she says. “I don’t think you could say that was lack of enthusiasm.”

The hybrid discussion is a prelude to January’s budget session, she adds.

Tomasi is right that few police departments use hybrids for emergencies. Even the Seattle Police Department, which has almost 300 hybrid vehicles, sticks with gas-guzzlers for patrol. But Bradley Berman, editor of www.HybridCars.com, disputes the notion that hybrids make bad cars for cops.

“Hybrid cars burn less fuel and emit fewer harmful tailpipe emissions – but otherwise they are absolutely no different than gasoline internal combustion engine cars,” he says. “Their handling and maneuvering is no different. Police departments can lead the way, and set the right example, by getting with the times and going hybrid.”