"I think they're great," said Peterson, Durango's general services director, after driving one of MacPhail's electric trucks during a demonstration at Greenmount Cemetery.

MacPhail owns SmartWheels, a used-car dealership in Denver, but his focus has shifted in recent months to the sales of electric vehicles. He and his son-in-law, Gino Dorrance, brought two electric trucks to town for Petersen and other key employees to test.

MacPhail and Dorrance have taken their roadshow to many other cities and towns in Colorado, most recently Fort Collins and Greeley, and MacPhail said he's now filling purchase orders from the city of Colorado Springs and Colorado College, among others.

The city of Durango's fleet of vehicles numbers about 250 cars, trucks and maintenance vehicles, and none of the players on hand expect the entire gasoline- and diesel-powered fleet to be replaced with electric vehicles soon, if ever.

But Tom Kramer, the city's facilities and fleet manager, said the zero-emissions vehicles could be used by the parking department, code enforcement and Parks and Recreation Department employees on an everyday basis.

"It's certainly got its uses, and it sounds like it's a lot cheaper to run, too," Kramer said.

He said that an electric vehicle would be ideal for patrolling the Animas River Trail, replacing the gasoline-powered golf cart workers currently used to enforce leash laws and other codes on the trail.

Savings would not come from the initial purchase of an electric fleet. The E-Ride EXV2 truck, which was favored over the Miles ZX40ST by most of the employees who test-drove both trucks Thursday, would cost about $23,500 each; current city minivans and pickup trucks cost the city between $17,000 and $21,000 each.

But Kramer said the savings would come from the difference in operating costs between gasoline and electric vehicles. Parking division minivans cost about $5,000 per year in fuel and maintenance, including oil changes and other routine maintenance. By contrast, electric vehicles cost less than 5 cents per mile for the electricity needed to charge the batteries, translating into an annual cost in the hundreds, not thousands of dollars.

Petersen said the typical lifespan of a city vehicle is seven years, so an electric vehicle could produce savings of as much as $35,000 during a vehicle's time in service without assuming a continuing rise in oil and gasoline prices.

There are several limitations to electric vehicles that all but guarantee that city garages will never be void of internal-combustion engines.

While MacPhail said the trucks handle adequately in snow and ice - they're built in Minnesota, after all - they don't have the ability to plow snow or tow heavy trailers. However, Code Enforcement Officer Steve Barkley, who coordinates special events in downtown Durango, said the vehicle's 1,250-pound payload capacity would be more than sufficient for most jobs.

More importantly, electric vehicles are licensed and tagged as Neighborhood Vehicles in Colorado, and are therefore prohibited on roads and highways with a posted speed limit above 35 mph. In Durango, that law would prevent electric vehicles from traveling to and from Grandview via U.S. Highway 160, which allows speeds as high as 55 mph through that stretch.

"That's definitely my biggest concern, because I see us only needing to be out there more as it keeps growing," Kramer said.

Despite the drawbacks, city decision-makers said it's likely that the city will add at least a few electric vehicles to its fleet. In addition to Petersen, City Manager Ron LeBlanc and City Councilor Scott Graham took multiple test drives Thursday and both came away convinced there is a place for the vehicles in Durango.

"This fits right into what we established as a high priority last election," Graham said about the council's commitment to environmental sustainability.

He touted the E-Ride's zero emissions, low operating costs and complete oil independence, and said he fully endorses its purchase if Petersen and LeBlanc approve it.

"It's great to see city staff embracing this new technology," Graham said.

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