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Friday, June 11, 2010
Goodyear, AZ - NaturalDrive
Partners, LLC, a leading
alternative fuel conversion
retrofit manufacturer for
commercial and governmental
fleets, announced today that it
has been awarded the statewide
contract for development of
alternative fuel conversion
systems for the 2010 Chevrolet
Impala and 2010 Chevrolet
Express Passenger Van for the
State of Oklahoma. These two
vehicles are currently available
on a separate statewide
automobile contract and remain
popular with state agencies.
Additional synergy is expected
by expanded use of statewide
contracts by cities and counties
who benefit from strategic
sourcing and leveraged spending
on statewide contracts.
The contract with NaturalDrive
for alternative fuel system
development was driven by the
state's desire to increase the
number of state-owned
alternative fuel vehicles,
increase the use of readily
available and abundant natural
gas resources, and shorten the
current development cycle
associated with the
Environmental Protection
Agency's (EPA) Certificate of
Conformity process. Automobile
manufacturers place emissions
monitoring and control devices
on vehicles to constantly
monitor the vehicle, providing
on-the-fly fuel calibrations to
the engine for maximum MPG with
minimum pollution. The
vehicle's computer will also
turn on the Check Engine Light
and set diagnostic codes for
technicians to use should any
problems arise such as engine
misfire, component failure, etc.
These sophisticated monitoring
schemes are known as the second
generation of On-Board
Diagnostics or "OBD II" and have
greatly reduced mobile source
air pollution within the United
States. Auto makers and
alternative fuel conversion
retrofit manufacturers must
validate through independent
laboratory finding their OBD II
systems remain compliant with
EPA and/or CARB emission
standards annually.
NaturalDrive Partners, LLC is
expected to supplement the EPA
Certificate of Conformity
process with a grant by the
South Coast Air Quality
Management District (AQMD) which
will result in the state's 2010
Chevrolet Impala ultimately
receiving both California Air
Resource Board (CARB) emission
certification and EPA
certification. A dozen or so
states have also adopted the
CARB standards for vehicle
emissions, including most of the
North East and the West Coast.
John Mitton, Managing Partner
for NaturalDrive, stated, "NaturalDrive
is thrilled to be working with a
forward-thinking state fleet
department which has already
realized significant fuel
savings with NaturalDrive
conversion technologies for the
past two model years. The State
of Oklahoma is now ready to
increase their alternative fuel
capabilities and infrastructure
as well as their Return on
Investment, and we are pleased
to be their choice moving
forward."
Clay Chandler, the Oklahoma
State Fleet Manager added, "NaturalDrive
-- who has licensed installers
throughout Oklahoma -- allows us
to retrofit our existing and new
model year vehicles while
providing compliance with
federal emission standards.
This, coupled with the state's
seamless integration of
complementary Automatic Vehicle
Location (AVL) technology,
allows the Fleet Management
Division to routinely monitor
and report vehicle performance,
fuel economy, and emission
compliance in real-time. This
synergistic, value-added
capability is invaluable for
large fleets such as ours.
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