The Ames Police Department has recently replaced the entire emergency vehicle fleet with eight new cars. The new fleet consists of seven 1999 Ford Crown Victorias purchased for $20,182 each and one 2000 Chevy Impala purchased for $19,059, said Paul Hinderacker, director of equipment services for the City of Ames. An additional $2,000 was spent on each car for radio equipment, decals, a cage to separate the front and back seats, lights and sirens. Hinderacker said the emergency vehicles or “marked cars” are replaced every 130,000 miles or between 21 and 27 months. The money to replace the cars comes indirectly from taxpayers’ pockets. “The city of Ames has a fleet-replacement fund,” Hinderacker said. “Every department with equipment pays into the fund monthly.” He added the police department is supported by tax money, and therefore the money placed into the fund is from taxpayers. Ames Police Chief Dennis Ballantine said this is the first time the department has had an Impala. Chevrolet released it with a police package for the first time, taking the place of the Caprice, he said. The car has a few main differences from Ford’s Crown Victoria. The most significant difference in the Impala is its front-wheel drive, giving it an advantage in wet and snowy weather as well as around turns and corners. Rear-wheel drive cars, such as the Crown Victoria, have more power. “The big question for us is which is better,” Ballantine said. He also pointed out that the Impala is a bit smaller then the Crown Victoria. The police department also has seven undercover or “unmarked” cars, Ballantine said. The unmarked cars are less expensive because they’re purchased as program cars with 10,000 to 20,000 miles already on them. They also do not have a police package, meaning they have no decals or lights. Ballantine said the advantage of the undercover cars is that they can be used as investigator cars since they are not as noticeable, and they last longer because they are not used to patrol. For parking violations, the police department has three Ford Rangers. Ballantine said it went with the Ranger because “it’s a smaller sized pick-up, so it is easier to get in and out of a lot, but they can still use it for hauling stuff.” He also said they get better gas mileage than a full-size truck.