Automotive engine software maker Derive Systems released its newest Derive Efficiency engine calibration software for the Ford Explorer and Ford Police Interceptor Utility. The software is designed to improve idle fuel efficiency by lowering the idle RPM in the Explorer, a staple of law enforcement and government fleets.
Derive Efficiency allows fleet managers, heads of law enforcement, and municipal leaders constrained by budget and looking for green initiatives to deliver fuel savings and reduce fleet emissions without giving up power and performance.
Derive’s innovative and easy-to-implement software can be installed using a handheld device in less than 10 minutes and comes with a modest price tag under $400, meaning it typically pays for itself within six months. Once installed, the engine software saves up to 30 percent in idle fuel consumption alone.
With municipal budget cuts in the news in states like Michigan and Virginia, idle efficiency in police cruisers is a windfall for fleet managers looking for easy cost savings. Best of all, saving on fuel and lowering emissions doesn’t require any training or behavioral change on the part of officers.
Previously Available
- Ford Taurus
- Ford Crown Victoria
- Chevy Tahoe
- Beginning in early summer: The Chevy Impala
Police departments across the country that have implemented Derive Efficiency are seeing immediate and concrete benefits. For police chiefs and fleet managers, these are results that are quickly understood up the chain of command.
“As a result of (Derive) programming, we have seen an increase in our fuel mileage,” says Longwood, FL Police Chief Tom Jackson. “In some cases, as much as 3 miles per gallon.”