DALLAS –- By next month, Dallas patrol officers will begin driving natural-gas-powered Ford Crown Victoria patrol cruisers that look like typical, police cars but, police say, perform like low-budget imports, according to the Dallas Morning News. The federal Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday approved the conversion of 175 Dallas police patrol vehicles, clearing the final roadblock for their use in the department's fleet, city officials said. The EPA's confirmation is expected in writing later this week, said Steven M. Park, director of the city's Equipment and Building Services department. The city will use $1.89 million in federal funds to convert the vehicles into natural-gas burners. Council members approved the conversion in December over the protests of the city's police associations that the vehicles are too slow and too sluggish and lack sufficient cruising range for patrol use. But according to Park, recent tests show that the converted cruisers, which previously ran on gasoline, will generate 205 horsepower instead of the 175 horsepower the city estimated last year. Standard Crown Victoria cruisers produce 239 horsepower, according to the most recent data Park provided. Natural-gas-powered vehicles also produce less pollution than gasoline burners belch. All 175 vehicles should be in service by December, Park said. Natural-gas burners have a projected range of 192 miles per tank, compared with dozens of miles more for gasoline-powered vehicles. Dallas police officers will, by this summer, have six natural-gas refueling stations inside the Interstate 635 loop from which to refuel, in addition to several other stations in adjoining suburbs. The city's latest performance data for acceleration – an expected zero to 60 mph in less than 11 seconds – is much better than the zero to 60 mph in 12 seconds the city quoted last year, said Tom Popken, vice president of the Dallas Police Association. Popken suggested that the cars be used as nonpatrol police vehicles but acknowledged such a policy shift appears unlikely, reported the Dallas Morning News.