STILLWATER, OK- The Payne County Sheriff's Department is updating its image with the purchase of four new, dark gray 2010 Ford Crown Victorias with new graphic designs, according to the Stillwater NewsPress.

Payne County Sheriff R.B. Hauf said he hopes the dark gray vehicles are easier to keep clean than the older black ones and updates the department's image.

The vehicles also have top-mounted lights instead of internal ones, Payne County Sheriff's Deputy Daniel Gwin said. He said those style lights are safer for both the public and the deputies.

"A lot of people have been commenting on how good they look," Gwin said. "Everybody's happy to see the old ones phased out."

Priced at $22,500 each, the four new vehicles were purchased as normal periodic replacements for older patrol vehicles. All four went to field deputies.

Hauf said that the department tries to get new vehicles every year to keep the fleet of 30 vehicles in decent shape.

Surplus vehicles are handled either with an auction, sealed bids, or donation to another state agency. The surplus vehicles are stripped of their stickers and patrol lights before they are sold, Altman told the NewsPress.