Its a shame that you chose Ego over intellect in this reply.

I too, bought a hybrid and gleefully joined this site. However, after a while it became painfully obvious that the 'green' in this site was not actually present.

In order for it to be 'green' , one must actually care about the enviroment.

Instead, the major players on this site are those who choose to live 100 miles from their jobs. Topic after topic, thread after thread, is not based on helping the enviroment or conserving gas at all.

Much to my dismay, the site is actually about folks who buy hybrid vehicles, and do anything -and sometimes it means the theatre of the ubsurd - to milk their MPG readings.

So I stepped back and asked myself 'why' ???

Enthusiast? Enthusiast for WHAT?

For EGO. Bragging rights that you drive 8000miles a MONTH, get 60 , 80 MPG , and SAVE SO MUCH MONEY vs driving a regular gas car.

Well, it was highly dissapointing to discover that:

-if you CARPOOL this 100miles to work each day, it cuts the fuel consumption by HALF, which is a better savings on buying gas and the enrivronment than ANY hybrid car could EVER offer.

-if you simply MOVE CLOSER to your job, or get another job closer to your home, you SAVE THE ENVIROMENT and reliance of foreign oil .

If you are one of the majority in here, you live fairly close to work. You dont need to carpool.

The money you save in your 600 to 1000 miles a month adds up to about $14.86 per month.

We now have to factor in the extra THOUSANDS we paid for the priveledge of getting a hybrid vs the standard model, and the JOKE was on US the whole time. Takes about 15 years for the average 1000 mile per month driver to BREAK EVEN.

The tax credit was a BAIT AND SWITCH for many, and the joke again was on us, the consumer. SOME of us got the full credit, MANY did not. I was fortunate to get the whole thing.

The only people on this site who can BOAST 'substantial savings', are the ones BUYING MORE GAS per month , polluting the enviroment way MORE per month than the average 1000 mile per month driver, cause they are DRIVING 5000 miles per month.

The biggest joke i envisioned was the happy hypermiler driving 5000 miles per month , waltzing into the gas station for the 3rd time that week, telling the attendant how much money he is 'saving' as he forks over another wad on a full tank. The BEMUSED attendant doesnt have the heart to tell him he spends MORE on gas than 90% of his clients.

You say im condesending, you say im pessimmistic.

I actually CARE about the enviroment and gas consumption.

-Not using 'wet ice and towels ' instead of turning on the AC.

-Not PUSHINIG my car into the parking lot so I dont upset my MPG averages.

I could go on and on at the mind numbing intelligence insulting methods these guys go to , for WHAT? What is the point????

In the end?

Its a TOY. Just another TOY, and the whole point to play with the toy , milk as much percieved MPG as possible, so they can run to their computer, log onto this site and GLOAT.

There are no doubt sites dedicated to car pooling, ELECTRIC cars, and boycotting oil whereever possible.

This site is for middle to upper middle class americans to PLAY WITH THEIR TOYS.

If you really care about the enviroment, you will see this reality once you have been around for a while.