This seems like an appropriate place for me to chime in with my first post. I began “lurking” on GH last fall while researching the purchase of my first hybrid. I’ve been following the technology with great interest for years, but was spurred to action by the theft of my ’94 Civic last September. Given that I was suddenly forced to get a new car, the time seemed right for a hybrid.

I took delivery of my 2006 HCH (Magnetic Pearl with Navi) in late December, and have been a regular and devoted reader of these forums ever since. While I’m sure all of us lurkers have our reasons not to post, mine was due mainly to the fact that I didn’t know what the heck I was talking about. I read a post early on from xcel that was gently chiding some of the less experience posters to take care before offering too much advice, and quite frankly, I thought that observation was on the mark. Therefore, I read, learned and practiced, always posting my mileage and comments in the mileage database. Two months later, I can proudly say that I got my "hypermiler" gold star this week, an accomplishment I directly attribute to all I’ve learned on GH. In particular, I have to credit xcel, kenny, Delta Flyer, Hot_Georgia_2004 and NASAgineer for tons of really excellent advice.

Bottom line: this site is an invaluable resource for those of us who care about hybrids, fuel conservation and/or the environment. Even if we aren’t posting and contributing, please know that there are a lot of us out there who are taking what is posted on this site to heart, and are grateful for the information.