Urgh, another article quoting Consumer Reports as saying that hybrids cost so much more than other cars over five years of ownership. Yuck!

"Although Consumer Reports magazine said hybrids will end up costing owners from $3,700 to $13,300 more over five years compared with similar models using just gasoline, Toyota representatives predict that its hybrid sales will increase 50 percent this year. In a couple of months, the company will introduce its hybrid Camry."

It's like they're saying, "See? You silly hybrid owners are being fooled!" Very irksome.

As for driving slowly in the left lane or carpool lane (we don't have those around here), sometimes you have no choice. If I'm preparing to make left turns and I have to cross three or four lanes, sometimes well in advance of my turn, the people around me are just going to have to slow down or go around. Sure, there's a lot of road rage out there, and sometimes people's reactions are uncomfortable (no one likes a Mack truck breathing down your neck as you start down an incline) but I have a theory which I have tested in different driving situations: No matter how fast you go in the left lane, someone will always tailgate you eventually. Far too many people drive as if the other people on the road are obstacles to be manuevered around, without concern for speed limits or lane usage. They set their speeds based on the speeds of the people around them, and they try to go faster. Period. So if I'm going to be tailgated and so on, I'm going to do it while driving in a way that saves me some gas and won't get me any speeding tickets.