Back in the 60s there was a saying that "Chastity is its own reward" ... and we would mutter "... and punishment." But you know, life is busy enough and sometimes you have to "bush the dust from your sandals," shake your head, and move on.

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

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My other 1500 cc car:

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I don't know if it is just coincidence or not, but dang, our civic has had 5 paint scratches along both sides of it since we bought it a year ago.

Most are over 4 cm long. Either the paint on this car is really fragile, or I'd hate to say it, folks are deliberately scratching my car!

My 2003 Windstar has rust....more and more...but no paint scratches at all.

(the Windstar only has 80k km on it, the 2007 hch - 40,000, we'll pass the van soon!)

Wouldn't using less gas decrease demand therefore increase supply which would result in lower prices? I would say driving a hybrid is helping those who drive the 10 mpg gas guzzlers. Yes, prices suck. But without the hybrids, and even compact cars, on the road, they could be even higher!

Wow, ive never found that much hatred, except, when I pull the smug-ness card.

Although, i do get somewhat pissy when my buddies say "oh you have to drive because you have a hybrid" - and I usually say "but my car is a stick, not really the best for a long trip.." they LOL. hah

Former Honda riceboy in hybrid training



IB Blog

My hybrid has paid off big time. I work in consulting, and often need to visit clients some distance away.

For instance, this week I will expense about 500 miles, at a reimbursement of 50.5 cents per mile, at a personal profit of about $225. Doesn't sound like much, but it basically pays for my car payment (and more) each month . Still, some of my other coworkers still drive their Tahoe/Yukons, etc equal distances. They are idiots .

Obviously his wife left him for a hybrid driver...

Funny!

I think the mean persons impetus for a tirade is immediately clear. He was at a gas pump, filling an SUV. If things were already tight for him (divorces require lawyers, and lawyers ain't cheap), then watching the cha-ching of the pump probably raised his anger level with every dollar. This of course has more of an affect than one might suspect.

American identities are largely tied to their automobiles. My neighbors were recently evicted from their house (passed down from an elder). The man of the house got the property for $1. For some reason he took out a mortgage, and didn't pay it back. The house went into foreclosure and they were evicted (all 3 families living there, all of whom were part of one big family). The youngest drove a Lincoln LS (he was mostly unemployed). His father (owner of the house) had a few Harleys and a Ford Expedition (HUGE). The rest of the people there drove new or almost new SUVs and trucks.

Evidently, those people would NEVER give up the Lincoln, Expedition, and the rest, in an effort to pay the mortgage. They actually chose to see a $350K, 3 family home slip out of their grasp because to them, and to many, the home is almost meaningless. What truly matters is the automobile.

So our angry SUV driving friend does not only bemoan the Hybrid driver. He bemoans the ever-rising cost of his identity. He loathes the way his formerly enviable SUV is now a target of ridicule and hate (by association making himself a target of the same). He sees the one thing that makes him "him" being slowly peeled away, and he's angry and lost.

Hybrid drivers, and others, including myself, are no strangers to this type of unhealthy association of material with substance. No doubt, many hybrid drivers associate their automobile with who they are, believing the car is a part of their identity, and a very important aspect of how they are viewed by others in the world. For good or bad (and both points are easily argued), that's just the way it is.

Sounds to me like the Mortgage was taken out to pay for the cars. Which is just weird IMHO!

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"I will expense about 500 miles, at a reimbursement of 50.5 cents per mile, at a personal profit of about $225."

This frightens the government. Also the fact that you (and all hybrid owners) don't pay our "fair share" of the gasoline taxes.

Believe me when I tell you that the state and federal gov'ts are scrambling right now to find a NEW way to tax automobiles -- most likely by annual miles driven. Hybrids and the surging popularity of efficient i.c.e. cars have reduced gas tax revenue substantially.

They can't get away with it now, because public perception is suspicious toward all levels of gov't over current gasoline prices. But they're waiting and watching for the opportunity. And, no, any new tax won't REPLACE the per-gallon gas tax. It will simply be ANOTHER tax. And, no, any new tax won't "increase funding for roads and bridges." It will simply be stolen (or, "redirected," as our politicians like to say), just like the current gas tax money.

I first heard this per-mile tax proposal four years ago in CA.

Actually it is the reduced miles driven by the larger vehicles that far out weights the hybrid electric savings. However, I have no problem with an annual road tax, indexed by vehicle weight. After all, the road wear and tear is proportional to vehicle weight. But in the final analysis, it won't make a lick of difference as long as it is by miles driven.

Virginia had (has??) a personal property tax on vehicles. I think this might be the tax scheme you might be thinking of. Even if the car was 'yard art,' you paid an annual tax of something like $200/vehicle. If was very popular ... NOT!

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.