Yeah... when it comes to being smug, I actually roll down my window and laugh at people at gas stations when they're filling up a Hummer or a gigantic Dodge RAM V10. Yesterday, I got a chance to yell "Wastrel!" at a dude driving a H2. It felt like a civic duty, ha ha!
I am as rude as legally permissable to people who drive SUVs.
I was wondering if anyone would start a post on this. You know, we must really be getting a "smug" label if South Park devoted a whole episode to it.
When I first got the car, yeah I was a bit smug about it. I was talking to a good friend who owns a truck and he made a point that I'll never forget. He said that until he sees someone driving around with a hose connected from the exhaust pipe into the driver side window, we're all just involved in varying levels of hypocrisy. Sort of took the smugness right out of me. :-)
I guess I am not that smug. I love my car but I only bought it for the gas savings which for me last year was a little less than $900 in comparison to my previous car which got 20 mpg.
Perhaps today is a bad day to answer the question due to what I had yesterday to eat
I am not smug yet, but when the price of gas gets over $3, I'm sure that will change. I'm sorry, but unless you're a farmer or someone who actually hauls stuff with a pickup truck for a living, you're not going to get any sympathy from me because you have to fill up your Suburban twice a week at $100 a pop when all you are hauling around is a toddler that can easily fit in a Camry or an Accord.
Every time I see a Hummer I think of all you folks here (the other night a guy was offered a Hummer as part of the prize package on "Deal or No Deal", he and his wife were salivating over it, and all I kept thinking about was the "How you know you're a real hybrid owner..." entry - "# 255. You avoid entering contests/raffles that have a grand prize of a non-hybrid car, for fear of winning it", and why couldn't they offer a nice new Prius instead)...
THEN I remember that until about two years ago, I would have answered the "What's your dream car?" question without hesitation - and with one word: Hummer. Kind of keeps the smugness down a bit to realize the effect a little education can have, and that "there, but for the grace of the gods, go I".
You want to buy that Hummer? Fine. Owning a 50MPG car does not give me the right to tell you how to spend your money. But it does give me the right to laugh my *** off at you when I hear you whining about how much it costs to fill your Hummer's gas tank.
I have not seen much of South Park, which might make me a cultural moron.
The question seems to be: "do hybrid drivers consider themselves better than the other drivers"? The short answer is no - but only compared to decent drivers. There are lots of idiotic drivers (or maybe not idiotic, but just extemely inconsiderate and dangerous drivers).
Maybe some of you have had a job you worked hard and did it well. When people get in the way that are doing dumb things because they don't care, it's frustrating.
Same thing on the freeway. Many of you are paying attention to your fuel economy, road conditions, not necessarily hypermiling. It can be fun, but all kinds of drivers can get on your nerves. Distracted drivers, aggressive drivers that are venting or somehow thinks it shows their manhood, tailgaters. Yes, I have smirked a bit when some young guy blasts by me and their bumper is crumpled up. The same goes when they whiz by me only to fly straight into a bottleneck I glide past. I don't consider myself better than you - just exercising common sense while someone is choosing to be stupid.
When I start sleepwalking down the freeway like I'm God's Gift, oblivious to driving sensibly, then call me smug. BTW, do some of you get the impression that the land barge guys are trying to project their smugness problem onto the hybrid guys? Like Sledge said, they bash hybrids, then whine about how much gas their male-enhancement vehicles need. Safety is a smoke-screen for the power need - it rolls over much easier. Off roading? Why am I seeing spinning wheels like this if they are going down the mountain?! Recent CNN/Edmonds article is boasting about performance SUV's that go from 0-60 in under six seconds - back to the rollover comment.
BTW, do some of you get the impression that the land barge guys are trying to project their smugness problem onto the hybrid guys? Like Sledge said, they bash hybrids, then whine about how much gas their male-enhancement vehicles need.
Hmm, I wonder where the creators of South Park would ever get the idea that some Hybrid drivers think they are better than non-hybrid drivers? Land Barge? Male-enhancement vehicles? Sounds kinda smug to me.
I have two hybrid vehicles, can I be twice as smug and be a 10 in the poll?
I probably lose a few points though when I take out the F250 with the 351 or the '65 Mustang with the high performance 289 4 bbl out for a joy ride. Then I probably completely lose any smug points left when I go burn some 100 octane leaded fuel in my plane - nothing better than flying to Maine for a $300 ice cream...
I was wondering if anyone would start a post on this. You know, we must really be getting a "smug" label if South Park devoted a whole episode to it.
When I first got the car, yeah I was a bit smug about it. I was talking to a good friend who owns a truck and he made a point that I'll never forget. He said that until he sees someone driving around with a hose connected from the exhaust pipe into the driver side window, we're all just involved in varying levels of hypocrisy. Sort of took the smugness right out of me. :-)
Bingo. Drive an EV or pedal a bike, then I will tip my hat to you in appreciation. Untill then, like tim's friend says "we're all just involved in varying levels of hypocrisy"
Rate your smugness 1 - 5, 5 being smuggiest
