Tim, you just described the whole episode of South Park. Come on people now gotta drive a hybrid........

Not once have I pushed my automotive beliefs on anyone. Cars could easily be my religion since many have said I seem to worship them. I would never push my religion on anyone - have come close to hitting a few who've tried pushing theirs on me but that's another thread...

Of course my ice breaker sometimes is, story & names have been changed ***slightly*** though.

ME: "What's the mileage in that thing?"
SUV Driver: "2 MPG"
ME: "I used to have a Canyonaro that got 3MPG until I got this"
SUV Driver: "What is that thing?"
ME: "A Hindsight"
SUV Driver: "What's the mileage?"
ME: "100 MPG"
SUV Driver: "Wow, I'm heading down to the dealer right now to get one!"

OK, maybe I am exagerating just a tad There have been conversations like similar to that and I'm sure I'll get more once gas peaks past $3 again soon.

'00 Insight "Wazabi" -75,000+ miles
'03 Toyota Matrix - 81,000+ miles
'03 HCH-CVT-OSBM-41,000+ miles (retired 04-10-06)
"I'm very secure with my little Insight, no Prius envy here."

You are of course 100% correct. Winning over hearts and minds was never something my father was good at. I'm not much good at it myself.

Perhaps you could give winning over hearts and minds lessons for all us smuggy folks?

Isn't a vehicle to go somewhere - not a means in itself?

61.5mpg lifetime - 82mpg in recent months

Best Run >
www.cleanmpg.com

"fanatic" is what the lazy call the dedicated

I hope I'm not coming across as lecturing. No one here needs a lecture from the likes of me. I wasn't trying to issue a veiled insult to "smug" folks either - on this topic folks can be how they want to be. No judgement here. I have a vanity plate that takes a bit of a jab, so I'm far from blameless. In fact, I believe road-rage has been directed at me over it.

Our American culture is just notorious for making good things seem bad over nothing more than marketing, half-truths and perception. Buzz alone (truthful or not) can influence how we spend our money. If one feels strongly enough about the "cause" aspect of our cars, it's worth paying attention to how we're being perceived / portrayed. That's all.

*** Retired after 65,000 outstanding miles ***

I think smugness needs to be eliminated amongst the hybrid set. Seriously, how many enemies have we made by being just a little overzealous about the vehicle? What about pompous? I've talked a little about Ron Popile around here, especially when I dig out "set it and forget it" when folks ask about Prius auto climate, but another Popielism is word of mouth advertising. Ever notice, in most of his ads he asks buyers of his product to recommend it to friends if they like it. He knows how powerful word of mouth advertising is.

Word of mouth advertising is the best thing we have going for us, if we know how to do it without annoying people. In public places, I don't talk about the car until somebody else talks to me first. If they are interested I talk about it. An interested person is one who will listen and is open minded enough that they are just looking to fix their curiosity with the most valuable information they can get, from an owner. Those are the easiest folks to talk to and the ones that will usually be tollerant of any excitment for the car you have. Then there are those who ask about batteries and such and claim that somebody told them bad things about the car's mechanics. That is a grand chance to dispell falsehoods that they have. Be sure to have facts, and items they could find on their own if they put just a little time in at Google, or here. Don't lord over the issue. And be calm. Make sure that their concern is not a concern for you because you have researched it and feel good about what you have found out. If they continue to disagree, don't fight it. They are obviously not in the mood to be converted.

Don't gloat at gas stations. Come, do your business and leave. Don't try to draw attention to yourself. The car will do that for you. And don't suggest that your choices are better than others. We all make the bed we sleep in. There are tradeoffs in most choices in life, especially the major ones. The pickup or suv driver who hauls around people and nothing else has made their choice and the outcomes that are associated with it. We have made our choice and there are associated outcomes that go with that choice. Neither is morally better than the other and I'm goign to be hard pressed to dictate lifestyle or values to the guy who drives a huge SUV that I cannot justify myself. We all judge others through the lens of our life. When was the last time we judged others through the lens of their life?

It has been said:
Hybrid drivers come in 3 flavors, greenie, techie and cheapie. Pick any 2.
2005 Prius, Melinium Silver over gray, package 5 (AI)

You mean we should not go to <GAS_GUZZLER_FORUM> of choice and try to start fights? . . . like the self-absorbed, SMUG trolls who show up here?

If you find a hybrid-electric owner/operator going to a gas guzzler forum to 'needle' the inmates, your criticism would be dead on but that is not reality. I have no problem with folks seeking knowledge about hybrid electrics. But I have a big problem with flagulating ourselves for what isn't a real problem . . . a South Park cartoon.

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.

Perhaps the smugness JeromeP is talking about isn't a hybrid driver trolling in an H2 forum. But more along the lines of a hybrid driver that lashes out at H2 drivers at gas stations about how the H2 driver is killing the environment while the hybrid driver is protecting it.

Both, extremes. The H2 driver is not necessarily killing the environment in relation to how much of the environment the hybrid driver is protecting.

Take the South Park video for instance. The hybrid driver was portrayed as someone that tells everyone around him that SUV's are evil and that the only way to protect the Earth is by driving a hybrid. THAT's smug...

<Best Tank Economy!><Best Tank Endurance!>

bwilson4web wrote:
Right in the middle of the Katrina crisis when gas was $3.50/g I went over to a Lincoln Navigator forum as many were complaining of the cost to refuel their monsters.
I didn't mention my hybrid at first but rather my Grand Caravan which MPG went from mid teens to low/mid 20's by adjusting tire pressure and modifying driving habits.
Someone had a "That's cool" attitude but most others didn't believe....and if it really did make that much difference thought I must be creating a traffic hazard.

The best place for tips are right here at GH so I pointed them here.
At that time it was discoverd that I also drive a HCH.
Although I only wanted to help them in bad times some thought I was out for trouble. It turned a bit ugly for a while.

All my posts there were carefully worded as not to be offensive in any way and one person took my MPG challenge.
After a week of what he called "Woosey-footed" driving, using our tips as a guide had increased his Navigator from low teens to almost 20MPG for two tanks in a row.
Others were suprised and it felt good to help someone.
Who knows perhaps when we reach $3.00 again I might visit there again.
I beleive people that recognize me there will give me a welcome.
It all depends on how one presents themselves.

Efficient drivers do it better.
1003 miles a tank personal record. 74MPG calculated. HCH1 CVT

The outlook is fuel prices will continue to rise steadily up to around the $3/gal mark by the beginning of summer. At the rate it's climbing now, it looks like we'll be at the $3/gal mark before then! One station was $2.399 yesterday. Today it was $2.499.

So, perhaps you'll be needed over there once again!

On a side note, from being on this forum, I've started driving our Escape more smoothly. On one particular trip, I received 26 mpg instead of the EPA rated 23 mpg. And this was on a particular commute that I usually only gotten about 21 mpg in the past. I don't do anything other than drive smoothly and it's paid off. And before anyone pipes in: I'm not willing to do a lot of the other techniques the hypermilers on this board do, such as slowing down going up hills, accelerate at a snail's pace when leaving a redlight/stopsign, FAS, etc.

<Best Tank Economy!><Best Tank Endurance!>

I learned a long, long time ago that some won't be separated from their folly. So I follow a three strike rule when someone is doing something self defeating:

1) I suggest a better approach - and if rejected - strike one.

2) A couple of days later, in private (aka., today, e-mail), I give them a fuller, more complete description about why this alternate approach is better - and if rejected - strike two.

3) Knowing what is going to happen, I isolate myself and work like heck to develop the fix - and wait. When the inevitable happens, "reality testing," I offer the fix WITHOUT making a fuss or big deal about it -- strike three.

By then, their schedule and budget has been blown and there isn't much choice than to do the right thing. What I don't do is go out of my way to bring salvation to those who reject it more than once. That is Hubris, the Greek version of SMUG.

It is like teaching a pig to sing, it won't work and it annoys the pig. Some folks have to learn by painful experience. Just make sure you avoid it. This isn't SMUG, it is reality. We have no obligation to save fools from their folly. Just step aside, wish them luck and be there to help when reality comes a knockin'.

So I don't give 'fake tickets' to gas hogs because they print their own at the gas pump. As for South Park, it is a cartoon in which two dimensional characters 'abandon SUVs on a song'; weathermen report emotional storms; and a host of improable jokes are played and play to individual bias . . . so what! The funniest joke was Cartman saving the "Jew boy" and his family . . . so he could insult the "Jew boy." SMUG doesn't even come close.

Wake up folks and smell the exhaust fumes. SMUG is the least of our problems unless you are still wasting time on those who are in dire need of a "clue by four."

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.