Lightning Hybrid Cars

To smirk? or NOT to smirk? That is the question!

When hybrid vehicles first came out, they made a statement about the owner. They said “I am ecologically aware”. They said “I am an environmentally superior because I have invested in a new technology, and I am single handedly changing the pollution problem”. They screamed that they would all run off and join ‘Greenpeace’, if only the Prius could float. I wanted one in the worst way. I was in the market for my current car, and I really, REALLY wanted a Prius. I did my homework, as much as could be done because the test drive portion of the car shopping experience was unavailable due to a lack of inventory at all the dealerships in my area. All I could do was read about how awesome they were, and how great it was to be driving a car leaving a lesser carbon footprint. I suppose this is where I should say that I was, in fact, raised by environmentalist parents.

There was one economist out of the billions who were weighing in on this topic. Should consumers buy hybrids? Should they not? Only one that I heard rationalize it the best. If you want one, NOT because they will be superior cars, or because they get great gas mileage. Of course these are benefits, but if you want those, cars with proven track records are readily available. However, if you want one for the pleasure of driving an environmentally friendly car, that would be the right reason. If you wanted to be on the cutting edge of vehicular history, that was a reason to buy one. That made me want one even MORE!!

Of course, most of the time, you don’t want to be the consumer guinea pig. You don’t want to buy the model where someone says ‘Ooopsi Daisies’ when your car spontaneously combusts, due to a faulty design of some sort-that they now know needs a design fix for the next model year. Then again, the early model Prius cars didn’t have ‘sticky floor-mats’, (referring to the current Toyota recall that any day now, will include the Prius) so that proves that the ‘Oopsi Dasies’ moment can come at any time.

The pros and cons became even more defined when, a few years ago, the price of oil spiked, and gas shot up to 5 dollars a gallon. THEN the Prius owners had to try really hard not to smirk all the time. I really wished I could have been smirking with them.

The pros and cons are pretty well documented, but the pros and cons list that makes the biggest difference, is if you are a smirker- or a non smirker. If you have no interest in smirking, then a high efficiency car would probably suit you just fine.

Hybrid Cars

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