Monday, November 13, 2006

It's not easy being Green

We've been limping along for the last couple of years with our hand-me-down cars from our parents. Both Andre's parents and my dad were incredibly generous in giving us cars to get us through the belt-tightening years when the money was pretty tight. In an unfortunate confluence of events, the cars (both with over 130,000 miles on them) had gotten to the point that they were in need of seeeeeerious repair. So, we bit the bullet, traded them both in, and bought a hybrid for Andre to drive to work.

He's been reading some of the forums populated by other hybrid owners and I've come to the stunning conclusion that hybrid owners are not Green, they're Dorks. The forums are populated by men who are all trying to best one another by getting the best overall gas mileage and best gas mileage for a particular trip. The dash of the car has a MPG display that tells you exactly how many miles to the gallon you're getting second by second, and over all MPG on the odometer and also on the tripometer.

I just know these people aren't watching the road, they're watching their displays while driving. They're experimenting with things like drafting off trucks on the freeway and shifting into neutral while coasting. One guy reported that he did things like turning off the car completely to coast down a hill. My illusion of peace loving hippies doing their part for a healthier tomorrow was completely shot. Driving has become a video game being played by total maniacs.

Andre swears he's not going to worry about his MPG. Yet. I know him. He's a gamer and I just know that little display is going to be very tempting. Please pray for the other drivers on the road.