Hybrid Cars

Articles like this make me sick. It’s saying, the only reason people by hybrids is to say to their neighbor, “See, I am saving the world!”. While this may be true, it still is ugly and it shows the worst in us. And worse still, it shows how corporate America thinks of us. We are selfish, shallow jackasses who only care about how we look. We don’t really care about the environment, we just want to be perceived as progressive.

Now, while this may be the case with some, it’s not the case with everyone. Some people want to stop sucking the world dry of its natural resources. Some people want to stop contributing to global warming. I don’t need to be PERCEIVED as saving the world. I want to be a good citizen of the world. I actually want to reduce my carbon footprint.

My biggest problem with hybrid cars is, “Where are the hybrid Minivans?” I would think this is the FIRST market to tackle. No one buys a minivan because it’s sexy. We buy them because they fit our gaggle of kids. We are parents and we have tuitions to think about. We want to save gas and do out part for the planet so our kids have sunshine and rivers and clouds in the future. Because the minivan is big, it can store LOTS of batteries! Specifically, I want a Minivan Plugin that gets over 100 miles to the gallon. And I really don’t care if it looks funky, like a tree-hugger car. It can look my Sienna for all I care.

If you know someone who makes cars, please pass along the request.


Comments

One response to “Hybrid Cars”

  1. If you want to focus on saving the planet, then the best way to do it is in the corporate rather than the personal sector. Not sure if this is behind the paywall or not, but here’s a WSJ article on this issue:

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118772418179504367.html

    Here’s a key graf: A recent study from the International Energy Agency showed that energy use in heavy industry could be reduced by 18% to 26% just by applying best practices and available technologies. That savings is equivalent to about one to one-and-a-half times Japan’s annual energy needs, the agency said.

    Which is not to say that consumers are off the hook; of course we need to do our part. But if we actually want to save the planet and not just feel good about ourselves, there really are better ways to do it than buying a hybrid.

Whatya think?