The 100mpg hybrid car is...

...apparently a current possibility, according an article I read the other day. We drivers just need to get a hybrid and re-learn how to drive. I was intrigued. Although the gas prices have been going down dramatically ($1.69 a gallon when I filled up today), I suppose that I can still do my part to help the environment.

So anyway, here a few of the new driving habits that one should incorporate into his or her driving habits:

1. No speeding (That's reasonable, I just seem to have problems with it at times.)
   
2. No hard starts (I guess no drag racing for me. Damn.)
   
3. No hard stops (So I now have an excuse for rear ending the SOB that cuts me off in traffic just to, then, slam on his brakes)
   
4. Avoid braking as much as possible (Yeah, braking in a vehicle is highly overrated. Who needs to stop? Just roll with it!)
   

I think there was a fifth, I can't quite remember. But I am sure that everyone will be incorporating ALL of these helpful hints into there daily driving habits straight away. Right, right?? *currently imagining a room full of people and hearing nothing but crickets*

I got a hybrid

Well, for the day anyway. One of the few things that I like about my dealership is that they offer free rentals when they perform service on my car. What I do not like it that something as simple as an oil change requires me to rent a car in the first place. It takes them that long to get to my car.

Anyway, as the woman is filling out the paperwork for my rental, I notice the alarm switch does not have a key. Strange, I thought. But then again, maybe the key is in the car. So I mosey on down to the service lane to the car and look for the key. But the there is not key. Not even a key hole. Just a button. Ok, how do you start this damn car? I got an attendant to reluctantly help me out. To start the car, you need to depress the brake, then press the "Power" button. Then trust that car is actually on. You can't tell initially as the gas engine doesn't kick in immediately. That bothered me a bit. No initial pickup. I have a V6 engine in my car. I'm used to serious acceleration.

Once I got the car on the highway, it was pretty smooth. The acceleration got better but obviously not as nice as the acceleration of a V6. The car gave a constant read out of the average gas mileage. I managed about 35 MPG. I could be wrong, but it looked like as I drove faster, the more the gas mileage went up. Could that be my excuse if I got pulled over by the cops?

Officer: Umm, ma'am. Do you realize that you going 80 MPH in a 55 zone?
Me: Sorry for speeding officer but I was doing my part to help the environment.
Officer: Excuse me?
Me: This is a hybrid. The faster I go, the less gas that I use, the better for the environment.

It would be a unique excuse anyway.