So gas prices are approaching the cost of college tuition. It\u2019s now cheaper to fly first class to France than it is to drive that SUV down to the convenience mart and pick up a quart of milk. And soon, mark my word, you\u2019ll be caught in a dark alley and hear from the shadows a low voice mutter, \u201cOK, buddy, give me all your gas.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the fuel-dependant world we live in. <\/p>\n
But I feel pretty unique because I don\u2019t live more than a half mile from work. In other words, I haven\u2019t needed to take out a loan yet to cover my gas card bill. <\/p>\n
Sometimes my wife and I drive to work, and other times we walk. To mix it up, sometimes I drive, forget the car is there, and then walk home. This makes it interesting when my wife looks out the window and screams, \u201cWhere\u2019s the car?\u201d <\/p>\n
It prompts me to scream, \u201cOh no, those blammin\u2019 jimmy-ammies stole it again!\u201d<\/p>\n
A moment or two later sanity taps me on the shoulder and I turn to my wife to admit that this isn\u2019t nearly as bad as the time I put my underwear on over my pants. <\/p>\n
But think of all that gas I\u2019m saving. <\/p>\n
We\u2019re extremely lucky. We\u2019re not adding rubbing alcohol to the tank to make it last longer, or having to lose weight to make road trips more economical. <\/p>\n
People tell me how they\u2019re spending ungodly sums of money each week, and I just nod my head in agreement and say, \u201cMan, no kidding. When I filled up in December, I couldn\u2019t believe what a quarter of a tank cost.\u201d<\/p>\n
I was thinking about all of this the other day when an issue of U.S. News and World Report arrived with a cover story titled, \u201cThere\u2019s a hybrid in your future.\u201d<\/p>\n
My first reaction was, \u201cJeez, I hope they have a cure for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
But then I realized it was just talking about these fuel efficient cars of tomorrow, partly run on regular combustion engines and partly run on electrical. I\u2019m just repeating what I\u2019m reading \u2014 for all I know you stick two feet out the holes in the floor and power it Flintstone-style. <\/p>\n
Personally, I think the idea of the hybrid is great, and I certainly support anything that makes better use of our natural resources \u2026 and keeps me from having to wear a gas mask or an aluminum foil suit to protect me from the sun. <\/p>\n
Maybe the hybrid is the answer to this fuel crisis. But I tell you I\u2019m a little concerned, and think the biggest hurdle for the hybrid industry is simply selling anything called a \u201chybrid.\u201d It\u2019s like buying a car that\u2019s called \u201cthe mutant.\u201d Is it a monster or a fuel-efficient car? \u201cSee Godzilla vs. the Hybrid. One will devour Tokyo on 65 miles to the gallon and the other will run off with a she-lizard called Gladys the Big Tail.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not \u201chybrid.\u201d How about \u201cHippies Love It\u201d or \u201cCan Still Afford Groceries.\u201d Something catchy, maybe the \u201cGreen Gas Mobile.\u201d\t<\/p>\n
At least hybrids are becoming more appealing in their looks. The early ones seemed to be styled after chewed gum or a bunion. Nobody wants to buy a car that looks like a bunion. Who wants that?<\/p>\n
Fuel efficiency be damned, Americans want style. They want to look good. And if it were me designing these cars, I would address America\u2019s undying love for really large automobiles. Not that these hybrids have to be large \u2014 just sell add-on kits. Sure. It wouldn\u2019t need to be anything more than cardboard cutouts of SUVs or dump trucks that you tape to the frame. Look gets old, get yourself a new one shaped like an MX missile. Why doesn\u2019t anyone consult me on these things?<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve got a problem in this country and it\u2019s time we started solving it. I don\u2019t have all the answers, but I\u2019ve got a few. So I\u2019m willing to help, if I could just find my car.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
So gas prices are approaching the cost of college tuition. It\u2019s now cheaper to fly first class to France than it is to drive that SUV down to the convenience mart and pick up a quart of milk. And soon, mark my word, you\u2019ll be caught in a dark alley and hear from the shadows a low voice mutter, \u201cOK, buddy, give me all your gas.\u201d That\u2019s the fuel-dependant world we live in. But I feel pretty unique because I don\u2019t live more than a half mile from work. In other words, I haven\u2019t needed to take out a loan yet to cover my gas card bill. Sometimes my wife and I drive to work, and other times we walk. To mix it up, sometimes I drive, forget the car is there, and then walk home. This makes it interesting when my wife looks out the window and screams, \u201cWhere\u2019s the car?\u201d It prompts me to scream, \u201cOh no, those blammin\u2019 jimmy-ammies stole it again!\u201d A moment or two later sanity taps me on the shoulder and I turn to my wife to admit that this isn\u2019t nearly as bad as the time I put my underwear on over my pants. But think of all that gas I\u2019m saving. We\u2019re extremely lucky. We\u2019re not adding rubbing alcohol to the tank to make it last longer, or having to lose weight to make road trips more economical. People tell me how they\u2019re spending ungodly sums of money each week, and I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}