Whee!
First, an apology. I know that normally, I don't go on about cars and stuff, but I wore out the old car, and am a little bit excited about the new one.
Well, I drove a used car until it needed to go. So we traded it in. Hello, Civic Hybrid!
Once again, a used car, this time a 2003 Civic Hybrid. Okay, so I'm being a little smug when I watch the dial indicate that the electric engine is assisting, or note my trip mpg. And the tiny turning radius. And I have always considered stop lights to be my personal time for contemplation - sort of my moment of quiet. Well, as long as the heating/cooling system isn't on, it can be literally quiet. The engine turns off, and stays off so long as the brake is down.
And when I start again, the quiet "whee!" of the electric engine starts. I love that bit.
Well, and the fact that we're looking at incredible mileage.
Well, I drove a used car until it needed to go. So we traded it in. Hello, Civic Hybrid!
Once again, a used car, this time a 2003 Civic Hybrid. Okay, so I'm being a little smug when I watch the dial indicate that the electric engine is assisting, or note my trip mpg. And the tiny turning radius. And I have always considered stop lights to be my personal time for contemplation - sort of my moment of quiet. Well, as long as the heating/cooling system isn't on, it can be literally quiet. The engine turns off, and stays off so long as the brake is down.
And when I start again, the quiet "whee!" of the electric engine starts. I love that bit.
Well, and the fact that we're looking at incredible mileage.
Labels: hybrid car
posted by Plain Foolish | 8:15 AM
7 Comments:
Yay for efficient new cars! Mine is not a hybrid but it can do 41 on the highway under ideal conditions (36 otherwise; still not too shabby).
I was willing to "settle" for the regular Civic - still really good mileage, but a 4 year old car with very little wear already on for less than $20K - and that's including tax,tags, maintenance package, the whole deal. I found that I could deal with the fact that it wasn't the pretty sparkly green one. (Hey, my clothes may be plainly cut, but they aren't beige. I like sparkly and green.)
And there's passenger and trunk space. And did I mention the fuel economy? I think I can live with a plain white car under those conditions. And the fact that it was just 1mpg shy of meeting my state's standards for not needing to be emissions tested every other year. My main complaint in regards to the last thing is that the emissions stations are set up to encourage cars to idle. Meh.
Hooray for Civics! My family owns a fleet of 'em, practically. (None are hybrids, though. Perhaps my next one will be, unless there's better green-auto technology out by the time I need a new car.) My aunt and uncle have had theirs for nigh on forever, and it's still going strong.
Oh, I knew already how much I like Civics. Do you remember that little red one I drove when I left OU? I knew it wouldn't be quite the same: I mean, even the little cars are no longer assuming that 5 foot 2 inches is average height. I can't help it that the rest of the world needs more height. (Only car I've ever driven where I moved the seat back more than 1 notch.)
I could seriously burble about the hybrid part of it. It's addictive. No joke. This morning, I was bummed because the snow reduced my fuel efficiency down from 48 mpg yesterday. I turned off the heater as soon as the windshield was really and truly clear.
And I found myself thinking, "Wow, this is such a toy! I should get Dad to drive this when he gets home." Actually, Mom would really appreciate it, I suspect, since the way to get the best mileage (and with constant mileage feedback on the dash, it's really hard to resist the lure of wanting that extra bit of mileage) requires a fair bit of defensive driving.
Congrats! Sounds like a lot of fun - I definitely want a hybrid for my next car (unless, like jesperanda said, there's something better by then).
Enjoy!
Congrats on your choice of car...a hybrid, and used too! I think in general used cars are a much better buy than new ones, which instantly depreciate so much. It's nice to know there are used hybrids showing up on the lots. Our Subaru with 175,000 miles won't last forever, after all, and we'll have to replace it eventually. We just hope it will go another 100,000, and who knows what will be available then?
Brian
We actually had a choice of used hybrids. Most of them were the manual hybrids from 2003, unfortunately. My husband can't drive standard transmission cars - and yes, he's tried, but the coordination to do all the stuff at once just doesn't happen. And I seem to have a strange "gift" for finding manual transmissions that are about to die. So we go automatic every time.
And yeah, a used hybrid. Way neat.
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