Hybrid News

Why is it all hybrid owners are assumed to be ‘green’? It is a curious prejudice and I’m starting to think about how to have a little fun with this prejudice.

Saturday I went through the safety training at a local do-it-yourself auto shop and took them out for a quick inspection of my hybrid. I pointed out the inverter radiator is separate from the combined engine and refrigerant radiator and the safety instructor then started discussing the different refrigerants they are qualified to work with. The last point he brought up with, &quotAnd you know the ozone hole has disappeared.&quot

This weekend, some of the local USENET nuts started spouting all sorts of nonsense about rain in Atlanta meaning this has not been the driest year and a couple of other global warming skeptic claims. But this nonsense has been a pattern going on for quite sometime. Mostly I ignore it having grown up in Oklahoma where small talk is about the weather including every rain shower and thunderstorm in the past five years.

I was about to post an answer to the local USENET nuts when I realized there was a larger pattern going on . . . one that also colors the responses of some car companies and dealers. They act as if the only reason for having a hybrid is because we’re trying to ’save the world’ and have Green Peace tattooed on our butts.

It was funny that the safety instructor was the first one who spotted my vanity plate, "C52MPG," and got the message. A bright fellow, I think he will be the first to understand I’m there about the technology, not saving the planet. So I’m thinking about doing a little ‘reality training’ at the auto shop.

I′ve got some maintenance coming up and I′m thinking about posting an invitation to the other car enthusiasts to join me in a short talk followed by a ‘go do’. The first one will be on hybrid transmissions, the Prius, and include my transmission oil studies. Then we’ll go to the bay, lift it up take oil samples; and replace the transmission oil.

Future discussions and maintenance will include: tires and alignment, exhaust systems, and hybrid traction battery theory and practice. I have no illusions about any ‘road to Damascus’ conversions. I’m just interested in them ‘getting over’ the newness and getting back to basics.

As for the USENET nuts, it really comes down to how much time do I have to waste on them? If they prefer to remain ignorant and believe propaganda instead of empirical data, why not let them wallow in their own ignorance? I pretty much feel the same way about the diesel and fool cell advocates.

Comments? Thoughts?

Bob Wilson