State legislators ride green wave in hybrid vehicles
It could be that Sacramento lawmakers are finally paying attention to gas prices, or maybe they’re just slaves to fashion — but whatever the case, hybrid cars are all the red-hot rage for legislators who get to drive state-subsidized wheels. Thirty-five — or well over a quarter — of the state’s 119 senators and Assembly members are cruising the politically correct highway, state records show. Virtually all the cars were purchased within the past two years.
I’m still not sold on hybrid vehicles, though the idea is intriguing. The technology is still in it’s infancy, and I’m still waiting to be convinced that hybrids are truly better for the environment that conventional, well-tuned and -maintained gasoline vehicles. I would like to be convinced, and I’m not trying to be unreasonable, but I’m not a bandwagon kind of guy.
She Who Endures My Myriad Eccentricities is, however, convinced that hybrids are the way to go, and she even has her name first on the waiting list at a local dealership for one of Toyota’s new hybrid Camrys when they become available later this spring. It’s got some interesting possibilities, and since she’s going to be the one driving it, this, of course, is her choice to make…just as long as I can buy that Hummer H3 when it’s my turn…. ;p)
“It’s certainly more economical and environmentally friendly,” says Democrat Kevin Murray of Los Angeles, who chairs the Senate’s powerful Appropriations Committee.
He should know. Murray gave up his very big Lincoln Navigator for a smaller but equally pricey ($57,334) 2006 Hybrid Lexus RX400H which, according to Automobile Magazine, “accelerates with V-8 gusto and cradles its occupants in leather-lined luxury.” It also gets a compact-like 30 mpg, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Of course, if I were to be forced to drive a hybrid, I think I could get used to a Lexus RX400h. Yes, if that’s the sacrifice I have to make to help preserve the environment, well, that’s just the kind of selfless, Greater Good-minded kind of person that I am. Because I’m all about making the world a better place to be….and if it takes driving a $57,000 vehicle to do it, well, I guess we all need to make sacrifices every now and then, eh??
