Hybrid's

[ProTouring442]

I gues it's the smugness factor that bugs me. I am not a big fan of Japanese imports, mostly due to their restrictive trade agreements, but I did buy my wife a Miata because their was no other choice in the small sports car convertible niche the Miata fills. If the Dodge Demon prototype become real, that may be her next car though.

The smugness thing bugs me though. Yes, a hybrid gets great mileage, but... They require a battery that is not enviromentally friendly either to produce or dispose of. They require the use of a lot of copper (strip mined) as well as other metals that aren't enviromentally sound. They also come from a country that dumps most of its garbage in the ocean, and kills more whales, dolphin, sharks, and elephants than any other country. Hey, we aren't always the best either, but when a company is doing something awful, it usually hits the news, not so with the Japanese products.

Anyway, I just wish we had a level playing field. As for the SUV craze, I don't think it would have happend if the Federal Government hadn't placed such restrictive CAFE standards on the car industry. And now, just whne technology is catching up, and they are building larger, more powerfull cars that meet CAFE, the government wants to increase the standards.

Shiny Side Up!
Bill