April 11, 2006
Is this a sign?
I went to Curves tonight for the first time, and as soon as I pulled in to the parking lot I spotted a minivan with a bumper sticker that said "Bush Sucks."
Not good, considering I'm wearing a t-shirt with "Proud Wife of an Air National Guardsman!" emblazoned across my boobs.
I got looks from the owner of that minivan...not good looks, either.
But I will say this, I am very out of shape. I huffed, I puffed, I worked up a sweat. See what blogging has done to me? Tee hee...
As if that bumper sticker wasn't enough, I passed a car on the way home...a Toyota Prius. The driver looked at La Tahoe with a less than favorable glance. Oh well. I still left his little hybrid butt in the dust.
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I just read on Chanchow (http://chanchow.blogspot.com/) where he was in traffic with a driver of a Prius that had serious road rage issues.
My stepbrother's favorite gym shirt is one that says "Celebrate Diversity" and below the words are pictured about 30 types of handguns. He always get looks with that one. What is it, gym rats can't be conservative or something?
Posted by: junebee at April 11, 2006 07:28 PMI forgot to mention that the drive of the Prius was smoking a cigarette.
Hello? Doesn't this defeat the purpose of, you know, air quality???
Posted by: GroovyVic at April 11, 2006 07:47 PMI'm firmly convinced that there are only 5 people who have actually purchased hybrids for true environmental reasons. All the rest of them are thinking they'll get 1) a tax break 2) to use HOV lanes (that's the biggie where I live) and/or 3) the satisfaction of being able to look like an environmentalist at parties ("Oh, well, *I* drive a Prius, you know.") And I guess you should tack on 4) They're cheap and want to save money on gas. (Though that one's negotiable since you pay so much more for you car in the first place.)
I hate hybrids.
Posted by: beth at April 12, 2006 07:08 AMThat's the thing, those hybrids cost almost as much as my Tahoe did brand new ($42K) and the hybrid SUV's don't get any better milage than the regular ones.
I read that if one replaced all the lightbulbs in their home with those nifty groovy ones, it would be equal to taking five cars off the road. Well, we've already done that.
I say if those enviro-folks don't like my SUV they can fork over the money to get me a smaller vehicle. La Tahoe is just about to crap out, anyway.
Posted by: GroovyVic at April 12, 2006 08:48 AMThe South Park episode on hybrids was hilarious -- the cars were "Pious", not "Prius", and the entire episode was about hybrid owners being smug. I just about died laughing.
The interesting thing is, Honda sells several other hybrids that look like regular cars, get as good of mileage as the Prius -- and don't sell nearly as well, because they don't make a "Statement" the way the Pious...er... Prius... does.
Posted by: Brian B at April 13, 2006 11:15 AMI hate to admit it, but I think those Honda's look sharp -- they do look just like a regular Accord. Those Pious things look like turds on wheels.
It's not a hybrid, but I went online yesterday and "built" myself a Dodge Stratus. Did you know if I wanted it to be red I'd have to pay extra? There's no charge for any of the other colors.
Posted by: GroovyVic at April 13, 2006 01:13 PMOK, and their logic behind that? Or did they even bother to explain?
No need to "admit" it. There's nothing wrong with wanting to help the environment, it's being smug about it that galls. if a car looks sharp, and gives you everything you eant in a vehicle, and happens to help with emissions -- BONUS!
Posted by: Brian B at April 13, 2006 02:29 PMI found your blog in a search for South Park Prius bumper stickers for my new Prius - I think the episode was hilarious and I wish I could poke fun at the car while I drive it. But there are so many errors in these comments that I have to address them.
The Honda hybrids and the new Toyota hybrid look more like other sedans, but their gas mileage tops off around 40. The Prius is 50-60 at its best if you drive normally. Of course, just like there are people who put absurd tires and stereos into their SUVs, there are Prius drivers who try to get 100+ MPG for the fun of it. To each her own.
Next: A brand new Prius costs about $28,000 (with a slightly above-middle package deal) before the $3k tax credit for 2006. That's about 2/3 the cost of your Tahoe, minus $3000, with about 4x the gas mileage. Hello?
Final bit - I am the proud wife of a sailor in the U.S. Navy AND I think Bush should be impeached - he's the Commander in Chief, not anybody's Pope. If you got looks from the driver you're referring to, maybe she was wondering why you don't work out on base.
Posted by: Emily at April 21, 2006 10:54 AMFirst, Emily, thank you for stopping by. And while I shouldn't have to defend myself on my blog, here goes:
If I was wrong in my comments about hybrids, forgive me. From what I've seen of the hybrid SUV's, at least, there isn't a big difference in price.
I don't knock anyone who drives one, I just dislike getting nasty looks for what I drive. And I get them from more than just hybrid drivers. This will sound petty, but at least my Tahoe is fully paid for, and was paid for in cash at the dealers.
As for "the base," I am the wife of a National Guardsman officer who does, in fact, work on base. He has stated that while he may not like the Commander in Chief, he still has to respect that position. He was actually referring to Clinton.
I have never stated here, or anywhere else for that matter, that I think Bush is the best president ever. Yeah, I voted for him twice, but I don't think he's doing what he should. In case you didn't notice, I try not to delve into politics here, no matter what I may spout off on someone else's site.
Posted by: GroovyVic at April 21, 2006 01:08 PMAnd as for why I don't work out on base, well, to be honest I can't even find the place.
Posted by: GroovyVic at April 21, 2006 01:21 PMGroovyVic - thanks for the replies! Of course you don't have to defend yourself - it's YOUR blog - but I appreciate you admitting that you were wrong.
My comment about Bush was in response to you saying that a "Bush Sucks" bumper sticker was not good, considering your "proud wife of..." t-shirt. Why should those things conflict? I routinely wear U.S. Navy gear along with my anti-Bush buttons because our nation affords me the right to disagree.
Your husband is right. He, like my husband, signed a contract stating that he has to respect the office of President. I didn't. Bush sucks. And your commenters were the ones who delved into politics here - I was responding to them.
As far as your feelings toward hybrid drivers, well, I don't think you're being honest there. You 'knocked' a hybrid driver for smoking (would you have if they'd been driving an Expedition?), you called my car 'turd on wheels,' and you 'hate to admit' that the hybrid Accords look decent. A little hostility, perhaps?
Oh, Brian B - the Accords don't sell as well because a more powerful non-hybrid Accord gets nearly as good gas mileage as the conventional: 29/37 vs. 26/34. NOT because it doesn't make a statement. The only statement I'm making with a Prius is a bank statement with a higher balance.
Posted by: Emily at April 21, 2006 02:04 PMHi, it's Emily! Something must be wrong with your blog - for some reason, after being courteous and straightforward, I can't seem to get my comment posted. Odd.
GroovyVic - thanks for the replies! Of course you don't have to defend yourself - it's YOUR blog - but I appreciate you admitting that you were wrong.
My comment about Bush was in response to you saying that a "Bush Sucks" bumper sticker was not good, considering your "proud wife of..." t-shirt. Why should those things conflict? I routinely wear U.S. Navy gear along with my anti-Bush buttons because our nation affords me the right to disagree.
Your husband is right. He, like my husband, signed a contract stating that he has to respect the office of President. I didn't. Bush sucks. And your commenters were the ones who delved into politics here - I was responding to them.
As far as your feelings toward hybrid drivers, well, I don't think you're being honest there. You 'knocked' a hybrid driver for smoking (would you have if they'd been driving an Expedition?), you called my car 'turd on wheels,' and you 'hate to admit' that the hybrid Accords look decent. A little hostility, perhaps?
Oh, Brian B - the Accords don't sell as well because a more powerful non-hybrid Accord gets nearly as good gas mileage as the conventional: 29/37 vs. 26/34. NOT because it doesn't make a statement. The only statement I'm making with a Prius is a bank statement with a higher balance.
Posted by: Em at April 21, 2006 02:33 PMHere comes the needle. No such thing as free energy, the energy that is "saved" by the hybrid is no more then the energy you would get by having a solar panel on it (except solar panels give you energy while the car is off). Fact of the matter is, all of the energy in the hybrid comes from the GAS you put in it, reguardless of how you word it. Hybrids actually lose alot of energy (2 transmissions, converting energy 6 ways from sunday before using it), so they make the car lighter, and put a tiny engine in it to compensate.
Stop using your car's comptuer to measure gas mileage.
PLUG IT IN!
Posted by: Marc at April 24, 2006 12:58 PM