CONFESSIONS OF A HONDA HYBRID OWNER

In May of 2005, I bought a Honda Civic hybrid. I’m still driving it today.

The Civic is actually my second hybrid vehicle. Prior to 2005, I’d sped (?) around town in one of the original, two-seater Honda Insights and the truth to be told, I didn’t care then and don’t really care now that both cars were in the “ultra low emissions” category. I elected to buy and drive these cars because I’m cheap.

Now, before you whip out the calculators and preach to me about how I could have bought a base model Civic with an EPA mileage rating of almost 30 mpg and saved a fortune, let tell you as politely as I can where you can shove those calculators. Shove them into your pocket. After all, I’ve been shoving all the money I’ve saved on gas into my pocket for years now.

I live on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Specifically, in the resort town of Ocean City whose unofficial motto is “Spend your money here because if you go any further east, you’ll be in Portugal and they don’t take dollars. We do.”

As in any resort town, prices skyrocket during the tourist season and the price of gas is no exception. It’s the kind of town where you don’t just pay a premium for an oceanfront hotel room, you pay a premium for everything.

In that atmosphere, the Insight averaged a whopping 62 mpg.

I’d have kept the Insight if it weren’t for Ben. Ben is my rescue Rottweiler and at 120-punds, he was just too big to ride in the passenger seat of the Insight. So, I bought the hybrid Civic and gave Ben title to the entire back seat.

Compared to the Insight, the Civic is a gas-hound but none of my friends have a drop of sympathy for me. So far it’s averaging a mere 46 mpg, but compared to most other vehicles on the road, that ain’t too shabby and….with 120 pounds of Rottweiler in the back seat, I never have to worry about someone carjacking my ride.

Anyway, I’ve done the math. I’ve tracked the price of gas and I’ve double-checked my numbers. The “ultra-low emissions” thing is nice, but being cheap, the savings have been PRICELESS!