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05-05-2007, 10:16 PM
Driving a hybrid car saves gas and cash. (http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/personalfinance/05/06/6burns.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=3)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2007_Toyota_Prius1.jpg Scott Burns - Austin American-Statesman - May 5, 2007
The 2007 Toyota Prius - The most Fuel-Efficient Car available in America today.
Last year, Dallas computer whiz Tony Scott drove a BMW M series, an expensive car that BMW advertises as "a race car for four." Then, contemplating the need for a new $1,200 set of Z-rated tires and a future of 15 miles a gallon on premium gas, he made a decision.
He traded the Beemer for a Toyota Prius sedan, a car that gets attention for its mpg, not its mph. One month later he bought another one for his wife, relegating their diesel Ford Excursion to what he calls "recreational status."
To be certain that he and his wife were comfortable, he made sure the new cars were tricked-out - he bought them with all the upgrades, including leather upholstery and heated seats. Call it fashionable downsizing.
Today, after a year, his only complaint is about the Congress of the United States - most of the tax credit for purchasing the hybrid cars was lost to the increasingly hated alternative minimum tax.
I've heard a lot of Prius stories since I wrote my first column about the car back in 2003. At the risk of sounding like a petro-zealot, here's another chapter in the saga.
Although the more recent models are rated at 60 mpg city/50 mpg highway, our quaint 2003 model has only achieved 50 mpg a few times - usually on smooth 50 to 60 mph drives, such as the trip from Santa Fe to Taos, N.M., and back.
Recently, on the 640-mile run from Santa Fe to Dallas, it got only 41.1 miles per gallon - but it was running at 70 to 75 miles an hour, breezing through the Texas Panhandle on a day marked by dozens of tornadoes. I ignored the weather and listened to the audio edition of "Guns, Germs, and Steel." The best way to reduce the gas mileage in a Prius is to drive it into a headwind on a rainy day … http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/personalfinance/05/06/6burns.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=3
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2007_Toyota_Prius1.jpg Scott Burns - Austin American-Statesman - May 5, 2007
The 2007 Toyota Prius - The most Fuel-Efficient Car available in America today.
Last year, Dallas computer whiz Tony Scott drove a BMW M series, an expensive car that BMW advertises as "a race car for four." Then, contemplating the need for a new $1,200 set of Z-rated tires and a future of 15 miles a gallon on premium gas, he made a decision.
He traded the Beemer for a Toyota Prius sedan, a car that gets attention for its mpg, not its mph. One month later he bought another one for his wife, relegating their diesel Ford Excursion to what he calls "recreational status."
To be certain that he and his wife were comfortable, he made sure the new cars were tricked-out - he bought them with all the upgrades, including leather upholstery and heated seats. Call it fashionable downsizing.
Today, after a year, his only complaint is about the Congress of the United States - most of the tax credit for purchasing the hybrid cars was lost to the increasingly hated alternative minimum tax.
I've heard a lot of Prius stories since I wrote my first column about the car back in 2003. At the risk of sounding like a petro-zealot, here's another chapter in the saga.
Although the more recent models are rated at 60 mpg city/50 mpg highway, our quaint 2003 model has only achieved 50 mpg a few times - usually on smooth 50 to 60 mph drives, such as the trip from Santa Fe to Taos, N.M., and back.
Recently, on the 640-mile run from Santa Fe to Dallas, it got only 41.1 miles per gallon - but it was running at 70 to 75 miles an hour, breezing through the Texas Panhandle on a day marked by dozens of tornadoes. I ignored the weather and listened to the audio edition of "Guns, Germs, and Steel." The best way to reduce the gas mileage in a Prius is to drive it into a headwind on a rainy day … http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/personalfinance/05/06/6burns.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=3