Part of the Problem
I have a dirty little secret to confess. Last Monday, I took my beloved blue Prius into the shop to repair the damage done by the Silent Assassin, aka Oblivious Parking Lot Collider, aka Bad Driver. ("Oh, I didn't think I hit your car"...yeah, right. Luckily, her insurance has accepted liability.)
Anyway, after dropping my car off, I needed a mode of transportation because I was scheduled to do some on-site work for a client, so I arranged to rent a car from Hertz. I specifically requested a compact car. I am not very tall and I am somewhat spacially challenged, so I need a car that I can maneuver easily. So what did they give me? A Hyundai Santa Fe! It was almost enough to make me sign up for the damage liability waiver, but I reminded myself that those things are basically a scam, and I did not need to spend an extra $15 a day on the off chance that I would be involved in yet another accident.
I took the car, but I was so embarrassed to be driving around in an SUV, and not even a good SUV, at that. The stupid thing was a big, hard-to-steer, gas-guzzling hunk of metal. Unfortunately, I did not realize just how gas-guzzling it was until I had to fill up the car before turning it in. I only had it for four days...I wasn't going to pay Hertz an exorbitant sum in advance for a full tank of gas, just for the convenience of not having to fill it up myself. Of course, gas prices being what they are, I still had to pay an exorbitant sum. The car was full when I got it. I probably drove about 200 miles in the four days I had it. That burned half a tank of gas. And that car has a big tank. I had to put nearly 11 gallons in it, which cost me $31! Now, my Prius has a tank that only holds 11.9 gallons, and the little light comes on when there are about 10 gallons left. By that time, I've been able to drive nearly 450 miles. I figure the Santa Fe got about 18 miles to the gallon, whereas my Prius gets 45. Quite a difference!
I am sorry for burning so much gas in just four days. And I am very, very glad to have my Prius back. So much easier to drive! So much less pollution! So much less expensive! And best of all, my "clean air" stickers arrived from the DMV this weekend, so I am now authorized to drive solo in the carpool lane! I can't wait to test it out tomorrow. It will probably shave minutes off my commute. (I can't get my hopes up too much.)
I realize that there are some legitimate reasons for driving an SUV. My family even has one for towing our boat. But if you just think that SUVs are cool...well, I think you deserve the high gas prices you're paying. And yes, for those of you in the ridiculous H2s--that's me pointing and laughing as I go whizzing by (relatively speaking) in the carpool lane.
Anyway, after dropping my car off, I needed a mode of transportation because I was scheduled to do some on-site work for a client, so I arranged to rent a car from Hertz. I specifically requested a compact car. I am not very tall and I am somewhat spacially challenged, so I need a car that I can maneuver easily. So what did they give me? A Hyundai Santa Fe! It was almost enough to make me sign up for the damage liability waiver, but I reminded myself that those things are basically a scam, and I did not need to spend an extra $15 a day on the off chance that I would be involved in yet another accident.
I took the car, but I was so embarrassed to be driving around in an SUV, and not even a good SUV, at that. The stupid thing was a big, hard-to-steer, gas-guzzling hunk of metal. Unfortunately, I did not realize just how gas-guzzling it was until I had to fill up the car before turning it in. I only had it for four days...I wasn't going to pay Hertz an exorbitant sum in advance for a full tank of gas, just for the convenience of not having to fill it up myself. Of course, gas prices being what they are, I still had to pay an exorbitant sum. The car was full when I got it. I probably drove about 200 miles in the four days I had it. That burned half a tank of gas. And that car has a big tank. I had to put nearly 11 gallons in it, which cost me $31! Now, my Prius has a tank that only holds 11.9 gallons, and the little light comes on when there are about 10 gallons left. By that time, I've been able to drive nearly 450 miles. I figure the Santa Fe got about 18 miles to the gallon, whereas my Prius gets 45. Quite a difference!
I am sorry for burning so much gas in just four days. And I am very, very glad to have my Prius back. So much easier to drive! So much less pollution! So much less expensive! And best of all, my "clean air" stickers arrived from the DMV this weekend, so I am now authorized to drive solo in the carpool lane! I can't wait to test it out tomorrow. It will probably shave minutes off my commute. (I can't get my hopes up too much.)
I realize that there are some legitimate reasons for driving an SUV. My family even has one for towing our boat. But if you just think that SUVs are cool...well, I think you deserve the high gas prices you're paying. And yes, for those of you in the ridiculous H2s--that's me pointing and laughing as I go whizzing by (relatively speaking) in the carpool lane.
posted by Astera @ 9:52 PM
1 Comments:
At 11:46 AM,
Bruingirl said…
What? You don't like to pay $3.20/gallon? My roommie just filled up his X5 and paid $65+ just for GAS!!!! I thought we lived in the US, not Europe?!?!?!
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