Sunday, April 15, 2007

My New Enviro-Double-Plus-Good Machine



OK, TMM posted his new toy, so I wanted to show off mine. We had many many options and in the end, we chose the black one.



50 mpg on the highway and 60 mpg in town. An amazing amount of room on the inside.




and really cool interior gear



It is zippy, does fine on the passes and has a really cool set of engines



To be truthful, it is a lot more car than I thought it would be. Did I mention 50 mpg on the highway and 60 mpg in town? Yeah, even better in town than on the highway.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awesome, congratulations!

Anonymous said...

Wow, cool ride. There's nothing like that new car smell, except maybe cow-in-estrus on a crisp fall morning. My only question: How many sheep will it haul? ;)

Anonymous said...

Shane: Even if you had to pay a lot more for that car, you will be helping the Earth by consuming less energy and creating less pollution. Also, your virtuous consumer decision—we all vote with our dollars!--will cause demand to drop for big vehicles and gasoline. This will make it much better for me when I buy a new Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD 4X4 with over 300 HP.

I just hope we don’t run into each other on the highway.

Thanks again for being a good citizen of Planet Earth!

Anonymous said...

Hey that's all well and good Shane, but don't pat yourself on the back too much. The energy and raw materials that went into creating that nice hybrid are quite substantial. Your vehicle may get 50-60 mpg, which is great, compared to most vehicles these days, but it's still contributing to a problem, not solving it. Let's not maintain the illusion that we can all maintain our high-mileage -motor vehicle-obsessed culture in perpetuity by driving hybrids and using french fry grease.

Shane C. Mason said...

Anonymous,

Until they put a mass transit system into Helena, I do what I can. I am sure you have no car at all? If so, that's very well and good. I do not have that luxury so I do what I can. Do I think that this is the final solution? No, but again it was the best option I had to try and be responsible. Again, I do what I can. What is it that you do that is so much more?

Unknown said...

Good Answer Shane = I am waiting to see what this posters actually drives - WELL maybe you DO have it right he probably does not own one!

I will have to send you my NEW Harley and BTW I did not forget the Asian deal either :-) That would be my 90 MPG Scooter :-)

Anonymous said...

Well, my intention wasn't to be too much of a dick, but I can see how you took it that way. I really don't know much about your situation and motives for doing what you're doing, so my bad.

Just seemed that displaying all these nice pictures of a brand spanking new vehicle perpetuates the "love of the automobile" culture of this country. Maybe you're not one of those people who has romantic notions about sustaining our high energy consuming culture / car-dependent suburbia/exurbia through electric cars and biodiesel.

What I'm doing: living close to the places I need to be so I can walk and ride my bike. Buying things locally to the extent that their available. Not engaging in conspicuous consumption of crap that I don't need.

Rocky Smith said...

Looks like a nice ride Shane. I'm curious though. Did you look at other hybrids? What made you choose the Toyota? I've heard they are overpriced. My aunt loves her Honda. (I drive a Subaru Impreza Outback if anyone cares)

Shane C. Mason said...

Rocky, I looked at the Honda, closely. The Toyota's MPG was better (especially in town) and it had some really cool features. One of the main reasons was that it was my wife's dream car. Since she drives it the most, that was the most important factor: if you are paying that much for a car, get the one you want.

As for your car, I drive a 1993 Subaru legacy. I love subarus.

Rocky Smith said...

Yea- gotta keep momma happy!