Smigg's check out the Penn & Teller show..


They did a report on prius and lesbians And they proved some good point's there and it was quit funny..

 

Now, stuff like hybrid Tahoe's that get 16 mpg instead of 12 are marketing BS, in my opinion. Sort of like setting up a Chrysler Hemi engine for E85 and calling it a "green" vehicle (when it will get about 8 mpg on E85).

But there is a culture, more based in Europe, that economical vehicles are a Good Thing. Mercedes has been making large, fancy diesel cars forever, and BMW is doing amazing things with turbodiesels (both in terms of economy and performance). Just because you have money doesn't automatically mean you have the desire to waste resources. No idea on the specifics of this particular 5-series diesel or the actual cost of the hybrid system.

My BMW is a 4-cylinder '91 318is that is a riot to drive and gets mpg in the high 20's-30; screamin' little 1.8 liter twincam with a 5-speed and the sport package on the car. There are also people who don't understand the saying "it's more fun to drive a slow car fast than it is to drive a fast car slow."

Some folks build 10,000 square foot homes and put solar panels on them to supply part of the energy, or use solar panels to heat their swimming pools (when they could be more energy conscious and go to the municipal pool).

It will take a while, but I suspect the US will swing back toward the "economy is the new performance" mindset someday. Maybe that will take $6 per gallon gas, but we'll get there eventually.

George