2005-10-10

Choosing a Hybrid

I got myself a car the other day. A major decision for anyone. A milestone for me. Well, you might remember the background. It took a while do decide. I rented. I test-drove. I contemplated. At the end I stuck to my first instinct and got myself a hybrid.

Timing is everything.

Toyota Prius was introduced in 1997 and was first criticized for being uncomfortable. So it was redesigned and launched on a broader scale last year. This time the journalists were enthusiastic and we had a new Car of the Year. This helped convince me.

When I started looking in July 2005 there was hardly a day without headlines about skyrocketing oil prices. The prospect of future gas shortage loomed once again in peoples’ minds. This didn’t exactly make my decision more difficult.

The scientists are approaching a consensus now that CO2 emissions are among the worst foreseeable environmental problems in the coming decades. We’re all accountable for the choices we make. Those of us who can afford a new and more eco-friendly vehicle can no longer flee our responsibility. My decision was made.

I got myself a Prius.

I’m not the only one choosing a hybrid these days. According to some analysts we’re seeing the beginning of a major shake-up in the auto market. Let’s hope so. We can no longer go back to the future of excessively wild petroleum consumption. Those days are ending.

2 comments:

Hanseric said...

Congratulations!

I think the Prius is the biggest smashing marketing hit we've seen in years. The fact it's a hybrid-only car with great design and advanced interior technology proves Toyota is not only (soon) the market leader, but the thought leader in auto making.

I drive myself a Volvo V70 Bi-Fuel which I really love. Especially when filling it with low cost non-CO2 biogas. So I think I win the enviroment race. But your car i still heading in smartness.

More on your and my cars at: http://melin.typepad.com/lcpm/energy_and_environment/index.html

stromsjo said...

Thanks Hans Eric!

As you're well aware there is hardly any marketing going on in Sweden for the Prius. Supply doesn't match demand anyhow in these days of congestion taxes and what-not.

The Bi-Fuel is a nice approach too, of course. With more innovation, more alternatives and a decade or so of good old market economy I'm sure we'll see even better alternatives emerging. By then my Hybrid of 2005 will be considered an ancient pioneer but I'll be happy anyhow knowing that we did make a difference.

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