Practice What You Purchase

You bought a Prius, now act like it!!

I'm driving along Stockdale Highway, on the way to my house, when the road merges to one-lane just past the stoplight.

I'm at the front of the line, when a new Toyota Prius slides up next to me in the curb lane, that is suppose to merge.

I see the new paint, pristine shine and start to wonder what it would be like to get that kind of gas mileage.

I mothballed my Expedition (with the exception of using it to tow the horse trailer) and have resigned myself to driving my wife's old car. A 2001 Toyota Avalon. A far cry from the '71 Cutlass 442 or '69 Mustang from my youth. But it's a solid car with air bags and some pretty decent horsepower and MPG's.

The older gentlemen driving the Prius is staring straight ahead.

I've seen that look before. When I was 18. Someone pulling up next to the 442, burning a hole in the stoplight with their stare as they prepared to punch the gas pedal threw the floor board in an attempt to roar away from the intersection first.

But this is a Prius.

Built for distance, not speed.

His gaze never left the light for one second. I started to chuckle, wondering if perhaps I was just a little delirious from my early workday.

The light changed and with the exception of what I use to refer to as a "burnout", the Prius sped away from the intersection as I began to accelerate alongside him.

With each passing 10th of a mile, he continued his rapid acceleration until he suddenly eased off the gas and slid in behind me as the road came together.

What was that all about?!

We've done stories about Prius owners, called hyper milers, who go to extraordinary lengths to try and get the most MPG's possible by coasting down hills and up to lights, anything and everything possible to boost the miles they squeeze out of every gallon.

One guy actually claims he went 110 miles on one gallon!!

Once I turned off of Stockdale Highway, Mr. Prius roared (more like a whirring sound) past me.

Perhaps the new Prius should come with a special section in the owner's manual that spells out how the hybrid system works and how old driving habits will have to be altered if the owner expects to see any gas savings.

Or maybe we should pass a law that requires Hybrid owners to use the slow lane, relinquish the right of way and carry a 5 gallon container of gasoline, so they can provide a little roadside assistance for the rest of us.