Editor,

I am writing this letter to share my displeasure in yet another article full of uninformed opinions about the type of car I drive. I was very disappointed that this article actually appeared in my own school newspaper.

In his article, Josh Tremblay mostly discussed electric vehicles and leaped to several conclusions about them I disagreed with. However, I agree with him in general that totally electric vehicles are not our wave of the future. I believe that several other forms of new technology currently being explored are the key. One new form of technology I particularly believe in is that of hybrid gas/electric vehicles. I believe in hybrid technology not as a final solution, but as a step toward more environmentally conscious cars. I should believe in it, because I drive one of only two hybrid cars currently on the market, a Honda Insight.

Tremblay quickly dismissed the hybrids as too expensive when both the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight cost $20,000. I know for a fact that Honda is selling the Insight for less than it is worth in order to get the cars out on the market. I consider $20,000 a relatively inexpensive price for a new car, and compared to many of the other new vehicles I see students driving, I know that mine is at the lower end of the price range of what is being paraded around campus.

Tremblay dismisses the forward-thinking Japanese companies that pioneered the technology while supporting future efforts by American companies. Why? He believes with the American companies’ future models that "nothing about the car’s performance or price will change," important because "the whining of an electric engine doesn’t exactly incite the same adrenaline rush as a throaty big block." He also observes that the hybrid cares "are too slow and unexciting to drive." I found these comments not only uniformed, but of an embarassing and juvenile attitude.

The whole point of the new technology is to create a different breed of car for a different breed of driver, one that does not need to compensate for lack of brain or penis size with the rumble of a loud engine. Maybe it’s just because I’m a female that I could care less about a loud engine, and I personally find SUVS simplistic and unchallenging, something driven by apathetic soccer moms who don’t understand cars. I get a rush when I roll in to a stoplight as my car goes dead silent with its automatic engine shutoff feature (the electric engine quickly restarts the gasoline engine with the depression of the clutch when it’s time to go again). I find my car incredibly fun to drive. It is a manual transmission with so many interesting gauges and so much new technology in it that I feel like I’m a kid playing with a new toy when I’m behind the wheel. And my car’s top speed is 110 mph, plenty fast for any practical application. I certainly have never had cause to drive it even at 110, having driven it as fast as 90 mph and finding its handling smooth and stable at such speeds. It might not win a stoplight drag race against a Porsche, but it has enough power to place it on a fairly level playing field with most other typical gasoline-only cars. When I drive other cars, especially automatic transmissions, I feel like the car is driving me, but with my car, I feel like I’m the one driving.

My car has many attributes that make it not only fun to drive, but one of the most technologically advanced cars on the market. It is rated ULEV, with 80-90% less harmful emissions than cars complying with the normal emissions level required in California. The engine automatically shuts off as one comes to a stop in order to prevent tailpipe emissions while at a standstill. Since it also has an electric engine, there is no wear on the starter as it quickly and silently restarts with the depression of a clutch. The Insight features a gauge that tracks miles per gallon (mpg), which results in more conscientious driving, not to mention that it makes driving a fun exercise to attain the highest gas mileage possible. On my best trip, I got an average 80 mpg. On average, with a combination of city and highway driving, I usually get 60 mpg, far beyond what most other cars can achieve.

My car is not the final solution for the problem we face with oversized, overpolluting vehicles, but it is certainly a step in the right direction. I feel proud when I silently pass a rumbling SUV, knowing that I made a wonderful decision in choosing my car. I only wish that ignorant writers and reporters would further research these wonderful cars before spouting their misinformed conclusions to the world, preventing other environmentally-conscious drivers from considering purchasing an Insight or Prius.

Frustrated,

Stephanie Hairston ‘05