From the desk of the Editor
June 2010
Posted by Web Staff
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A Road Test That Turned Us Green
June 2010
by Len Rickards
A recent trip to Missouri and the need for a rental car had me standing at the Hertz Rental Car counter near the Kansas City Airport to pick up my mid-sized rent-a-ride. Rental car sizing seems interesting as it is questionable if the reference is to the vehicle or the driver.
The response from the person on the car lot back to the rental clerk was slow. It seemed as though the mid-sized cruisers were out of stock so she requested a standard version. Again the reply was at the same speed as Barbara Bush running a 100 meter sprint so the helpful counter clerk asked if I would like to rent a Prius.
She could see by my shrugging shoulders and gag reflex that I wasn´t particularly interested but stated it would be easy on fuel. Trying to do my part to help reduce emissions and save petrol for my 39 year old Pontiac gas hog I agreed to cinch my saddle on the back of the Prius.
First things first, what the heck does Prius mean? Dictionary.com says it is an adjective and means - (in prescriptions) before; former. Before what? Former as in previously? If this is cutting edge technology how does a label of "before" or "former" fit into anything? Before the car there was Prius? Wouldn´t that be a horse or a rickshaw?
The 2009 Prius is the most fuel efficient mass produced car for sale in the U.S. and has an image so pure that one expects all the demons living in the road to submit their resignations as their tritons go limp and their tails fall off when one approaches.
To begin the experience, there is no blade on the "key" as it plugs into a docking station. Once docked the brake pedal is pressed and a button is pushed, only to not hear an engine fire up. No Flowmasters on this contrivance. I pulled on my full face George Jetson mask and put the inadequate feeling mini-shifter in D ready to be whooshed into the atmosphere with hummingbirds, butterflies and fairy dust blasting from the soda straw that served as an exhaust pipe. It felt as though it may have been a little heavy on the fairy dust as acceleration was nearly catatonic. I fully expected to be passed by a Barcalounger and its occupant when entering the freeway.
The car shuddered as though it was about to incur an intestinal expulsion as the gasoline engine started when I headed for the exit. After a few miles I became curious about the intent of the "B" printed on the shift knob. Knowing that the Prius has electric motors (one as a powerplant and the other to recharge the battery pack) it seems logical that since I was in the mid-west where an insect manufacturing plant exists this must be for a built-in Bug Zapper. Imagining how cool it would be to watch a lightning bolt arc from the roof and microwave a big brown river bug in flight made me anxious for nightfall.
Handling is not a term that seems to translate into being ecologically responsible when minimal driving is the ultimate environmental cure. Competition events are obviously unnecessary travel, but a hybrid road racing series would be pretty cool, albeit perhaps viewed as an oxymoron. It would be awesome to see flames shooting from the exhaust as unburned gas ignites when entering a curve while sparks crackle the ozone when the electric propulsion system goes into generator mode as the Sparkymobile exits a turn. Laps would need to be limited to a few since the current gaggle of hybrids are synonymous with dawdling.
These little eco-wonderwagons are so emissions clean that I can envision tube-like tunnels of clean air as they drive about the polluted streets of Los Angeles, Mexico City and Linfen, China. A cape would one day replace the rear spoiler as hybrids all over the world make planet Earth so clean that mastodons, Tasmanian Tigers and Edward R. Murrow revive from extinction!
In summary, the experience of driving a Prius nearly 1400 miles is about as satisfying as a slice of bread and butter for dessert, although the rental clerk was correct about it being easy on fuel. The mileage varied from 47 to 51 boring miles per gallon of gas, but this was written for Rod News and revs on the funmeter define what we are about. So in support of local automotive events let´s all fire up our internal combustion dinosaurs, waste some fossil fuel and leave the hybrids for the daily drive to work.
|
My Muscle Car |
Eco Car |
| Make |
Pontiac | Toyota |
| Model |
Formula 400 | Prius (Sparky) |
| Year |
1970 |
2009 |
|---|
| Engine |
400 CID V-8 Ram Air III |
91 CID I-4 |
| Horsepower |
345 gross |
Minimal |
| Transmission |
4 speed manual |
CVT Automatic |
| Miles Per Gallon |
Who cares? |
50ish |
| 1/4 mile acceleration |
14 seconds or quicker |
All day |
