Tagged: Convenience

2008 Ford Escape Hybrid Test Drive and Mental Strife

We’re fortunate enough to be comfortable in these trying times, so – and I’m rationalizing - we should be thinking about stimulating the economy in whatever way we can; getting a new car at the same time seems like as good a plan as any. Buying a new car is a large purchase so it’s reasonable to think one may teeter on the decision. But, I think I’m more conflicted than most would be. Obviously purchasing something that fits our lifestyle and future plans is important, but I also want to raise the national average miles per gallon (if only fractionally) with whatever vehicle we purchase. Only a handful of automobiles that would fit our needs would do that. One of those is the Ford Escape Hybrid.

Over the weekend, Katie and I test drove a used 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid. Besides being a most terrible bright blue color, the test drive went just fine. We’ve been talking about possibly getting a new car since this country’s dire economic state makes for good deals . . . except on Ford Escape Hybrid of course. The problem is that these damn Escapes are harder to find than Sasquatch. Why won’t Ford build more!? We averaged over 28 mpg on our jaunt through Granite City, Illinois, home of the demonstrating steel mill worker, and happened to drive by an affordable housing project I recently worked on that’s under construction; it’s looking great!

As you may know from reading this blog before, we live in a loft in downtown St. Louis. I walk to work and my wife takes our one and only car, Samosa, to work. The problem is, when you’ve decided you want something, you generally don’t listen to any counter arguments. But, yesterday I broke out our scooter, Tofu, for the first time in 2009 to get to a board meeting. The ride was a bit chilly, but relatively short. Being able to travel independently made me question the need to another car, which would make the third motorized vehicle for a family of two humans (four if you include our two four-legged creatures).

Is that being “green”? Am I being too hard on myself for wanting the ability to move around quickly and conveniently? Clearly hypocrisy would play some part if we bought a new car, but would it involved enough that the decision would categorize abandoning my beliefs? Okay, so I’m being a little dramatic.

Buying a car doesn’t mean that it would automatically get used an extraordinary amount. This is great from a fuel-burning standpoint but probably not the wisest economic decision. Additionally, I would have no need for the car sharing program downtown. Using this program has been relatively convenient but also emotionally rewarding. Subscribing to the one car per person norm would only be the status quo, no worse. And owning a hybrid would make being in that classification slightly more bearable, but that’s no way to fight the good fight. Ahhhh.

Convenience Over Conscience?

I want another car. I do not need one, I just desire one.

My wife and I currently share one vehicle, which works out just fine most of the time. I walk to work and she uses it for commuting. We share friends and are generally on the same schedule. But, there are times when we each have important things to do that requires each of us have transportation. While this does not happen frequently, it happens often enough. 

That being said, living in an urban environment offers me the option of renting a car via a car-sharing program called WeCar. In fact, I did this very thing last night to get to a meeting. Everything worked out just fine. While the immediate cost of renting the vehicle is momentarily prohibitive, it is extremely cost effective when compared to the cost of owning, insuring, parking, fueling and repairing a vehicle.

Blah. I still want one. I do not know if this almost childish, illogical internal demand for something new is fleeting. I was recently at the auto show here in St. Louis and got to toy around with a bunch of uninspired vehicles, save a few hybrids in which I sat, which is what we would buy. It was good fun.

The absolute cost of the decision is not what is weighing on me; the weight is purely philosophical. I feel like buying another car would make me a hypocrite. Sure, I am not gallivanting around the globe in a personal jet and even if I do get another car I would not be driving it all that much. But still, having only one vehicle has place me in a state of limited mobility. This is a good thing. I am forced to function in a small area and plan my days efficiently. My fear is that I will loose that discipline if I have a vehicle at my disposal. The other half of me thinks that I already do enough to live a green life and that having a car at my disposal is not the terrible sin I sometimes feel it is. 

Is enough ever enough when you can do more? Are we not supposed to be the change we want to see in the world? Grrr.

As aside: St. Louis is not Hong Kong, where I learned today ninety freakin’ percent of people commute via public transit. The transit system here is adequate, but not great. The bad news though is that it is getting worse. Shortsighted voters opted not to increase transit funding last November and now services are being cut. I am rationalizing you see. These cuts are screwing the average St. Louisan, and most of these folks can not afford a vehicle.

I am not sure what we’ll end up deciding but my fear is that convenience will triumph over conscience, at least eventually. It will be easier to play a round of golf (so not green), run an errand, make a meeting or just plain take care of business. I will surely be freer, but getting behind the wheel will in some way also be a step backward.