 |
Gloucester Daily Times Article |
|
| |
Hybrid huggers: Loyal drivers stay fiercely true to their
'green' cars
By Rosemary Ford
Gloucester Daily Times
They form clubs, hold conventions, and yes, even make
movies about their obsession.
No, they're not Trekkies or Wayniacs, they're owners of
"green" cars, specifically hybrids and electric vehicles.
They flood Internet chatrooms and host festivals dedicated
to their beloved automobiles.
It's a love affair between man and machine.
Retired mechanical engineer Edmund Leland of North
Andover collected Ford Model T's for years. But when it came
time to choose his everyday car, he turned to Ford's latest
model, the Escape hybrid SUV.
"It's like driving Canobie Lake Dodgems or a gold cart,"
said Leland, with a certain amount of glee. "If you stop, it
goes to sleep. It shuts off automatically, and you don't
have to start it up again."
When he does stop, whether at the corner store or a
highway rest area, other drivers always ask him the same
question: "Do you like it?"
His answer? A resounding New England, "Yep."
"I am sympathetic to the technology," Leland said. "This
multiple fuel routine is going to die an early death. It
won't work the way they want it to."
Bob Champagne loves big trucks and Harley-Davidsons. But
his commute from his home in Manchester, N.H., to his job at
Nassar Ford in Lawrence was taking its toll.
"I have better things to spend my money on," he said.
So Champagne got a hybrid Mercury Mariner - the SUV he
loves with a $30 weekly bill at the pump. He's not ready yet
to join a club, but he often spiritedly promotes the hybrid
to co-workers.
"I thought I was going to have a hard time getting used
to it," he said, "but I drive it like an animal."
Saving money on gas was the reason Greg Mayor of Salem,
Mass., bought his Toyota Prius. He regularly drives from
Gloucester to Maine as a buyer for Legal Seafoods.
"I like just about every darn thing about it," said
Mayor, who has extolled the car's virtues to neighbors and
succeeded in getting two of them to buy their own.
"There are no drawbacks to it," he said.
These people don't just like their hybrids. They love
their hybrids and they're not going back. And neither are
thousands more people across the county, who vow never to
drive a purely gas-powered car again.
"It's a car that stands out from the rest," said Joe
Antanavich, a Nassar Ford mechanic from Andover. "You don't
see many clubs for Toyota Camrys."
Hybrid lovers seem to grow more passionate every month.
In July more than 1,000 owners ranging in age from 17 to 78
gathered in Wisconsin for Hybridfest, the first (and
possibly annual, many hope) event, according to organizer
Bill Robbins of Madison, Wis.
"(People) are excited about sharing news of how fun these
cars are," he said. "It's just fun to learn about each
other's cars and experiences."
Boston will host a similar event. The Altwheels Festival
begins Saturday with a free outdoor display and symposium on
green cars at the Museum of Science (free with admission).
The festival continues Sept. 22 and Sept. 23 at City Hall
Plaza in Boston with a conglomeration of manufacturers and
transportation enthusiasts showing off innovations and the
latest models. For more information, visit www.altwheels.org.
In Newburyport, a Screening Room showing of the film "Who
Killed the Electric Car?" - a love letter to the now-extinct
vehicle - attracted a decent audience, according to owner
Andrew Mungo.
"Consistent but no sellouts," he said.
Chris Paine, who directed the movie, began his love
affair with an electric car several years ago. The state of
California had pioneered an electric car program, with
thousands of people leasing the vehicles from General
Motors.
But the automaker didn't consider the cars viable. So it
took them back at the end of the lease, and eventually
destroyed them. Paine chronicles the phenomenon in his
documentary, which is out on DVD.
"When the car got destroyed, I felt like a vision of our
future was being erased from national memory," said Paine,
who still mourns the loss.
He even held a service in its memory.
"Only in LA would we have a funeral for a car," he said.
With war in the Middle East and threats of global warming
looming, green-car lovers expect more and more people to
develop their own attachments to the vehicles.
"I will never own a car that doesn't get this kind of
mileage or better," Mayor said. "It doesn't make any sense,
to me, to be wasting cash on something that is virtually
unnecessary."
Home | Up | Contact | About Us
|
Become a Hybridfest
Volunteer!