hybrid vehicles, another good thing about'm.

I have an 08 Toyota hybrid.  In case you don't know how it works, it has a gas engine and an electric motor and some batteries.  When I drive sometimes the gas engine pushes me along, sometimes the electric (which uses no gas), and sometimes both are running (which uses just a little gas).  When I coast, or brake the gas engine stops and the electric motor runs backwards and it recharges the batteries so I can go further with out the gas engine.  The car is rated 36mpg, I almost always get better, usually 38, sometimes 40, and thats on the whole tank.  So $4 even $5 a gallon is not as painfull for me as most drivers.  When I bought the car it was $800 higher for the hybrid, that has paid for its self long ago in fuel savings.

But 36, or 40mpg doesn't tell the story.  When I set at a light the gas engine goes off, normal cars burn 1/4 to 1/2 gallon an hour at idle.  This saving in heavy city driving does not show up on cars mpg display.  In a conventional drive vehicle, at the end of the tank spent in city traffic, you lost several dollars setting at lights or drive up windows.  Another reason to look at hybrids next time you buy.