an army of one (hippie)

looks like the army is as excited as everyone else about those new-fangled hybrids. though it won’t be replacing anything in a combat-area, this new motorcarriage is supposed to help soldiers get around the base without relying on gas from the a-rabs:

The vehicle is powered by a small, three-cylinder diesel engine and two hybrid motors. It would cost about $20,000 to manufacture and could replace a $65,000 Humvee, Almand said. The vehicles are expected to get about 50 miles per gallon, compared to the Humvee’s current 11 mpg. “The more money we can save the better,” Almand said.

right on, brother! save that money so we can spend it on more important stuff.

the whole hybrid “craze” is snowballing from its own hype. with gas hovering at $2.25/gallon nationwide, ordinarily sensible people seem to be lining up in droves to put themselves further into debt. some refuse to even wait the six months that it normally takes to wait. yes, that’s right: pay a $4000 premium now in the hopes that your fuel costs will balance out in 10 years. current hybrid technology will be horribly outdated by then, and most owners will have moved on to other cars.

the exception to this are car buyers who want a prius to save the environment, minimize waste and conserve energy/fuel – those who view driving as a neccessary evil. they seem to be in the minority, though. most of the orders appear to be coming from the me-too crowd who want a prius because they think they’ll be saving money at the pump, or just want to be seen with one (and if they save a couple of bucks in the process, so much the better).

personally, I don’t see where this oil shortage nonsense is coming from, since we’re going to be drilling for it in alaska anyway. problem solved!