Hybrid huggers:Loyal drivers stay fiercely true to their 'green' cars
By Rosemary Ford
Eagle-Tribune
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."
Eagle-Tribune
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."
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