Hybrids: the Catalyst for Positive Change

What's the deal with these hybrids? What are they a breed of?
Did someone say " I'm going to Mate a Ford and a Honda and see what I get?".
And how DO you mate two cars? Does one have a longer dipstick, and that's how they tell which is the male?

What's the deal with these airbags? Some don't work until the front end of your car is all the way to the dash, and you are awake for the impact, but get knocked out from the airbag.
By then it's too late! You've already been tramatized by the impact.
Why knock you out after the crash?
This is why people seem disoriented at a crash site, it's not from the impact but from the air bag.

Thanks for the discusion. The fact remains that people need incentives to change their ways. In this case, one of the most important issues to so many is the commute. Paying extra for a certain type of vehicle is a no brainer for some. The benifit is buying dollars to entice manufacturers toward better technology the public can use. Many (my family encluded) like our SUV very much. Getting 31/38 mpg is great and I'm sure it's just a small step to what's to come. Alt. fuel, bikes, hybrids... incentives just plain work. Oh, I'm sure you'll like this, might as well let those with more bucks than time pay for the third lane to really keep moving. Have a nice day. Time to go save the world.

MDC,
Most of the people on this board these days can't clutter up their minds with facts like "there's not enough room for a safe third lane" or "the technology does not exist to differentiate between SOVs with transponders and HOVs with three people and no transponders in the HOT lanes." Unfortunately, these discussions are going nowhere anymore since HOT seems to be a foregone conclusion because our illustrious political "leaders" see HOT as a way to say they have a plan to "fix" traffic without having to find a way to fund it through taxation. The courage of the political class these days, REP and DEM, is nauseating.

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It's my understanding that the hybrids get better gas mileage in traffic? If I was a hybrid driver, (if my understanding in valid) I would drive the traffic lanes to save the fuel. True? In addition, tell me how a Lexus RX330 Hybrid gets better gas mileage than say a Honda Civic, so why can't Honda civic owners ride in the HOV lanes by themselves? Just wondering.....

I'm sure when the auto lobbyists first got the hybrid exemption passed, they never bothered to tell the legislators that in a few years they would be looking at hybrid sport utes. Also that the hybrid technology can be used for EITHER higher milage OR better performance, or a mix of both. Now the legislators have got a big problem if they dont end the exemption. Hopefully they have come up the learning curve but dont bet on it.