I’ve been driving Traveler to work even though I can walk it, just for the pleasure of getting behind the wheel with that three-pointed star in the center of it at least once in a day.  It’s only about a mile to work down a couple local side streets so its not as though I’m plowing through heavy commuter traffic.  The other day as I was parking, one of the Grants Office folks spotted me getting out and I heard her say, cheerfully, "No Way!  No Way!" "Yes," says I, a tad embarrassed…I didn’t buy the car to draw attention to myself…"I’ve wanted one of these since I was a teenager."  And she says to me "I always figured you to get a Prius…"

She’s about the sixth person to tell me that.  And not just a hybrid mind you, but Specifically a Prius.  I figure it must be the ponytail.

I grew up in a waste-not-want-not household and I’m still that way to this day.  I kept my last wallet until there was almost nothing left of it but the duct tape holding it together, and even then I’d have held onto it until a friend of mine tactfully suggested that pulling it out on a date wasn’t likely to win me a boyfriend.  I’ve owned four new cars in my life so far.  The last one, the Honda Accord, was an exception to the rule in that I traded it in while it still had a lot of value in it.  But that was so I could buy Traveler.  The other cars I owned until they were on their last legs.  The Prism had over two-hundred thousand miles on it when I gave it up.  If Traveler lives up to Mercedes’ legendary longevity (and I’m keeping my fingers crossed about that) it may well be the last car I ever have to buy.   That’s green enough.  And I think I’ve spared this good earth more gas fumes by living within walking distance of work, then commuting daily from the suburbs would have produced, even driving a Prius thank you.  On the other hand, I probably make it up with my long distance road trips.  

Hate me, I love to drive.  I hate commuting, but I love to drive.  That’s why I bought a Mercedes-Benz and not a Prius.   When Daimler makes a Mercedes hybrid I might drive one then.  On the other hand, they’re wringing out even more fuel efficiency from their diesels now from what I hear.

I’ve done two road trips with Traveler now…the one to Key West last Christmas, and just last weekend to Memphis Tennessee, and the car was a pure pleasure to drive down the highway on both trips.  It is quiet, it is very comfortable, and so vault-solid you just feel absolutely safe and secure.  I only wish it had a tad more trunk space.  I’m getting real used to having the setting on the nav system that shows me on a split-screen how far to the upcoming highway exits and what services are available at each one.  That way I don’t have to jump off at the first exit I see that has gas or some place to eat, if I know that there are more, and possibly better ones coming up after them, and that they’re not too far. (My brother just recently bought one of those aftermarket nav systems for his truck and he swears by it now.)  The car gives you a clear view of everything around you, and a solid feel for the road under the wheels.  Every control is within reach and easy to manipulate (contra Consumer Reports, who keep bellyaching about where Mercedes puts the cruse control stalk…I don’t have a problem with it…), every gauge is clear and easy to read.  I can tuck the nav system display away, and still get directions from it from the center display on my speedometer.  And of course, I hear the voice.  In two miles…prepare to…turn left…

Gas is more expensive, since Traveler drinks only premium, and gets fewer miles per gallon then the Accord did.  But if I keep a steady foot, or use the cruse control a lot, I get close to 30 mpg over a distance of highway driving (I averaged 29.7 on the Memphis trip), which isn’t bad for a luxury four door sedan with a V6.  I have a feeling though, when they finally start shipping the diesels into this country, I’ll be wishing I waited for one.  Especially if they bring in the little four banger.  Thing is, diesel is even more costly then premium gasoline.   Last night I saw diesel selling for $3.70 a gallon at a station that was selling premium for $3.29.

But I am still so thrilled to have this car that I still have to get into it at least once a day and take it somewhere.  At some point I suppose the cost of gas will attenuate that.  Then I’ll probably turn into one of those middle-age guys you see constantly washing and waxing their car out front of the house on the days I can’t drive it because the gas budget ran out.  A friend’s father once bought a himself a brand new Mercedes sedan to replace the old one that just kept chugging along year after year, but was looking a bit run down.  He very seldom drove the new one anywhere, preferring to keep it all nice and clean and spotless…and in the garage.  He kept on driving the old one instead, I guess because he wasn’t afraid of getting the old one dirty and dinged.  So the new one almost never moved out of that garage.  The family took to calling it The Queen Mary.   This will not be Traveler’s fate.  We are driving from one end of this country to the other, down any road that looks interesting, for as long as my health and gas money hold out.