Geek Habitat

Our new 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid (Shout out to Regan — Thanks!)

I love my new Ford Escape Hybrid so much, I’m driving a lot more daily than I usually do. In a message I posted on the hybrid_ford_escape Yahoo Group, I admitted I’ll need to get my driving in check or I’ll be invalidating any of my miles per gallon (MPG) gains.

A lot of my driving has been of the typical new-car’s-first-week variety, though:

• We bought the Escape and drove it off the lot Monday night. The dealership (Jordon Ford) is over 11 miles from our house.
• Various short drives have been taken to show her off to family members.
• Tuesday morning, I drove back to the dealership to pick up missing floormats.
• This (Thursday) morning, I drove to the dealership to drop off our “sight draft” from the bank and inquire about getting two minor scratches, one on each bumper, repaired. I discovered them after washing and wiping her down on Wednesday. The scratches are minor, but since they occurred before the vehicle was in my posession, I’d like to clean ‘em up if possible.
• Tomorrow (Friday) morning, I’ll be back at the dealership to have the scratches repaired. The “paint guy” only works on Tuesdays and Fridays, but apparently he can “make those scratches disappear.” That’s music to my ears.

Just with the frequent runs to the dealership, I’ll have put something like 91 miles on my new baby by the end of this week. She had 72 miles on her when we completed the test drive Monday evening, and she now has 335 miles on her odometer! Like I said, I’ll have to calm down a bit on my frequent excuses to take her on long, meandering routes. However, we drove her off the lot with a full tank of gas and she’s only now reporting 1/2 tank. Sweet! My mental marker in my 12-gallon-tank ‘92 Corolla was 250 miles, as in at 250 miles on a tank, start thinking about filling her up. The ‘06 Escape Hybrid? That mental marker’s going to be over 400 miles!

Before You Ask …

“Why did you buy a hybrid SUV? Why not a more economical and fuel-efficient hybrid sedan?”

I think the following photo of my 1992 Toyota Corolla at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge speaks for itself!

On Naming Vehicles and Geek Gear …

Some of us name our vehicles, computers and other geek gear. With computers, many of us name them because Microsoft provides a blank form field to do just that in its Windows OS’s. Here at Casa Moore, we have computers and network shares with names like Frodo, Gollum, Skyhawk, Chaos and Treebeard. I have iPod’s named Kira (shuffle) and Nerys (nano). Mom’s red 1997 Chevy Camaro is “The Scarlet Lady”; my brother’s “Sonic Blue” 2005 Mustang is “Betty”; Dad’s “Torch Red” 2005 Ford Mustang GT is “Sophia” (“Princess Sophia,” as opposed to “Krul, The Warrior King!”) Like Justin and his F-150, I’d always meant to name my ‘92 Toyota Corolla, but she’s always been just “baby” or “girl”. “Thank you, girl,” I’d sweet talk after her responsive acceleration had saved me from becoming just another squashed bug on the grill of some oversized, ill-mannered vehicle and its cellphone zombie “driver”.

My hybrid Escape, however, definitely needs a name! And my brother’s right, Kira and/or Nerys do seem to fit my “Redfire Pearl Metallic” 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid. How so? Like her namesake on Star Trek: Deep Space 9, she is passionate, athletic, self-assured, dependable and perhaps a little misunderstood. She is definitely more than meets the eye. She’s “got your back” in any crisis, and she holds firm convictions. Indeed, Kira Nerys it is! My iPods will just have to adjust to sharing their names with a Bajoran militia member-turned Starfleet Colonel and a state-of-the-art hybrid SUV.

Hybrid-Induced Road Rage?

Apparently, some hybrid drivers are so MPG-hungry, they’ll happily clog up traffic for miles to keep their car in “electric vehicle” mode. One article (see link) calls it Prius envy, as in hybrid drivers seeking the utmost in miles per gallon.