A few months ago while driving my commuter car - a 2000 Honda Insight, I received the dreaded IMA light. For those that don’t drive this car, the IMA light indicates that the main hybrid vehicle battery is failing at capacity. In Georgia, this light means you will not pass State emissions which is a requirement. Additionally, you lose a tremendous amount of power, which is kind of the point of the electric motor.
I drive my VW Jetta exactly 50 miles a day to and from work. When gas prices started going up in the Summer of 2006, I decided to figure out exactly how much fuel was costing me each workday. So, one morning on the way to work, I stopped at the gas station nearest my home. I filled my tank and reset my trip counter to zero. I recorded the price per gallon ($3 something a gallon!). Then, I drove directly to work, worked, and drove back to the same gas station. I pulled up to the same pump I filled up at that morning. I took note of how many miles I had driven, and sure enough it read almost exactly 50 miles. Next, I refilled my gas tank. It cost me $7. I had burned $7 dollars worth of fuel just going to work and back! That came as quite a shock. I knew gas prices were high, but I never thought that I was spending that much each day. $3 a Gallon?!? Somethings gotta give! After doing some homework on the web (fueleconomy.gov), et al., I decided to buy a much more fuel efficient car (and a soon to be FREE CAR).
