CAR STORIES:
From Diesel to Hybrid

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For twenty-three years I have been driving a Mercedes 300D. D for dependable
but also for diesel. I loved my car but all things must come to an end. My car was totaled in a car accident... not of my doing. Now I was faced with buying a replacement for my car nicknamed "Mortimer Mercedes".

Out of curiosity, I attended an outreach program sponsored by the Don't be Fueled Campaign. The presentation highlighted the environmental impact on gas guzzling vehicles and also discussed the participant and emissions problems with older vehicles. My Mortimer Mercedes certainly fit into the later category. I walked away from the lecture with a new found respect for the hybrid cars, not knowing that this knowledge would be put into actual use.

Two weeks later my car was totaled. I needed to make a decision on what my next car would be.

l live in a neighborhood where a four-way stop is likely to be populated by four Mercedes Benzes. Fortunately for me I could go out and buy any car I wanted.

But after test-driving BMWs, Mercedes and a Lexus, I remembered what Betsy
Rosenberg and the outreach program had told me.

I ordered the Toyota Prius.

It doesn't have to be complicated. It doesn't have to be expensive. I just has to be right. Since making the decision to purchase a Prius the response from people I tell this to has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive. And not only that, I have no doubt that a hybrid is in the future for many of my friends.

Jan Newman

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