Gas Guzzling SUV or Hybrid?

Don’t answer too fast… and read the links below.

It isn’t often that I get behind the wheel to drive on the roads, but every time I do I ask myself the same question…. “is it time for a new car”.

I don’t really have much in the way of driving. I cruise around Denver by foot, cruiser bike, by my ages old mountain bike, by bus, by light rail, by cab, and by scooter. I rarely drive my automobile (make that, my giant SUV). What drives me to get behind the wheel (get it) is usually a trip to the mountains which may or not have some bad snow conditions or carrying alot of stuff.

My auto, as I mentioned above, is a monster gas guzzling SUV. It’s a 2000 Dodge Durango that I originally bought when I lived in Vail and wanted to be able to get around regardless of the weather or the type of road. It was also a priority to have space for a 125 lb pup. Priorities you know.

But now that I don’t live full time in the mountains I wish I had a nice hybrid to feel better about that drive between here and Vail when I do go to the mountains. At the same time I feel better when I drive in a snow storm (which is often the case as I chase powder days) to have my trusty SUV. I should mention that this SUV has roughly 130,000 miles on it, gets roughly 17 mpg, and just passed it’s emissions test with flying colors.

Here is the question that I have gotten many answers to. Am I more environmentally responsible to keep driving my gas guzzling SUV that I rarely drive anyway until it either fails an emission test or stops working or should I buy a new hybrid now. If you don’t know why this is even a question, you have to understand that there is an argument that one of the biggest damages we are doing as a culture is to be constantly consuming and disposing of everything all the time. We fill up landfills, we create a non stop flow of trash, and we don’t keep something that isn’t shiny and new. There are also arguments being made that the best green technology is just around the corner in 2010. Whatever my green car choice is today may not be as green next year. Also, some people say the greenest car I could buy is a used car for just that reason.

Don’t get me wrong. You can’t put off doing something greener just because the technology will be better tomorrow because (hopefully) the technology will always be getting greener.

But if “Big Red” is still chugging along fine and getting minimal miles at all… is it better to wait. Will my lifetime carbon footprint be lower for not churning through the products I buy treating it all as disposable.

Or perhaps it’s from my upbringing in the Midwest where everyone I knew bought a car and drove it till it simply wouldn’t go another mile. Mind you, no one I knew growing up believed in leasing a car either. And no, we didn’t go cow tipping every weekend.

But I digress.

Ideally I’d love a green vehicle that was a little better suited for deep snow. Maybe the Prius isn’t the best pick, but there has got to be a better option. If I wait, will the options get better? Or is it better to get the big gas guzzling SUV I have now off the road immediately? Does it depend on how much I am driving now, or doesn’t it?

I am keeping my limited drive time gas guzzler for the time being. Especially considering how little I drive. But beat me up, change my mind, or tell me your thoughts. I pose the question because alot of folks may be asking it. Keeping it sure hurts at the gas tank. But does throwing it away really help?

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