Should I be ashamed to say....

[Aggie_Ama]

This morning I had to take Clifford our big red Dodge 1500 to get the oil changed and some routine maintenance done. I call it Clifford because Clifford never fit in his house and the truck doesn't fit in the garage.

Anyway, 5-6 days a week we drive my little gas sipper Dodge Caliber, Gretchen. She is slow but has all the nice bells and whistles and gets 28 mpg. But this morning I realized Clifford is such a joy to drive. The feel of being high up and the Hemi oh lord, no worries getting on the highway with that engine. I feel sad ashamed to say even with its horrible gas mileage (15-16 mpg), all those polutants I know we shouldn't be emitting, humongous tank ($85 fill up) and the fact that it fits no where to park I wish I could drive it everyday. Maybe it is my native Texan blood but there is no liberation in my 4 cylinder! Of course he will still sit parked 5-6 days a week, no changing that.

I am just saying it has become so horrible to drive a truck or SUV (and much of it can't be denied), I feel almost guilty most days owning one as I hear ranting about them but dang there is just too much fun in owning a truck. There I said it, no need to draw the firing squad. I didn't want to start an inflammatory thread just saying.

Anyone else have a guilty pleasure you feel like you shouldn't enjoy this much? Maybe you like caffeine too much, eat fried food, don't like compact flourescent bulbs, watch TV?

[tulip]

Everyone has a different set of standards. Good for you for driving the Caliber as often as possible--you are making positive change and that's what matters. I feel guilty when I drive to anywhere under 5 miles from my house, and I drive a VW Rabbit (which doesn't get nearly as good mileage as one would expect, but it sure is fun to drive!).

Taking airplanes significantly increases my carbon footprint, but I allow myself an annual trip to Europe regardless. Next year it'll be Italy--the plans are already being developed. Since I work from home (no commute) and live in a small house that I'm upgrading to modern energy efficiency standards, I figure it's okay to go to places that I love, even if they are far away.

I would like to buy a small pickup truck--a Nissan or Toyota. I would greatly facilitate getting things like mulch from the city leaf recycling program. They don't deliver! I would also keep my little car. I guess I feel a little funny about one person owning two vehicles, but you can only drive one at a time.

[redrhodie]

I feel kind of guilty about my need daily for both a shower and a bath. I've tried cutting the baths down to not every day, and I fill the tub less than I'd like, but I just can't give them up all together. My skin just doesn't feel right when I don't take my bath at night, and I don't sleep as well.

My last apt had a double size jacuzzi, and I really had issues with that (it took almost half an hour to fill!), but still used it almost daily. At least the tub here is small-ish, and I'm not using electricity to power the motor.

[Pax]

I get my speed jolly's from a motorcycle that gets 55mpg, so I don't tend to feel too guilty about it.

[Blueberry]

My Element - it only gets 21-23 (on a really good day). But, I haven't found another vehicle I can haul kayaks on top of, bikes on a hitch (without scraping) and still have room for "stuff" when going on vacation (at least that gets better mileage). But it's nice to drive

CA

[SouthernBelle]

Since I'm commuting, I can go several days without driving. But when I do drive, I feel so fast and powerful. The funny part is that's it's a 4 cyl Ranger. No power there!