The latest words on cars

Many of us spend a lot of time in our car(s). And watching all those cars going the other direction. What often breaks the monotony? When we see our own car coming right at us, or a car very much like the one we driving.

"The Atlantic" is still putting ink onto paper and in their October issue the last page plays around with this emotion of recognition. There are numerous suggested words for the feeling drivers have toward other cars like the one they drive: carma, carcissism, carmaraderie, espirit de car, autobond. For certain Honda drivers, "Civic pride." For proud hybird owners, there would be "hybris."

That reminded me of an exchange in the "Daily Tidings" of Ashland, Oregon. There some smug Prius owners had complained about the gas guzzlers they were forced to drive among. An irate non-Prius woner shot back that the car should be re-named in honor of its smug owners, "The Pious."

Well, as a Prius owner I simply wonder why anybody who bought a new car would choose to continue to get less than 30 MPG and thus donate significant dollars to the coffers of those impecunious little guys trying to bring us gasoline for free. You know: Exxon, Chevron, BP, Shell. Not to mentilon all we gasoline buyers do to support that admired bastion of creativity, honesty, woemn rights and democracy knwon as the House of Saud.

I note that my next-door neighbors could only stand being next our little blue Prius for so long...and they went out and bought one, too. Blue like ours, but not yet as dirty. I actually caught them in the act of washing their car the other day. Wow. So now we have a small pair of Pious, 'er Prius. They are often parked end to end. Their bright blue exterior hiding what we hold to be at least a partially green heart. That brings me to wonder what would be a good collective noun for many Prius?

The Ashland cynic would say, "A piety of Prius." I might reply a "charge" as in battery. Perhaps a "panacea," "pandemic" or even "probity." I don't wanna show too much hybris, so I gotta wonder if there isn't a perfect collective noun for hybrid cars right inside yourmind. Love to hear it.

I posted that Prius picture from the Toyota official website. Not because you haven't seen a zillion of the little cars already. But to show that even the manufacturer is drawn to word games for this car.