So I bought one.
I've found a couple of things about it that I hadn't considered before. First, the turning radius is good. I have a 180 I need to do to get home. When I first moved in (1981) I had a Dodge Magnum that couldn't make it. The Escape can. The other thing is that being stuck in traffic on the highway isn't as bad as before because I can see over more traffic. Much better on my nerves.
I went to the gas station for the first time a couple of days ago. I had 396 miles on it and put in 12.4 gallons. Sounded real good except that I suspect they topped off the tank before I drove it off the lot with 44 miles on it. Still better than 30 MPG.
So let's see - I started with a VW bug, then went to an AMC Hornet, the above-mentioned Magnum, a Honda CRX and 2 Honda Civics. The transition has always been easy. The headlights always work the same way, as does the ignition and blinkers. The brakes (no matter what their functionality) and the accelerator (no matter what the power source) are in the same place.
I just bought a laptop (Gateway) to replace my aging PC. Now THAT'S a hassle. Trying to figure out how to reinstall my software, rethinking my protection against hackers, spammers and the like (McAfee sucks by the way) and figuring what I needed to transport from my old system to the new was just a major pain. I think I'm back but what a nightmare that is.
I guy I met on the golf course today is going through the same thing. Neither of us was playing very well and were rather thankful for a rain interrupting our game at about the half-way point. Still, we had to agree that golf is far less frustrating than breaking in a new computer. And that says something!
Recently as I was more and more aware of the mortality of my Honda Civic, I noticed that a handful of manufacturers were making hybrid SUV's. There was Lexus and Mercedes (both pretty expensive) and Saturn (whose hybrid SUV was getting unfavorable reviews.) Then there was the Ford Escape.
I hadn't heard too much about hybrids, except the Toyota Prius (not an SUV). I would have thought there'd be more buzz, what with gas prices and global warming and all. Don't believe in global warming? Well, okay, but very few disbelieve that gas has gotten pretty expensive. Anyway, Toyota advertised the Prius and there was a waiting list while supply was ramped up to meet demand.
The hybrid SUV just seemed to be an idea whose time had come. The current Ford in charge is one Bill Ford. I read an article on the internet that he wanted to push the Escape Hybrid. His senior marketing people argued against it. Final score: Marketing Department 1, Escape Hybrid 0.
