Green Truck? Maybe Just Green Thinking!

The month of July has been a fight against my own conscience. My old truck had reached the point where I could buy a new truck that was much more affordable, lower monthly payments and have a new truck warranty. I started researching what type or car, truck or SUV I might want and my new green inner voice was shouting at me to buy a hybrid.

I looked at the new Ford Fusion hybrid and was really impressed with its design, features and most of all great fuel economy… But my practical side just kept on fighting back, we have five dogs at home and will soon have kids too, the Ford Fusion is just too small for one dog, let alone five dogs and a few kiddos! So what were my other options? I found several larger hybrids such as the Ford Escape hybrid but the starting prices for the Escape range were out of my league, even further out of reach were SUVs like the GMC Yukon hybrid. After weeks of inner turmoil I just couldn’t find a car, truck or SUV that was green, affordable and practical. It was clear that I would have to compromise somewhere.

image by Jety

My decision process was forced by the fact that I took a week off work to do some much needed yard work and I set myself a goal of getting the new vehicle before returning to work. I had to think long and hard about what would be the right vehicle for myself and for my Texas sized family! After much debate I finally decided on a new Ford truck and here are my reasons;

1. Our family does alot of DIY and a truck is awesome for hauling project materials
2. A truck with normal cloth seats and no fancy leather is ideal for taking sick dogs to the vet and catching spilled kids drinks etc.
3. In Texas a truck is a safety feature! The highways are full of people in large trucks and if you get hit by one you sure want to be in a large vehicle too!
4. It was cheap!!! The recession has hit us the same as everyone and a big part of my decision was to get my monthly truck payments down. The dealership I went to had amazing rebates and low finance rates so it just made sense. The hybrid vehicles had zero rebates or incentives available and were far more expensive.

So those are my reasons (or perhaps excuses!) for buying a truck. To offset my guilty conscience I am doing some extra things to reduce my environmental impact;

1. I have completely changed my driving habits. I now accelerate and brake far less aggressively and I have noticed a huge difference in gas usage.
2. I am going to get all the windows tinted and a sun visor to keep the truck cooler when it’s parked. In Texas those things make a huge difference and a cooler truck means less use of gas guzzling Air Conditioning.
3. I am switching off the Air Conditioning in my truck whenever possible to save gas (I hope my wife can cope with me smelling like Scarborough Fair!)
4. I am going to use my truck to take larger household items to recycling centers.

I totally respect anyone that drives a hybrid vehicle and I do hope one day to own one. If money was not a factor I would definitely own a hybrid for my daily commute to and from work. I hope our green readers can forgive me for owning a truck and I would love to hear your feedback / thoughts on the issue.

Please leave a comment, have you also struggled with the practicalities of owning a hybrid versus a truck or SUV?

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