The Prius is about America, not the environment

Man, some people just don't get it.

I love the environment, though I don't do enough to protect it, but that isn't why I like hybrid cars such as the Toyota Prius.

When it comes to the Prius, un-American corporatism is my inspiration.

Decades ago, when tiny Hondas hit American soil, my father laughed. "Who would want to drive one of those. You'd get killed in an accident."

But the 70's and the early 80's provided a little dose of reality that caused many to realize that maybe fuel efficiency wasn't such a bad idea - gas shortages. For those living paycheck to paycheck, gasoline was causing pain. Something needed to be done.

Something still needs to be done.

In the interim, the U.S. has significantly built up its military and political influence in the Middle East to achieve one end, cheap foreign oil. This has stoked the fire of a growing Arab resentment against the rich West, which has contributed to 911, and both Iraq Wars.

Twenty to thirty years ago, American automotive executives and boards should have realized the dangers that foreign oil dependency could pose to America in the future. Forecasting is an essential business process, but those same shareholders were probably as invested in oil, as they were in automobiles.

Yet, if America is about freedom and independence, how could the American economy be so dependent upon a foreign resource?

Thus, American automakers, in a stroke of brilliance, created the SUV, while spending billions and billions of dollars marketing the idea that an SUV, not some fuel efficient foreign-made rice box, was Americana. Don't worry about the environment or foreign-oil dependency. Any year now, American automakers have said for decades, we'll develop fuel cells.

Decades later it is obvious American automakers shorted the American people and their security for profit. Perhaps you think that is just business. Fine, but I don't.

Sure the environment is important, important enough that the Pentagon considers environmental concerns one of the greatest threats to American security, but it isn't the reason I like hybrids.

I like the Toyota Prius because it epitomizes America better than any American-made car. It's all about freedom.