My Tuesday column explains how to win a free car (sort of)...
Today I'm going to teach you how you can get a free Prius, and you barely have to do anything to get it.
Until recently, I owned a Prius and at the risk of sounding like The King Of All Liberals I don't mind saying that's it's easily the finest car I've ever driven. As traveling goes, there's nothing quite as satisfying as driving 500 miles, roughly 20 percent of the distance from New York to Los Angeles, on a single 11-gallon tank of gas, while also knowing that you've generated nearly zero emissions. Plus, the LED screen on the dash that displays your real time miles-per-gallon via two different visual representations almost becomes like a video game that intuitively re-teaches you how to drive, by letting you know when you should ease up on the gas pedal thus using more of the electric motor and less of the gas engine (the Prius doesn't need to be plugged in -- it charges its battery using the gas engine and the kinetic energy from braking and coasting of the car).
It's a fantastic vehicle, and I wish I could report that the Great Recession didn't hammer my personal finances forcing me to give up my Prius and to settle for a higher emissions, less fuel efficient car. But it did. Thanks, Great Recession.
But I figured out a solution for achieving the environmental benefits of the Prius without actually owning one. Ready? [continue reading...]