It seems when i drive my hybrid people tail me or get infront of me for no reason when all the other lanes are open. I get door dings, parking checks and things tend to fly my way when they fall off trucks. Im thinking of selling my magnet(hybrid) since all it does is make me pissed off driving it. I have never had this problem with any other car before. When i drive my other car (non-hybrid) i have no problems and it has zero door dings or parkign skuffs. And i dont drive my hybrid slow, i go on average 70-80 with it on the freeway and still people have to speed up to get around me. must be mental that a hybrid is slow. augh.

 

yes, please sell your hybrid - it will probably make both you and the buyer much happier

 

No, just debadge and change your wheels. It'll be just fine then.

BTW, where do you live?

 

I sometimes notice this too. Being from So. Cal and with Car Pool Stickers, I think there are alot of people who are displeased that we get to ride the carpool lane solo.

 

I have not experienced that type of behavior, though there are always and have always been rude drivers out there. Are you in So.Cal driving in HOV lanes?

If you think you'd be more comfortable driving without the badge, then by all means take it off- an HCH can masquerade as a regular Civic easily. Then maybe you'll be able to tell whether it was your perception of other people or if there was really something happening. Besides, displaying the badge isn't the important thing (at least, not mostly)- it's saving the gas!

 

i am considering getting a FORD F150 badge and replacing my hybrid badge with that.......and i am not kidding.

 

Absolutely, man, there's totally a psychology to passing, based on "you're slower than I am so I should be in front of you." It's most subconscious, so it's very easy to mess with people with it. But, yeah, anytime they think you are or should be slower than them, they'll move heaven and earth to get in front of you.

Now, do you find that once they do blaze by you, they promptly pull in in front of you and reduce their speed to 10 mph below what you were doing before they passed you? See, it's not about how fast they're going -- it's about their instinct that they're faster than you no matter how fast they're going.

This isn't strictly Hybrid-related, I would say. I've had a number of cars that didn't "look" fast, and when people saw me pulling up on the left to pass simply because I happened to be going faster than them, they would *speed up* and drive away.

It's just the way people are -- it's not personal, and not (consciously) about you driving a hybrid.

--d

 

I believe a lot of this is in your head. I have yet to experience anything negative from another driver because of what I drive. Now how I drive is another matter.

 

I've found putting the emergency flashers as they approach gets them to quickly pass about 90% of the time or better - a win/win.

 

Kenny said getting a personalized plate... like "GOINSLO" helped in his case... but that's because he does drive slow! Sounds like you're up there in speed... so this probably wouldn't help you much.

I haven't experienced any hybrid-hatrid... except a few minor incidents in the HOV lane because I refused to go 80. For the most part, I hang out in the right lane and have no trouble.

Truck debris seems less of an issue than in other cars... especially since I will draft (safely) when I have the opportunity to do so.

No problems with door dings, as I tend to park in end spots or away from other cars and walk a little.

Really, except for the tiny badge, the antenna and wheels, it's hard to identify an HCHII from a non-hybrid. Just change those, and to the rest of the world, your Civic is an EX model.