I swore I wouldn’t even think about replacing my Subaru, but…

…my beloved Impreza now has over 100k and needs a really expensive repair if I’m going to have a working a/c. (The high mileage honestly doesn’t bother me much; Subarus live forever if you maintain them, from what I’ve been told by people who’ve driven them into the ground.) And just to be clear: I’m not actually replacing my Subaru, I’m only thinking about the possibility. And if I did, there’s no question of what I’d replace it with: I’ve had Prius Envy since about 2004. (Okay, given my druthers I’d probably go for a SmartCar, but I have two kids to schlep around, and it has only two seats. That’s fairly easy math.)

I don’t suppose I really need a working a/c.  I don’t have many more summer gigs for which I need to arrive all pretty and perspiration-less, and most of those I have are in the morning anyway when the weather  is usually cooler. I’ve made it halfway through June with a sporadic a/c, and while it’s uncomfortable, it’s not like I’m dying or anything.

I did the math on gas mileage, for example: if I drive about 9000 miles a year, which may be an overshoot but it’s hard to say, and gas stays at about $3/gallon, I’d save over $3000 over five years on gas alone (with the accompanying use-of-less-gas-and-fewer-emissions benefit) by switching to a Prius. And now that there are some older-model, higher-mileage Priuses on the used car lots, we could get one for not too much money, especially if I can get a decent trade-in on my Subaru.

Food for thought.

In the “con” column–my attachment to this particular car, the first and only one I ever bought new.  I love my car.  And it has all-wheel drive, which is nice in Chicago winters.  (But now we have another all-wheel-drive car…so it’s not as crucial…)

Anyway, my husband sent me this really interesting interactive Scientific American website, which details the impact hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and fully electric cars will have on oil consumption and power grids in different parts of the country, and what impact reducing our use of gasoline will have on our need for coal and natural gas.  Fascinating…and more food for thought. (UPDATE: more such food: check out this website on Electric Vehicle Efficiency put together by my friend Cathy and her husband…)

So…do any of my readers drive, or know someone who drives, a Prius? Especially someone who’s taken theirs over the 100K mark? Does it stay good, keep working well, keep its good mileage, have some built in horrible repair that will need to happen within a few miles of the 100k? (I’ve heard rumors of that, but not from anyone who’s been through it.)

Not doing.  Just thinking. I’m trying to lose a few pounds, so food for thought is about all I’m getting right now…