I bought my first new car in 2011. We, my husband and I, were always frugal and bought used cars — used cars for us, and used cars for our kids when the time came. Remembering back to my parents, they always bought used cars until, four months before he died,my father bought a new Cadillac. It was probably something he always wanted. Unfortunately, my mother never learned to drive so the car was sold off, used, to someone else.

For me, I decided on a new car because I wanted the latest technology. I was getting miserable mileage on my Ford 500, and I wanted a hybrid. I thought I would get a Prius, but I visited the Ford dealership first.

With just a few steps into the car lot, I saw the car I wanted. It was similar to the car I already had, a white four door sedan. But it was a hybrid, with a sun roof and black leather interior. We went for a a test drive, and then had a sit down. I hadn’t planned on buying a car that very day, but there I was … elderly lady, etc. Similar to the “little old lady from Pasadena,” from the song, in that my car had relatively low mileage and was in good shape, except the air conditioning had stopped working.

Long story short. They offered me $6,000 for my car. Even I knew that wasn’t enough. I had checked out the Internet, and the suggested best trade-in was $9,500 or so at a dealer. Of course I said that wasn’t enough. Then the salesman checked around and came back with $8,000. I said, let me check with the pendulum.

Of course his eyes bugged out. “The pendulum?” I wear this blue turquoise pendant around my neck and a friend once showed me how to use it and get “yes” or “no” answers. How does it do that? That’s another blog post.

So I ask the pendulum, should I accept $8,000 for my car. It goes around for “yes” and back and forth for “no.” It went back and forth. So I said, the pendulum says, “No.” The salesman goes out to the hallway, and I hear mumbling about “the pendulum.” No doubt they are talking about the crazy lady in there.

The “closer” comes back and offers me $10,000 for my car. “Let me ask the pendulum,” which I do, and the answer comes back “yes.” Well, should I buy this car? The answer comes back “yes.”

But I don’t have my checkbook. I’ll have to come back tomorrow. Of course that doesn’t work for them. They have a “live” one. We can let you have the car, and you can come back tomorrow. We’ll run a credit check. Well, that won’t work, because my credit is frozen. My husband did that years ago, to prevent identity theft.

Do you have I.D.? I have this card that says I’m a Minister of Religious Science.
Good enough. Here are the keys. Come back tomorrow and we’ll close the deal.

So I drive away in a new Ford Fusion Hybrid. Of course, they have my old car. But still, I’m kind of amazed. The salesman says I’m getting a deal. I don’t know, but I love the car. First car I bought on my own. My kids are rather amazed, too. “Mom bought a car.”

One thing I love about the car is the Sirius radio. No commercials. A bunch of channels. My favorites are the Elvis, Love, Willie’s Roadhouse and Prime Country channels. Must be my West Virginia heritage kicking in. Also, there’s a video that comes on when I back up or attempt parking, a yellow light in my side mirror when another is close, a beep when other cars or people are close, and a few other high tech features.

To get back to “conscious driving,” I read about “pulse and glide” on the Internet as a way to “hypermile.” Hypermiling contests have been held at various locations. At a Maxiumum Fuel Econnomy contest in Elkhart, Indiana, the Honda Insight was recorded at getting 213 miles per U.S. gallon, the Toyota Prius at 136, and the Ford Escape Hybrid at 76. (Wikipedia) The first two are way beyond what I get, although I have gotten in the 50’s, 60’s, and up to 99 mpg.

There are a number of different ways to get better mileage, and the hybrid is especially well equipped for the “pulse and glide” approach. Simply put: accelerate and then glide. This is where the conscious driving comes in. You pay attention to the way you drive. Little green leaves on the dashboard let you know if you’re driving efficiently. This works really well on a downslope, and you can no doubt use this on regular cars as well as hybrids.

I don’t do many road trips anymore.I don’t commute to a job. I don’t like to drive the freeways much anymore, especially at night. I make my regular rounds in my hybrid…to the library, the post office, the spiritual center, the gym, Trader Joe’s, the movies, visit friends and some local hot spots. The Getty Center is a very doable drive, as are a number of other attractions in the Los Angeles area.

For the almost 3 1/2 years I’ve had the car, I’ve done about 11,300 miles. Was it worth it to buy a hybrid? Not financially, frugalists would say. But emotionally, yes. I enjoy it. My long range mileage is only about 30 mpg, probably because of all the short trips I take, but my best mileage so far is 99 mpg. See photo above.

On the Internet, I found reference to “conscious driving” at happytraffic.com, where the emphasis is on safe driving — following the Happy Traffic, Inc. Rules of Conscious Driving. These include paying attention to your driving skills, the condition of your car, surrounding cars and drivers, and your own emotional state. Do not zone out. “If you drive consciously, that means making skillful conscious efforts every moment of your driving.” Then you reduce your risks of accidents.

Let’s affirm: All my travels are safe, pleasant and enjoyable. My car, my driving, and the cars and drivers around me are functioning in right and perfect order. I drive consciously. I arrive at my destination safely, in radiant good health, having had a very pleasant and rewarding travel experience.