''But it's low-emission....''
Honeybunny and I are having lunch at our usual Monday through Friday lunch spot today. As long as there is a slight breeze and it's somewhere below 97F, we sit outside....hoping that we will not have to put up with drivers who pull up, park and then promptly sit there in their cars with the engines idling. They obviously do not think that $4.00+ per gallon fuel is too much to pay. But no joy today.....
Idiot!Dude drives up in a Honda Element. He parks. Sits there talking on his cell phone. With his ENGINE RUNNING. Yes! Running. Time idling: around 5+ minutes*. The worst thing - the Element has a very noisy engine.
This time I'm just darn annoyed. He finally turns off the engine, gets out of the car and this time** I say something. I said, "Thank you for turning off your engine." He responds, "But it's low emission."
Well, duh. Idiot. Low emission or not, you're still burning fuel. Burning fuel still creates emissions. Running engine creates heat. And add the awful noise pollution = Me very irritated.
The first thing that came to mind is the person that eats low/no-fat cookies. They think that this allows them to eat even more cookies. Calories are calories. Fuel is fuel.
Friggin' idiot.
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* Other cars that have pulled and sat with engines idling: A Yukon type SUV - 40 minutes. A smaller SUV like a 4-Runnger - 20 minutes. Mercedes - 15 minutes. And it goes on and on. I know. I'm an obsessive idiot, I informally time these cars.
** The 4-Runner people.... they finally returned to their car (after having had their frozen yogurt) the same time we were leaving the cafe. I mentioned to the people that they had left their engine running. ''Oh yes, we needed to leave the a/c on for the dogs.'' My comment: Leave the dogs at home or in the yard, where dogs belong - not cooped up in a car.