If you Google Britain's small wars you might get an idea. It was the Gulf War of the time. Aden as a town south of Yemen sitting near the southern choke point of the Red Sea. A coal/oil bunkering port for shipping it was a vital feature to counter the that of pirates opposing from East Africa etc and the protection of free trade through the Suez Canal. Yemeni factions dissented constantly and attacked British forces and civilians in guerrilla warfare with mortars, mines, grenades and ieds. Itinerant traders were often provided with handguns or grenades and paid to kill soldiers. If they were successful they were rewarded on their return. Many British died in the conflict, one of my mate had fragments of shrapnel in his back too dangerous to remove and another was shot in the barber shop of all places. The Brits then under prime minister Harold Wilson finally withdrew in 1967 and the battles go on to this day.
By definition, the average IQ is 100. Also, by definition half the people have an IQ under 100 and half over 100. I don't think I'd draw the "dumb" line right at 100, but it's tempting when I see the carnage on the roads around here. Last week, a friend got to watch a van sail past him doing barrel rolls in mid air. Missed him by about 15 feet. Driver was texting. Decided too late to see if there was anything outside the van that she should be aware of. And it's STILL not a primary offense to text while driving in FL. So stupid goes all the way to Tallahassee.
For me, no matter what the price of gasoline is, if you have a car, you have to fill it up with gasoline. You cannot buy gasoline in bulk. You cannot buy gasoline on sale. Heck, driving around to find the "best price" per gallon causes one to lose the advantage of filling up for 10 cents less per gallon. My goal in buying the Prius is to never again be so dependent on gasoline. If gas goes to $1 a gallon, so be it. I would be spending only $25 a month, to drive around in my cruise controlled, air conditioned, awesome stereo sounding, power windowed, rear view camera'd, electrical mirrored, touch steering wheel Prius. Yes, I have had really awesome cars, and some day, I may own another one for fun. But my main vehicle will never again cost me half my net income per month in gasoline to drive. For me, I can't see doing that again.
Yes, height restrictions used to be enforced. As well as bumper stickers with profanity and headlights adjusted to high. All that seems non existent today.
I would recommend responding with an over the top, flag-waving diatribe about how sending extra money overseas to certain oil producing nations is just plain wrong. Since you are in Cali you might have to temper your rant with a bit of political correctness, but you should be able to work in how in some of those countries woman are not even allowed to drive a Prius, much less a truck. You could also mention Putin, I think. Tell them about the shame you feel for not going electric, but suggest that with fracking and pipelines (thus dispelling the notion that all Prius drivers are of a certain political persuasion -- even if you are), the USA might be able to tell them all to go fly a kite -- or their falcons, as the case may be. Then leave the lunch room with your head held high.
I am sick of seeing ads of AWD crossover about bringing people further more far wherever most city folks never go or where it does not really requires AWD. I am glad I changed from an AWD Turbo crossover to the Prius, I am saving on fuel consumption, fuel price (lower octane), insurance and maintenance. Beautiful. I no longer care about fuel price and do not think twice before travelling long distance anymore. The average customer is not informed about the Prius and how the magic happens under the hood and the rear seat. The average customer learned in front of the TV or Facebook ads that he needs an AWD crossover to get over a little muddy puddle on a nice packed gravel road, far from what a thrill seeking Jeep Wrangler Rubicon driver would consider as being off-road adventure. I am impressed everytime I drive it, by the Design and Technology, a lot of thoughts have been put into it after nearly 20 years in the making.
Ya.........reminds me of studies done with groups of people, when asked via a show of hands......"Who thinks they are an above average skill level driver?".........100%!
