Now before I receive too much hate mail I have a lot of sympathy for those who own a 15 year old falcon, can't afford a new smaller car and have to drive an hour and a half into the city to get to work.  

However, it's a different story when I listen to someone with a three year old 4x4 or other gas guzzler whinging about the price of fuel.  Did these people think the price of petrol would remain static when they bought the car?  What's that?  A 4x4 is essential to get the kids to school?  Sure it is!  

Add that to the Aussie manufacturers heroic ability to ignore world trends in design and fuel pricing and you end up with massive investment in the gas guzzling Commodore without a hybrid option to be seen.  How did these stellar intellects make it on to a board?

So what choice are we left with if we want to buy a hybrid?  The Prius.  About as attractive as a Bulldog fan after a night on the lash.  And that's before you climb inside.  The interior sucks the will to live straight out of you.  You could argue that such interiors are not new to Toyota, you just have to check out an old Corolla.  The Prius though is in a class of it's own.  Let's call the interior 'suicide grey' and leave it at that.  

If you can afford the Lexus, good for you.  for the rest of us it's the Honda Civic or the bus.

The solution?  Easy.  Triple the tax on Mercedes.  People only buy them to show how rich they are after all.  We'd be doing them a favour.  I mean if they knew anything about finish and quality they would buy a BMW.

So, we triple the tax on Mercedes and subsidise the hybrids.  Yeah, that was it.

Apart from the Prius.  Toyota should pay us to own one.