Barenaked Prius September 2004

Group's lead singer believes everyone should take responsibility for the pollution they create, so he drives an environmentally friendly hybrid.

Steven Page of the Barenaked Ladies has seen the future and it ain't sweet, even though it involves sugar: "We'll need the last gallon of gasoline so we can go buy the last Krispy Kreme doughnut."

It could be a line from one of his band's songs. In fact, Page has been quoted as saying he loves the doughnuts, but he hopes that grim scenario never comes to pass.

"Sitting in traffic in the city, you see the amount of fumes and smell the emissions. How responsible am I for that?" Page asks. "We have to do something to change our over-consumption of fossil fuels.

"At least (we have to) take some responsibility for it. If we are not going to stop driving, then we are going to have to drive more responsibly."

He has taken up the ecology struggle by driving a 2004 Toyota Prius, a gasoline-electric hybrid.

"It's a mid-sized car and has about the same interior room as a Toyota Camry," he said. "I used to drive a Camry and I always liked it. This doesn't have a huge trunk, but it's fine. You can put some stuff in it and everybody likes riding in it."

He has noticed the Prius loses some of its fuel efficiency in winter. "It works best with the warm weather. When it's zero degrees outside, it changes its fuel efficiency. Still, in the winter it's somewhere around eight litres per 100 kilometres as opposed to 5 L/100 km in the summer. One of the appealing things is it does not idle in traffic - it shuts down."

He is also involved in the Toronto Renewable Energy Co-operative, which helped fund Toronto's waterfront wind turbine by selling $500 memberships in WindShare.

"Anybody who knows we're from Toronto asks me about the turbine. It's the first urban one and ... it's this huge symbol of renewable energy on the waterfront."

Before he seems too environmentally pure for his own good, Page has a confession to make. Following the success of Stunt, the band's 1998 album (which hit the Top 10 and produced the

No. 1 single One Week), he went out and bought a 1999 luxury SUV.

"I do have a sport-utility vehicle - a Lexus LX 470. It's a nice car. Everyone wants to buy something fancy when they (make it). I have a farm outside the city and with the three kids, my wife and all their stuff, we pack up the truck. Otherwise, we take the Prius or (public transit)."

As well as his own road experiences, he has had the opportunity to observe how other celebrities drive, especially Jason Priestley, who directed a documentary movie on the band.

"I (drove) with Jason Priestley a few times before his (race car) accident. He's one of the more aggressive drivers. He is driving again, but if I was him, I'd never drive again."

He also admits to having his share of fender benders. "Yes, actually my wife does a lot of the driving now. She doesn't like me getting behind the wheel."

That is not to say he does not appreciate cars, especially "the big, old, cool '60s muscle cars."

Cars figure prominently in the band's songs. Stunt has a song titled In the Car, and the song Everything Old Is New Again is found on the 1994 album Maybe You Should Drive. It has the line, "All across the world, people going mad in their mother's cars."

In Page's case, he was still in high school driving his parents' Oldsmobile Delta 88 when, during a snowstorm, he could not shake this snow plough that kept following him down various side streets.

"I just wiped out and blew the whole back bumper off (that car)."

One of his favourite songs is Paul Simon's Cars Are Cars.

"I love that song for so many different reasons. It's got two different tempos and two different moods; each one reflects a different perspective on cars. One is about the coolness and the practicality ... and in another section, it's about the sentimentality."

For Barenaked fans hoping the band has not gone too sentimental, they can always reassure themselves by playing the song The Night I Fell Asleep at the Wheel from the 2000 album Maroon.

"To me, that song is bleak and humorous at the same time. Those are always the best songs."

SOURCE: Montreal Gazette

Hybrid Car Links

Hybrid Cars

What are Hybrid Cars

Hybrid Car Pros & Cons

How Hybrid Car Works

Hybrid Car History

Future Hybrid Cars

Advantages Of Hybrid Cars

Disadvantages Of Hybrid Cars

Hybrid Sports Cars

Hybrid Car FAQs

Hybrid Car Facts