Eight Ways to Make Your Hummer Green

Gas prices are high, and there's no relief in sight. You've stopped driving your Hummer and can't

get anyone to buy it from you, either. But that doesn't mean your pricy, hulking driveway filler has to go to waste.

Turn it into something useful. Here are eight ways to reinvent your gas guzzler in a cheap and eco-friendly manner:

1. A planter. Open a door and fill the inside with dirt. Then plant vines or creeping greenery (such as ivy or nasturtiums), and watch the beauty tumble out. Plant sunflowers underneath the sunroof, and watch them grow through the top. For extra visibility, park your truck-planter on the front lawn.

2. A radio. Roll down the windows and turn the key to the car's electronic setting. Blast music during a basketball game or barbecue. When the truck's battery dies, use an actual radio.

3. A sauna. If it's going to be a sunny day, park it in the driveway in the morning before going to work. When you come home, grab a spray bottle and sit inside the vehicle (make sure to have a towel to sit on). Sweat out those impurities and spray yourself occasionally. Be sure to drink lots of water.

4. A doghouse. Your pooch ain't satisfied with his dinky plastic igloo? Remove those windows and doors and let him have his way with the leather upholstery. The steering wheel also makes a nice chew toy.

5. A defroster. Leave the car in the sun, and put frozen chicken on the hood. The chicken should be at room temperature in 20 minutes. No more pesky microwave settings to worry about.

6. A paperweight. Wedge important files underneath its wheels. That paperwork is going nowhere. Or, using a jack, lift up the truck to put something larger underneath, such as your cache of speeding tickets or the novel you're working on.

7. A garage for your SmartCar. Clear out the seats, get a ramp, open the hatch and slide 'er right in there. You can tell the kids that the Hummer had a baby.

8. Hummerhenge. Find neighbors who have also forsaken their big vehicles, and then bury the bottom half of them in your neighborhood park as a monument to a simpler (if more expensive) time.

-- Sunday Source staff