Unintended UX outcomes

I found an interesting example in my own life of unintended outcomes for a new feature for users.

I have a Subaru Forrester, and it has a feature in it where when stopped with the brake pressed, the engine will turn off to conserve gas. It’s meant to be very green and environmental, which I appreciate. To help with this feeling, the main dashboard UI changes when in this state to a timer. The timer shows how much time has been spent with the engine off while stopped (usually at a stoplight), as well as how much gas has been saved over this time.

Currently, in the 2 years of owning this car, we’ve saved 5 gallons of gas! Yay! Over 9.5 hours! Yay?

I honestly just feel kind of down about it. The wife and I have spent almost 10 hours in the past 2 years stopped in traffic or at a stop light. This is the opposite of what the designer intended. It is supposed to be uplifting and affirming about trying to do the right thing for the environment, but I’m guessing the unintended consequences of thinking about the total time stopped and doing nothing were not intended by the designer.