People-Power To Hybrid Power

Can people-power move the world’s automakers over to hybrid power? If the results of a campaign being run by the Hybrid Center.org are anything to go by, it looks like it just could.

Just over a month ago, Hybrid Center (an off-shoot of the Union of Concerned Scientists launched their Earth Day Challenge ’07—a petition urging Toyota to focus on fuel-efficient use of hybrid technology in the US market, such as the Estima Hybrid minivan which Toyota sells in Japan (it’s sold in other markets as the Tarago or Previa) but which is not available in the world’s biggest auto market.

Hybrid Center hoped members of their opt-in and on-line Driving Change Network would help them get more than 8,400 signatures, surpassing the number of projected Estima Hybrid sales in Japan this year.

But guess what? The organization now has more than 17,000 signatures, double the projected Estima Hybrid sales. The group says this is a tremendous consumer chorus for cleaner cars.

The deadline for signing-up and making your voice heard is May 28, so it’s fast approaching the deadline.

Go here if you want to lend your voice.

Of course, this is not to say that auto giants like Toyota who typically plan their product line-up 18 months to two years in advance will be able to change their minds even if they would like to, but as Hybrid Center point out, “our goal is to show Toyota how much of a demand there is in America for fuel-efficient family vehicles”.

Maybe it could catch on in other countries too...