Prius Envy? Honda to Battle Toyota on Green Performance, and Looks...
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 09. 4.07
The term ‘Prius envy’ didn’t crop up in our guide on How to Green Your Sex Life, but maybe it should have. Actually, it has little to do with sex, but a lot to do with the perceived sexiness of your hybrid. According to a report in Newsweek, many hybrid Honda customers have been leaving the company in droves because their cars just don’t look ‘hybrid’ enough:
“Peter Kessner, a devout environmentalist, bought a Honda Civic hybrid four years ago to show everyone that he wants to save the planet. The only problem: no one noticed, since, other than the hybrid badge on the trunk, it looked like a regular Civic. So he traded it in for a Toyota Prius. Suddenly, strangers began stopping him on the street to ask about his hybrid, with its space-age styling and miserly mileage. "That's a big part of why I bought the Prius," says the Floral Park, N.Y., retiree. "It opens up conversations, and I push my theory that we've got to do our best to conserve." The Honda, on the other hand, didn't deliver what Kessner craved: green street cred. "If I'm driving a hybrid," he says, "I want people to know it."”
While it might be tempting to shun such considerations as mere aesthetics, there is no doubt that almost any move towards greener living becomes more effective if it is visible to others – ultimately we are looking for a societal shift if we want to reverse the potentially disastrous twin threats of climate change and resource depletion that we currently face.
The good news, however, is that Honda appear to have learned from their mistakes, and they are said to be dreaming up a hybrid that will have the best fuel economy figures on the road by the time it arrives in 2009 (they are also rumored to be bringing a 62 MPG diesel to the US by 2010). The aim is apparently not only to beat the Prius in terms of both gas mileage and price but, significantly, to also design a car that looks more like a hybrid, tackling the issue of Prius envy head on:
“This time Honda won't make the mistake of wrapping its hybrid in the sheet metal of its everyday cars: instead, analysts expect the new Honda will have the larva styling the Prius pioneered—which now embodies the green-car look. Honda will also outdo the $23,000, 60mpg Prius on price and mileage in hopes of attracting 100,000 buyers a year—three times what the hybrid Civic sells.”
We would, of course, love to see Prius envy being replaced by bicycle envy. However, we do feel that the move towards greener cars can only be a good thing, and for this move to happen fast, we need highly visible, and desirable, cars that set the standard for more responsible motoring. ::Newsweek::via site visit::
Gotta admit that this article bothers me for two reasons. One, the reason I don't like the Prius and other hybrids is because they look hideous. I just want my hybrid to look like a normal car; I wouldn't be caught dead in a car that looks like a bulbous hatchback.
Two, why does everyone always have to be so smug about saving the environment. I understand that people want to be visible to raise awareness, but it should be noted that people hate being preached to. I hate this attitude that I'm only going to do something for the environment if it is going to get me noticed. This is what gives environmentalists a bad name (smug and arrogant). I just try and live as eco-friendly as I can without being overtly preachy to others.
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Author's comment:
True, to some degree, but all cars seem to be designed to say something about their owner. I suspect there will always be those who want to have their greenness noticed, and I do believe this can help speed up adoption of green into the mainstream.
However, you are probably right that there are also plenty of folks who don't want to make a big deal out of what they are doing. And, in some ways, once green becomes mainstream, it would be encouraging to see hybrids (or EVs, or cyclists) everywhere that you don't notice - they are just the norm. Hopefully options will remain open for both types of greenies - the trojan horses AND the flag waivers. Diversity in all things...
Every car does say something about the owner and speaking of Prius envy, what does a Hummer say about its owner...?
We owned the Honda Insight and loved the conversation it would start. We now drive a Beetle TDI with a BioDiesel badge on the back and that creates conversation wherever we park.
Random people will ask about BioDiesel. Since I make my own it's a great opportunity to spread the word about alternatives.
If the design leads to improved aerodynamics, then bring on the future! My next project in the garage is this diesel hybrid http://www.rqriley.com/xr3.htm
I can't wait to get started.
"...the larva styling the Prius pioneered..." How quickly Newsweek forgot the Insight that came to the US market first and gets better mileage than the Prius!
I just want my hybrid to look like a normal car
So when did you but a Civic Hybrid? It looks just like a normal Civic.
Oh wait -- you're just a treehugger-basher playing games by bad-mouthing environmentalists with cliche comments like "why does everyone always have to be so smug about saving the environment" and "the Prius is fugly." My bad.
I can't imagine people stopping me to ask about the Prius---the things are common as can be these days. Go outside, you'll see a bunch. Occasionally people will ask about my recumbent bike, though even those are pretty common these days. Usually it's the occasional gasoline price spikes that bring out the comments and questions about the bicycle.
Is the Prius ugly? Maybe, but then just about all cars are.
Eeeeesssh... The Prius is an UGLY car. Zero style points. And while I have liked Hondas in the past the Civic hybrid drives like a Yugo with a crapped out suspension system. Bleh. I guess I'll have to go with what Marv said in Sin City that all modern cars look like electric shavers.
Now the Tesla... That's a sexy car. Too bad it cost as much as a house.
Notice how we've reached the point where the only remaining Prius "critiques" are the subjectively aesthetic ones? All the phony objections (silent menace, emergency worker electrocutor, makes no economic sense, etc) seem to have mostly petered out.
I think that anyone who calls something "fugly" should be required to post a picture of themselves, their vehicles, and their domicile to determine basic aesthetic credibility.